Susanne Cervenka

@scervenka

MIDDLETOWN - Brookdale Community College Board of Trustee member Joseph DiBella told a packed room of faculty and students that the uproar over his Twitter account is linked to the contentious ongoing contract negotiations with the community college's faculty union.

DiBella spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday night at a trustee meeting since the controversy erupted after his accounted was linked to "likes" on tweets that use the n-word and refer to President Barack Obama as a "monkey." A "like" is social media shorthand showing a user favors another person's post.

"I have been viciously and wrongly accused of being a racist, of which I am not," he told the audience.

DiBella said his Twitter account had been hacked and that Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office was investigating it as a criminal matter at his request, two points he had previously made to the Asbury Park Press and in a public statement issued by Brookdale. The prosecutor's office said the investigation is ongoing.

'No coincidence' behind Twitter uproar, union stalemate

But he also said the issues over his Twitter account didn't arise until negotiations with Brookdale Community College Faculty Association soured. He said the faculty members considered him "public enemy No. 1" over proposed contract changes to health insurance coverage and that the faculty "wanted him off the board." The contract for the faculty has expired and the two sides are presenting their cases to a state mediator.

"After 25 years of public life, I do not believe in coincidences at all," he said, prompting boos from a room packed with many faculty members and students.

DiBella, 47, spoke for at least 15 minutes, calling the backlash against him as a "surgical and highly organized smear campaign."

EARLIER STORY: Brookdale trustee: "liked" racist tweets were hacked

Faculty association president Brandon Gramer said in response to DiBella's allegation, "First he was Photoshopped. Then he was hacked. Now he blames the faculty. Who will he blame when the prosecutor's report is released?"

DiBella initially posted on Twitter and told the Press that an image of a tweet that initiated the uproar was "Photoshopped," or digitally altered with a software program. When other tweets that were still active on Twitter and linked to his account were brought to his attention, he told the Press his account had been hacked.

Tuesday night, DiBella told the audience that someone created an "imposter" account to make it look as if he "liked" the tweets in question. DiBella described it as "an attempt to defame me because of my conservative views."

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DiBella said he stands by the tweets that he personally authored, and specifically pointed out his support of law enforcement, his opposition to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for president, and his opinions that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is a "disgrace" and racial tensions are worse now than they were before President Barack Obama's administration began. DiBella tweeted under the handle @JosephMDiBella. The account has since been set to private so only his followers can see his posts.

Not all who spoke Tuesday night opposed DiBella. David C. Sander of Asbury Park apologized at the meeting for calling DiBella a "racist" on social media and for calling DiBella's employer to demand he be fired. DiBella is managing director and executive vice president of the benefits consulting practice at Conner Strong & Buckelew, a national insurance advisery firm based in New Jersey.

Faculty and students: Tweets 'fly in the face of diversity'

Students and faculty Tuesday night still questioned DiBella's claims of account hacking. Others said the tweets DiBella admits he personally authored are just as offensive and don't reflect well on Brookdale.

Phyllis Shafer, a professor of business administration, said DiBella's tone in his Twitter account "flies in the face of diversity and inclusion" that are part of Brookdale's mission statement and urged the Board of Trustees to take action.

"Anything short of dismissal shows a lack of compassion, social consciousness and courage," she said.

Brookdale board chairman Carl Guzzo and the college's attorney Matthew Giacobbe refused to let speakers show the tweets on video screens at the meeting, saying, "This is not an AV show."

Watch the video to see some of the tweets and 'likes'

Diana Glynn, an associate professor of psychology, said trustees on college boards elsewhere have resigned over less offensive tweets than those DiBella posted.

She pointed to a board chairman of Ursinus College, a small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, who resigned over tweets the student body found offensive, including one that referenced women wearing yoga pants that students described as body shaming.

Glynn said compared those to tweets that DiBella confirmed he posted regarding the Black Lives Matter movement. In that tweet, DiBella called the movement "a fraud" and posted an image with text that claims Black Lives Matter did not respond to Louisiana flooding because "you can't burn and loot buildings that are under water."

DiBella said he stands behind his statement.

"I don't believe in Black Lives Matter. I believe all lives matter," he told the audience.

Gramer, president of the faculty association, Tuesday night pointed to a tweet DiBella posted with an image of Ronald Regan and the Rat Pack and text that read, "When men were men and knew what bathroom to use."

"I feel silly to have to explain why this tweet is wrong," he told the trustees. "It should be up to the college to explain why it should be tolerated."

Jennifer Holmes, 28, of Freehold, told the trustees that instead of asking DiBella to resign, Brookdale should find people of color or the LGBT community to fill open trustee roles.

"If you do, in fact, do that, I will explain why I do belong in the women's bathroom," said Holmes, who is a transgender woman. "This is not about deciding what's bad. It's about growing. It's about love and coming together as a community."

Susanne Cervenka: 732-643-4229; scervenka@gannettnj.com.