Prospect DTC treasurer resigns over tweets

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PROSPECT — Prospect Democratic Town Committee Treasurer Jeffrey LaMontagne resigned from the committee Friday, two days after offensive tweets were posted on his Twitter account regarding the death of Manchester Republican Town Committee Chairman John Deeb.

Deeb, 74, died Tuesday night, Election Day, after he was struck by a car while walking across a street in Manchester to his party’s headquarters.

On Wednesday, two tweets were posted on a Twitter account run by LaMontagne that used Deeb’s death to mock Republicans.

One tweet posted at 6:02 p.m. stated “…things are so bad for Cr (sic) Republicans that the chair of the Manchester Republicans jumped in Traffic.”

The other tweet posted at 11:05 p.m. stated, “It’s true, the Republican chairmen (sic) of the Manchester GOP threw himself in traffic.”

The tweets have since been removed from LaMontagne’s account.

In a tweet Thursday, LaMontagne claimed his account had been hacked and he didn’t make those comments. He could not be reached for comment on Friday.

In a statement posted to the Prospect Democratic Town Committee’s Facebook page on Thursday, committee Chairman Betty Bajek stated she learned of the “egregious” comments on Thursday and LaMontagne had been suspended from his duties as the committee’s treasurer.

On Friday, Bajek issued a second statement saying LaMontagne submitted his resignation from the committee.

Bajek said the committee took the “insensitive comments” very seriously and handled it in accordance with its bylaws.

“The circumstances of his resignation are highly regrettable and he has expressed his deep and sincere remorse for his insensitive comments,” Bajek said in the statement. “We always have and will continue to expect our members and our leadership to uphold a high standard of conduct.

“We know John Deeb’s presence as a leader in the Manchester community will be deeply missed. Once again, we respectfully (offer) our sincere condolences to the Manchester RTC and Mr. Deeb’s family and friends on this tragic loss.”

The tweets were denounced across the state.

On Thursday, State Republican Party Chairman J.R. Romano called for LaMontagne to resign over the “disgusting comments.” He also doubted that LaMontagne’s Twitter account was hacked.

“He wasn’t hacked. His twitter replies are full of attacks. He should step down and learn a lesson in decency,” Romano tweeted.

The Prospect Republican Town Committee issued a statement that apologized “on behalf of the citizens of Prospect for the abhorrent comments…”

“We extend our deepest sympathies to his (Deeb) friends, family and the entire Manchester community,” the statement reads. “This single person does not represent the sentiments of Prospect’s residents and we are saddened by the lack of respect and empathy that was shown.”