Jessica Onsurez, and Adrian C Hedden

Carlsbad Current-Argus

A Carlsbad city councilman's Facebook comment about women has garnered the ire of the national media after an interview with New Mexico news outlet KOB aired Monday.

J.R. Doporto, who was elected in 2014 to the Ward 2 seat, said that a Jan. 22 Facebook post where he stated women "have a right to get slapped" was blown out of proportion.

Doporto's post reads: "Just want to give a heads up to the women! You have rights! A right to cook and a right to clean. Today is Sunday and the NFL playoffs our on! I suggest you stop your b!tch!ng/protesting during this time. Because you also have a right to get slapped!"

The post refers to the organized Women's March on Washington Jan. 21, and followed the inauguration of President Donald Trump whose own comments about women incited dialogue on women's rights across the country.

Doporto said in an emailed statement to the Current-Argus that women's rights should be taken seriously, and domestic violence is no laughing matter. His post and KOB's story have received hundreds of comments critical of the views expressed in the post.

"Reading through the responses really opened my eyes to how sensitive the nation is right now. People have strong opinions and are ready to share their thoughts especially on social media," Doporto said. "If I offended anyone I am sorry, as an elected official I owe you that."

Doporto said his apology also extends to his fellow Carlsbad leaders and said the negative reporting won't affect the way he does his job on the council.

"I am a very vocal person that likes to joke around. That is my character. I simply made a joke that 99 percent of my friends and family were OK with. Someone seen it in public and took offense to it, KOB blew it out of proportion," Doporto said, adding that the real issues in Carlsbad are being overshadowed by the attention being given to the media outlet's reporting.

"I hate that this post brought this negative attention to Carlsbad," Doporto said.

Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway said in an emailed statement that while Doporto's comments were meant as a joke, the city takes domestic violence and women's rights very seriously.

"Over the past weekend, Mr. Doporto made a statement on his personal Facebook page which he said he intended to be a joke," Janway said. "Mr. Doporto has served as a member of city council for the past six years. Like all Americans, Mr. Doporto has a right to free speech, and may express any opinion he chooses, joking or otherwise.

"However, the views expressed by Mr. Doporto, even as a joke, are in no way reflective of my views, or the views of the City of Carlsbad, or the views of its residents. We want to stress that the City of Carlsbad does not, in any way, condone domestic violence or disrespect toward women."

Advocacy group petitions to unseat Doporto

It is unclear what kind, if any, official repercussions Doporto may face for his actions.

But a New Mexico advocacy group is hoping to see him step down.

Progress Now New Mexico started an online petition Tuesday demanding Doporto vacate his position on the council.

By about 4:30 p.m., 1,492 people had signed the online petition.

"So while millions of people marched this past weekend, and millions are on high alert as their rights are jeopardized by Trump and his ilk at the federal level, we as New Mexicans have an opportunity to shut this kind of hate speech down," read the petition. "There’s no room for “casual misogyny” in our state. We respect women, we respect people of color, we respect our gay brothers and sisters and the trans community. We respect our indigenous community and our environment."

Progress Now Spokesperson Lucas Herndon, a Las Cruces resident, said he received a message Monday night from a friend in Carlsbad about Doporto's conduct. He said he passed it on to his colleagues in Albuquerque who were offended as well. He said of the people who had signed the petition by Tuesday evening, more than 1,000 were first time signers who were incited to participate by this specific incident.

Herndon said the organization expected Doporto to delete the post or block his Facebook page, and that the petition at least could serve to keep his actions in the public eye.

"We all agreed it was pretty egregious," he said. "We had all seen thousands of women out marching on Saturday. We were all out there. We wanted to hold him accountable."

The organization analyzed past posts on Doporto's page, Herndon said, and found what he called "a pattern" of misogyny. The page featured several other quotes from Trump and other statements disparaging to women and minorities, Herndon said.

"It's misogyny. There's no other word for it," he said. "It down plays the role women play in our modern society. I found it offensive and the goodhearted people of New Mexico found it offensive too. I don't think people in his district want to be represented by a clown who can't draw a line between his professional and personal life."

Doporto could not be immediately reached for a response to the allegations.

Doporto's comments were also included on the Huffington Post's list of the most sexist remarks to the women's marches.

The councilman's Facebook page was set to private Tuesday after the public outcry escalated.

Chair of the Eddy County Board of Commissioners Stella Davis warned that although Doporto made his comments on a private social media account, as a public official he needs to do better.

"I think we all as public officials, people still see us as elected officials 24/7," she said. "You can say: 'It's my personal page.' But at the end of the day, people hold us up to a higher standard. At the end of the day, Mr. Doporto has to deal with that. We are public officials, and that's the way it is.

"We have to be very mindful. You can lose the public's trust."

According to a statement from the Carlsbad City Attorney's Office neither the mayor or city council can remove Doporto from his position under state law. State law also does not allow for a city councilman to be recalled by voters, the statement said.

An elected official of a municipality can be removed office for "malfeasance in office," but only after a district court hearing, the statement said.

The Carlsbad City Council meets Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the council chambers of the Municipal Annex Building, 114 S. Halagueno Street.

Managing Editor Jessica Onsurez can be reached at 575-628-5531.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.