Candidate Withdraws From Carmel School Board Race Over Bigoted Posts

CARMEL, NY — A school board candidate has withdrawn from the race in Carmel after years of bigoted social media posts were revealed by journalists and residents.

It's part of the continuing controversy in the Hudson Valley town over accusations from some residents engaged in a local battle in the national culture war that expanded after the death of George Floyd into an attack on progressive calls for greater awareness of racism called opposition to "critical race theory."

CRT is a decades-old legal and academic framework that looks at and critiques how race and racism shaped U.S. laws and institutions that remain in place today. The phrase has become a catchall for various claims about racism and race relations in the United States having nothing to do with critical race theory itself.

Robert "Bobby" Palazzo, whose campaign for a seat on the Carmel Board of Education focused on preventing educators from indoctrinating students on CRT and gender topics, first defended himself in a statement, an image of which was tweeted by journalist Jeff Pearlman.

Pearlman posted about Palazzo on Twitter and then did a video about it on YouTube, which he has since taken down. Palazzo said things he posted as humor had been taken out of context and overdramatized.

Photos of Palazzo's posts were also put on Facebook by others.

Here are two examples:

And this: “Tiger Woods is giving a press conference today. He is going to admit he is the pretty Williams sister…woman with weeners. Tiger, Wendy, Serena, Venus and Michelle Williams Obama were all born men,” a post from February 2010 reads.

Another: “Joke of the year: why can’t Michelle Obama wear a mini-skirt? Because her penis would stick out of the bottom."

Another: “Have you noticed that if the letters in ‘illegal aliens’ are rearranged and a few more letters are added, it spells out: ‘Go home you free-loading, benefit-grabbing, kid-producing, violent, non-English speaking a-holes and take those other hairy-faced, sandal-wearing, bomb-making, goat-loving, raggedy-ass bastards with you?’”

Another:

The many posts that surfaced spanned almost 10 years a decade ago and included racist, homophobic, sexist, anti-immigrant remarks and memes.

Interviewed Sunday by The Examiner, Palazzo, now 70, said the attacks on him had "damaged not only his reputation but also that of his family, grandchildren and nieces and nephews in the district who have the same last name."

Although in his social media statement he had said he refused to be "canceled" Palazzo told reporter Bailey Hosfelt he was withdrawing.

"I was running for a non-salaried position because of what’s being taught in our schools — critical race theory and indoctrinating [students] with sexual stuff." However, he said, it wasn't worth it given the backlash. "Palazzo added that growing up he and his friends made comments like the ones he posted to Facebook, and it was never deemed racist," Hosfelt said.

Current school Trustee John Curzio withdrew his endorsement of Palazzo on Saturday, saying on Facebook:

It has come to my attention that a candidate for the position of Carmel School Board Trustee, Robert Palazzo, had posted on his Facebook page numerous racially insensitive comments and memes dating back several years.

I am appalled and deeply disappointed by this revelation and I totally condemn the contents of these posts. The moment I was made aware of these facts, I immediately withdrew my endorsement of his candidacy for the Carmel School Board.

I do not condone nor do I excuse any of these postings in any way, shape, or form. These types of posts have no place in either the public or private domain.

A school board member must have an open mind, tolerance, and represent our community judicially and fairly.

Some commenters on Curzio's post asked him if he had endorsed Palazzo because he supported the candidate's stand on CRT. Curzio, who supports former president Donald Trump’s false claims about winning the 2020 election, had not responded by the time this article was posted.

Pearlman, who grew up in Carmel, has been observing the school district since Tatiana Ibrahim, the name resident Tanya Brahimi uses in her role as an activist, received national attention from conservative pundits for attacking officials and teachers at a 2021 school board meeting. She initially said she was opposing critical race theory and the efforts of communist inspired school officials to indoctrinate children; she has expanded to gender issues as well.

On Monday, the Carmel Board of Education released a statement that did not address Palazzo but said the trustees had been silent too long during discrimination against and attacks on staff and students. SEE: Carmel School Trustees Announce Stand Against Hate, Misinformation

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• Carmel Schools Chief Resigns, Cites Fake Twitter Account
• Anti-CRT Group Congratulates Lakeland On Superintendent's Ouster
• After Racial Slurs, Lakeland Teachers Urged To Show Support
• Clarkstown Filled With Argument Over Student Slideshow
• Cox Out As Superintendent Of Clarkstown Schools