A local politician from North Carolina abruptly stepped down from his post this week after he claimed he could no longer stand the bullying he’s been suffering at the hands of one of his colleagues.
Jerry Windle is, er, was a member of the Morrisville Town Council in North Carolina. That is until earlier this week when he announced his immediate resignation halfway though his four-year term.
In an emotional statement given at a Town Hall meeting on Monday, Windle, who was elected in 2017, said he was through with the homophobic treament he’s been receiving “by the same person” for years.
He did not call out the person by name.
“I cannot in good conscience serve on a council that has knowingly allowed me to be bullied and harassed when it could have been stopped more than a year ago,” Windle told his colleagues, saying that the bullying, which has included antigay slurs and slander both in public and on social media, began when he was on the campaign trail and continued after he was elected.
“I don’t run from bullies and I don’t walk away from a fight,” Windle said, “but I will walk away from a system that prefers passivity and an institution that has allowed bullying to reign free.”
“Bullying is an ugly monster that should frighten us all.”
After Windle’s resignation, Morrisville Mayor TJ Cawley put out a statement praising him for his passion and positive accomplishments. There was no mention of the harassment alleged by Windle.
Mack
Shouldn’t resign, should just call the bully out publicly. All he’s doing is giving in.
pharaon.em.joe
Instead of telling him what he should do, why don’t you run for council and take in the bullying yourself?
alanb32244
I agree with you, however, North Carolina has pockets of hatred. In general, it is a wonderful state, but you have to take care to pick the right county and town you live in to feel safe and appreciated.
lcandela123
Agree. There’s something odd about this story. Maybe he has no witnesses to the abuse, and he’s concerned it would just be one person’s word against the other. Anyway, if the abuse did occur, I bet it’s no secret who the culprit is.
I don’t understand Pharaoh.em.joe’s weird response to you.
JWindle
Mack – I want you to know that I did not resign because of the antics of one person – I resigned because the Mayor and other Council members would not call out publicly what they witnessed occurring on more than one occasion. It is impossible to get a complete story from an article written. There is nothing sketchy about this at all. I know it is easy to be skeptical, but until you have lived a year asking your Mayor and colleagues to bring the cursing/name calling that was done behind closed doors to an end, you just don’t realize the impact — again it was the inaction and passive allowance of reprehensible behavior that made me decide to resign. I CHOSE not to work in a toxic environment. I can serve the public in many ways – just as I hope everyone who is commenting on this article will.
GayEGO
I agree, but he must be in a good position to do so to avoid other harrassment.
Jaroslaw
Yes Mack, it would be nice if Windle included an explanation of why he didn’t want to name the bully, especially if the attacks were on social media, etc. which is public information.
JWindle
The Council Member is Michael Schlink – I have gone on record about this many times before my resignation. The majority of people of Morrisville know the person. This wasn’t a social media attack – this was in during my campaign (with residents witnessing it); and at town retreats that are outside the public eye (no cameras or recordings) but were in the presence of the Mayor and other members of Council. Hope this provides some clarity.
GayEGO
I see that Jerry Windle has named him, er, I would name him Michelle Stink!
yaletownman
Just another day in the ‘White Trash
Confederacy’
Kieran
Just say NO to racism.
dwes09
Strange comment to post regarding a term devised by southern whites and used overwhelmingly by whites as an indicator of economic class and status. White Trash was seen as being only one step above the “N*****s”. Seems you really have no idea what racism means.
But here’s a clue (likely over your head though): it is not reaction by an oppressed racial minority towards the majority that has institutionalized their oppression.
Vince
dwes09
Yep. There’s ghetto trash and and white trash in the world and we all know exactly what the term defines. I’d say it’s very fitting in this here case.
HenryCameron
White-trash Confederacy? Seems someone needs to come down out of that ivy-covered tower and reexamine his preconceptions before hurling slurs. The alleged bully Schlink is originally from Peoria, Illinois. Not sure where Mr. Windle is from, but he went to college in Oregon and has lived all over the country, so he doesn’t appear to be a NC native. The mayor is originally from Larchmont, New York. The Mayor Pro Tem was born and raised in northern Michigan. Two of the other three council members are Asian(Indian)-American. One is from West Virginia, but he talks about his ancestor being a politician in India in the 1930s, so no Confederate there. The other is an immigrant himself from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. That leaves just one white councilwoman who might actually be from NC, but couldn’t determine from info online. So, now that we’ve ruled out white-trash Confederates as the culprits, I don’t suppose you’d like to cast some generalized aspersions at carpetbagging Yankees and foreigners.
Juanjo
I see Henry the fake Cameron is incapable of reading comprehension, much like dwes09.
HenryCameron
@Juanjo – Please enlighten us. I took “Just another day in the ‘White Trash Confederacy'” to mean “this is just another example of white Southern bigots behaving like they always behave.” What did I miss?
vonlmo
All to often victims of bullying aka terrorism have committed suicide. Good that he didn’t do that , tho he perhaps did kill off his career in local politics. A better option existed had he expressed his free speech rights & gone full-on Dan White on his oppressor.
Kieran
So the bully won. Thanks Jerry, for standing weak.
