A former Google executive and president of a San Francisco Bay Area school district has stepped down after his wife made vulgar commen...
A former Google executive and president of a San Francisco Bay Area school district has stepped down after his wife made vulgar comments about Kamala Harris on Twitter, alleging she is only qualified for office because she's a black woman.
Jon Venverloh resigned on Sunday as president of the Las Lomitas Elementary School District in Menlo Park stating he needed to focus on his family.
His wife Mehridith Philips Venverloh had tweeted about Vice President-elect Kamala Harris: 'All she needs to be qualified is a black p****! No brain needed!'
She later deleted the post and account. However, screenshots of the post have been shared on social media, sparking outrage and prompting calls for Venverloh's resignation as school board president.
Former Google exec Jon Venverloh resigned as president of the Las Lomitas Elementary School District on Sunday following his wife's offensive tweet about Vice President-elect Kamala Harris over the weekend. Jon and Mehridith Venverloh pictured together above
Mehridith Philips Venverloh had tweeted about Vice President-elect Kamala Harris: 'All she needs to be qualified is a black p****! No brain needed!'
'I stood for election to be a trustee because I care about doing the right thing for ALL of our kids in our District,' Jon Venverloh said in the statement according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
'However, given my wife’s social media posts, which expressed reprehensible views that I do not agree with, I know that my continued service would be a distraction from the work that needs to be done in the District over the two years remaining in my term,' he added.
Mehridith, who works for the Venverloh Family Trust and formerly worked as a youth pastor and volunteered for Mothers Together at Menlo Church from 2012 to 2014, issued an apology on Facebook on Sunday, blaming the post on changes in her medication.
'Some of you know I suffer from a debilitating neurological disease, and as a result I take various medications,' she said, according to The Almanac.
The shocking post degraded Harris after the presidential election was called in favor of Joe Biden and Harris as VP
Las Lomitas Elementary School District said in a statement Monday that district staff condemns 'any and all racist statements made by anybody.' A view of the Las Lomitas Elementary School in Menlo Park above
'Over the past several days I have been weaning off of my meds to prepare for a hospitalization that is scheduled to start tomorrow (Nov. 9). I believe that the change in my medication reduced my judgment between right and wrong when I made the posts. There is no excuse for what I wrote, but I ask for your understanding that my state of mind was far from normal last night,' she added.
Her husband Jon said following her apology: 'Mehridith is not a racist in the least; she personally has done a lot of great work for underprivileged communities.'
'In this case I believe she was trying to be humorous and sarcastic and completely missed the mark, possibly because of the situation with the meds. Her remarks are atrocious and unacceptable nonetheless, and she is now devastated, broken and deeply sorry,' he added.
Las Lomitas Elementary School District said in a statement Monday that district staff condemns 'any and all racist statements made by anybody.'
Following the scandal Mehridith said: 'Some of you know I suffer from a debilitating neurological disease, and as a result I take various medications. Over the past several days I have been weaning off of my meds to prepare for a hospitalization ...I believe that the change in my medication reduced my judgment between right and wrong when I made the posts'
Venverloh formerly worked as a Google executive. He was elected to the school board in November 2018. His term on the board was set to expire in 2022. Jon and Mehridith together above
'Every member of our community, regardless of who they are, is responsible to craft a culture of love and acceptance at Las Lomitas. Bigoted statements that question the integrity, accomplishment and character of people of color, of women, of LGBTQ+ people and of people who live at the intersections of these communities are intolerable and have no place in our Las Lomitas family or on either of our campuses,' the statement continued.
Venverloh formerly worked as a Google executive.
He started his career at Google in 2002 as the Head of Federal sales before moving to Head of Distribution Partnerships in 2005 through 2010.
In 2012 Venverloh became Head of Business Development and held various positions leading global sales for the tech giant until his final position as Director of Program Management from August 2018 to July 2019 based in Mountain View, California.
He was elected to the school board in November 2018. His term on the board was set to expire in 2022.
Now the school district's Board of Trustees will either hold a special election to replace Jon Venverloh or select an appointment process to fill his vacancy.
The trustees in a statement denounced Venverloh's wife's comments as 'abhorrent and... racially-based and gender-based hatred.'
The Board further acknowledged that Venverloh did not make the offensive statements himself and he condemned them.
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