Modesto school board candidate in Facebook flap over comments

Facebook posts are flying on Mylinda Mason’s Modesto City Schools campaign page following her post on a community site angrily denouncing “homosexuals and other liberals” that she believes tore down her campaign signs.

Mason said today she made the post, three times, and stands behind every word. She is upset page administrators decided to repeatedly take it down.

“They can’t let me express myself because they disagree. For some reason this little old grandma over here is very threatening,” Mason said.

The posting was on the “You Know You Grew Up In Modesto When” Facebook site, according to multiple e-mails to the Bee. Site administrators have not responded to a Bee request for comment.The post read:

My signs are being damaged, torn down and stolen all over town by the intolerant left. The threat of a Christian, grandmother is more than they can take. I just received the third phone call this morning to let me know about the damage done in the dark of night. Having taken a stand for what is right and true, homosexuals and other liberals want to make me pay a price, if not financially at least emotionally and psychologically. Militant homosexual groups and pro abortion activists have engaged in this type of behavior for decades, only now attacks are getting even more brazen. MMs Mason said the damage and theft of signs has added up to about $300, and one sign was painted with a pink triangle and “homophobe” written across her face.

The conversation was taken up in Mason’s campaign Facebook page, “Mylinda Mason for Modesto City School Board.” Mason said she allows all posts to stand though, “They’re going a little nutty on me now,” she said.

The post is also being hotly debated on the “Students and Teachers Against Mylinda Mason for School Board Facebook” page, a closed group with 51 members, including fellow candidate Brian Du Bois, who sides with Mason’s positions in numerous posts.

Also listed as a friend is her adopted son, Matthew Mason, though he has no posts on the site. On Matthew Mason’s own Facebook page, he speaks openly about being gay.

Many of the posts on Mason’s own page accuse her of hating gays, a charge she denies.

“I don’t hate gays. I have a son who says he’s gay, and I adore that son,” Mason said.

“I don’t appreciate his lifestyle, it’s brought him a lot of heartache. It’s hard to watch,” she added.What she’s against, Mason said, are state mandates on teaching sexuality that go against many families’ values.

“Because I’m conservative, my voice — it’s, ‘Shut up, woman!’ It’s a double standard. But that’s OK. I believe in freedom of speech, so I’m not taking their posts down,” Mason said.

This story was originally published November 3, 2011 at 10:24 PM with the headline "Modesto school board candidate in Facebook flap over comments."