:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/XKIH343JIBGG7FCZNYXE2XFTP4.JPG)
A Hampton Republican Party official resigned after accusations of racist Facebook posts.
David Dietrich, who served on the city’s electoral board, reportedly resigned — after initially refusing to — following calls from the governor and the Hampton Republican Party, according to a Facebook post from Rebecca Winn, vice-chair of the board. Dietrich’s name was not listed on the board’s website Sunday morning.
The Hampton GOP demanded Dietrich resign from his post as chair of the Hampton Electoral Board after screenshots of the post surfaced late last week, according to a statement issued on the organization’s Facebook page Friday. Dietrich is accused of making a Facebook post that referenced lynching Washington leaders and called them the N-word.
“The Hampton City Republican Party unequivocally condemns all forms of racism and bigotry, and specifically condemns the language employed by Mr. Dietrich,” the organization wrote in a statement, which included a screenshot of the post on Dietrich’s page.
Dietrich initially refused to step down, according to the statement. So, the Hampton GOP said it had asked the Hampton Circuit Court to remove Dietrich from his position. The chief judge is the appointing authority for all electoral board members.
Dietrich did not respond to reporters’ multiple attempts to reach him.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin echoed calls for Dietrich’s resignation Saturday afternoon in a tweet.
“As governor, I serve all Virginians. I won’t accept racism in our Commonwealth or our party,” Youngkin wrote. “The abhorrent words of a Hampton Roads official are beyond unacceptable and have no place in Virginia. It’s time to resign.”
Today's Top Stories
Nearly 30 minutes after the tweet was posted, the governor’s press secretary said Dietrich had resigned.
All cities and counties in Virginia have a three-member electoral board whose duties include: appointing the general registrar, training election officers, preparing ballots, conducting the election and certifying election results, according to the city’s website.
“As the Vice-Chair of the Election Board, I look forward to the Republican Party making a more thoughtful nomination to fill their newly vacant seat on our Board,” Winn wrote. “I look forward to working together in unity as a Board to oversee and carry out our elections and protect the rights of ALL of our Voters.”
Dietrich was asked to step down after the GOP discovered a public Feb. 17, 2021, Facebook post on Dietrich’s page, which condemned Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and other leaders.
“In the post, Mr. Dietrich uses abhorrent and unacceptable racist language that has no place in our Party or our Commonwealth,” the statement said.
Caitlyn Burchett, 727-267-6059, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com
Jessica Nolte, 757-912-1675, jnolte@dailypress.com