Finance board member apologizes for social media post

FAIRFIELD — A now-deleted Facebook post made by a Democratic member of the Board of Finance has drawn condemnation and led to calls for him to resign.

On his public Facebook page, Kevin Starke criticized Republican Town Committee Chair Sarah Matthews. The post included a Whac-A-Mole style image in which Matthews’s head is shown twice, one iteration of which is being struck by a mallet.

The post sparked calls from Republicans, including Matthews, for Starke to resign.

Reached by phone Monday, Starke said the post was made to a page he controls, adding he quickly removed the original image with Matthews and added a Whac-A-Mole picture without her in it. He said the text said nothing negative about her, just that she is playing games in her political strategy.

“I was called misogynist,” he said. “I don’t see what’s misogynist about it. It happens that she’s a woman. What if she was a man?”

Starke said he apologized for the original post because he regretted it, although the apology is no longer available on his page, and later deleted the updated one because he was tired of the blowback from it. He said he has no plans to resign.

In the post, Starke said he felt moved to call out Matthews for her characterization of the town’s budget process and the recent change in polling locations. He said that most people running the town government agree on things, and called her perspective spin.

In a statement, Matthews said Starke’s statement didn’t read like an apology to her, adding she never heard directly from Starke. She said it is very unfortunate that an elected official in town would take the time to create an “inflammatory” Facebook post that included a graphic reflecting violence against a woman in response to a release she posted on behalf of the RTC.

“Mr. Starke’s behavior speaks for itself,” she said. “Frankly, it is a stain on all elected officials who should be held to a higher standard of conduct.”

Matthews said she does not play games when it comes to the best interests of Fairfield.

Hearst Connecticut Media was sent a screenshot of Starke’s original post by Joanne Romano-Csonka, a Republican who unsuccessfully ran for the 133rd state assembly seat in 2020. She called for Starke to resign from the Finance Board, calling his behavior untenable and demeaning to the public office he holds.

Romano-Csonka said insinuating violence is inappropriate, adding Starke was not fit to serve in office.

Starke said people calling for him to resign are exemplifying the cancel culture conservatives say they hate.

In a post of Facebook, the Fairfield Democratic Town Committee said the meme in Starke’s post crossed the line of civility, which the organization found to be unacceptable.

“We live in a democracy, and we support freedom of speech, and encourage civil political discourse about ideas and issues without resorting to personal attacks,” it said. “We believe that we all need to work together for the betterment of Fairfield. We support Kevin’s apology and look forward to refocusing discussions on the issues facing our town.”