Politics & Government

McKenna Campaign Staffer Under Fire For Tweet: "Shut Up and Speak English"

A member of gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna's campaign staff came under fire after The Stranger discovered that she posted derogatory remarks about Asians and old people on her personal Twitter account.

 

Gubernatorial candidate and Bellevue resident Rob McKenna issued a statement that one of his staffers apologized after The Stranger's blog "The Slog" uncovered posts on Twitter that were derogatory toward Asians and the elderly.

According to The Stranger, staffer Kathlyn Ehl posted in January: "shut up and speak english #asians" and in November: "If it takes you an entire green light to walk in front of my car GET A WHEELCHAIR #toooldtowalk" (punctuation in the original).

Find out what's happening in Kirklandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Find out what's happening in Kirklandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

McKenna, the leading Republican in the race for governor and the state Attorney General, issued this statement through his campaign:

“The tweets sent by a member of my campaign staff, Kathlyn Ehl, which were reported today were offensive and inappropriate.  I am glad to see that she has apologized for her actions.

The fact that she made the comments before joining my campaign does not make them any less hurtful to Asian Americans and the elderly. They were insensitive and wrong regardless of their context.

She has done the right thing by apologizing.  I am hopeful that she has learned a humbling lesson that will give her greater perspective about having charity in her heart when considering the challenges faced by others.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Kirkland