January 1, Liberal Candidates Quit Amid Shocking Text Scandal

Wyatt’s Take

• Liberal school board candidates in New Jersey dropped out after a vile group chat was exposed targeting a conservative mother.
• The messages included threats and explicit remarks about Danielle Bellomo.
• This scandal highlights how ugly school board fights have gotten—even from those who claim to be for ‘responsible education.’

Two liberal candidates in Marlboro Township, New Jersey, abandoned their campaigns after ugly group texts targeting conservative board member Danielle Bellomo came to light. One message joked about Bellomo’s body and included language no parent would want around their children.

Scott Semaya, caught in the act, joked in a group called “ThisB****NeedsToDie.” Chad Hyett, the board vice president, and the husband of another board member were also in the chat. Bellomo later said there were threats and “very specific actions” described about her in the chat.

“These text messages are the first time I was able to see they don’t want me alive,” Bellomo said.

Photos on Facebook confirmed both Semaya and running mate Melissa Goldberg quit their campaigns. Goldberg was not in the group chat but ran alongside Semaya on the CORE slate. Semaya cited “family circumstances,” while Goldberg blamed “other responsibilities.”

Bellomo declared, “Hate has no place in Marlboro and the actions of Scott Semaya and the other men in that group chat should never be tolerated. I am happy that we have ended this cycle of hate.”

The next day, Marlboro Township’s Democrat Mayor Jonathan Horn condemned the text messages, calling them “completely unacceptable.” His statement read:

I have been made aware of a series of text messages exchanged by Marlboro Board of Education members and BOE candidates. Let me be clear – the content of these messages is completely unacceptable and those responsible are clearly not equipped to hold public office.

Violence and threats of violence against public officials are seemingly becoming normalized. In only a few months’ time, we have witnessed an alarming escalation in this type of behavior to an extreme, culminating in the murder of Minnesota Representative Hortman and activist Charlie Kirk.

This must stop.

We can disagree with one another without resorting to hate, anger and violence, and I call upon all those in positions of responsibility, regardless of political affiliation to condemn this inexcusable and outrageous behavior.

I have spoken with the Marlboro Police Chief who has informed me that there is an active and ongoing investigation with respect to this matter.

Bellomo replied, “Mayor [Jonathan Hornik], thank you so much for this statement. This means more to me and my family than you know. Please join me in thanking our Mayor for denouncing hate, of any kind[,] in our town.”

Another recent scandal involved explicit death threats by a Democrat candidate in Virginia, and last month, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated at a Utah school event.

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Wyatt Matters

Parents want safe communities and schools, not political attacks and threats. This kind of behavior just proves how vital it is for regular folks to keep standing up and demanding decency from the people who want to represent us.