JWindle
Kieran – I don’t see it the same way as you do. There are 7 members on Council. 6 members of council are very aware of the behavior of Michael Schlink. They have all heard him. I stood strong when no other member of council would speak publicly. I lodged a complaint with the Mayor and he just wanted me to “turn the other cheek”. When it was obviously not going to end, I spoke up publicly. In turn, I had several of his supporters spew half-truths and lies before council – attacking me for telling him to stop. No Council Member came to my aid – to my support. This is why I resigned. I hope you can imagine yourself in a similar situation, and see it a little more from my eyes.
Kangol2
@Kieran, seriously? Let’s see you stand up to this kind of bullying and harassment, and deal with it with zero support from people who could respond but don’t. There’s a great study on “mobbing,” which describes abusive behavior used to drive targeted individuals out of jobs, and it sounds like Mr. Windle endured a form of it.
@JWindle, you have my support and I hope you continue to find ways to serve his communities. I also hope this Schlink person eventually has to pay for his bullying, homophobic behavior.
In general, this underscores the need for a FEDERAL law to ensure equal treatment under the law for LGBTQ people. More than half of US states do not have such protections on the books, despite the fact that we now have same-sex marriage, that you cannot be jailed for having sex with a person of the same sex in your home, etc. But you can be fired or bullied, without little to no recourse, in a number of venues.
Kieran
@JWindle I just hate to see a bully win. The homophobe should have been the one leaving the council, not you. I would have preferred you stayed and fought back. But at the end of the day it is your decision and I wish you the best.
iamru2
Sketchy story to say the least!
Juanjo
Sketchy is anything you post. Mr. Windle has posted here. Why don’t you address your drivel to him, if you have the cajones to do so? Pendejo.
IWantAFullBeard
If you find this “sketchy” it’s simply because you are an idiot.
lovethyneighbor
My heart goes out to Mr. Windle because of the harassment he endured due to the antics of Mr. Michael Schlink. I admire WIndle’s ability to realize when nothing would be done and enough is enough. Unfortunately, under the Trump administration, the bullies are having their fun because the leader is the biggest bully of them all. When one gets older, they have to make decisions based on medical or physical complications, which can lead to an extreme impact on the body.
Most generally, we, who are part of the LGBTQ+ community, elect officials into office, but we don’t realize they become a target of hate, intolerance, and many right-wingers. Our LGBTQ+ politicians need a strong support system where people come to their aid and not shame the victim.
There is great irony in the fact that many claims to serve God and are born again, while they support infantile supremacists and claim that God has ordained them in one way or another. My attitude is, use your so-called Christian values to hide your ability to hate because God knows your heart, Michael Schlink. My experience with bullies has been, the ones who constantly told me to suck them or bend over, are the ones, who are unable to admit their own desire for those of the same sex. Case in point, “If I point out the beam in my brother’s eye, then no one will see the beam in my own eye.” Shame on North Carolina and many other states that promote hatred of any kind against their citizens regardless of where they stand.
Mr. Windle, may God bless you, and may karma deliver the tidings to each of those individual(s), who delivered bullying tactics to you. For all the laws put into place throughout the United States to enhance equality, they are being disregarded every day. If Christian organizations or other non-profit establishments want to be involved in politics, then let them render all the tax-exempt benefits they have received over many years. If the truth be known, these taxes would probably make up for Trump’s many, many, many vacations to Mar a Lago.
JamJewel
Y’all need tor read other media to get the full story because this one is biased for the subject when in fact, he is as guilty of bullying and harassment on social media as he himself suffered.
greybat
Oh? And where would we find this Story?
Jared MacBride
Respect to Jerry Windle for coming on here to explain his position.
muscl954
Oh, for God’s sake! Put your big boy pants on and call the guy out on his behavior. Don’t quit your job and run away – you’re giving the douche exactly what he wants. Now there’s one less good guy to stand up for others who need support.
PinkoOfTheGange
Mr. Windle,
Thank you for taking the time to fill in the blanks, and politely answering the questions posed by some of our more curmudgeonly keyboard warriors.
Best of luck in your future endeavors.
IWantAFullBeard
I’m really sorry you had to go through that. I understand why you had to leave. I’m very glad you were compassionate to yourself and did what you had to do. If your politics align, you are welcome to come to the beautiful state of Colorado. Our governor is gay and we are so proud of him.
Prax07
@JWindle Not attacking you, just curious. Do you not own a cell phone that can record video or sound? There are ink pens that double as recorders too. If it had been me I’d have recorded every meeting and gone to a news outlet. Or I’d have kicked the asshat in the balls. I know things are all pc these days but sometimes the old ways work when it comes to bullies.
JWindle
Hi. A private citizen is on record stating that she heard CM Schlink make a threat toward me and curse me for not being willing to support his position on a project proposal. This was while I was running for office. The Mayor was present when he called me every name you can imagine and I instantly looked at the mayor and told him I was formally complaining of harassment to him. I told the Town Manager the next morning and the Town Attorney. However they work at the pleasure of the Council, so they genuinely have no authority. It is a Council issue. The Mayor didn’t want problems on Council, I was the “freshman” and he asked me to “turn the other cheek”. They collectively said “that is just how he is”. I did turn the other cheek but it didn’t stop. The mayor didn’t want the public to know there were such vile issues happening. He wanted to be passive about it and wanted me to just deal with his antics until the next election and then work to ensure he didn’t get re-elected. I ran in the same ticket as the Mayor. I campaigned my back side off for him. He knows exactly what happened because he was there and witnessed it. His not validating what happened is why this has blown out of proportion. Because he doesn’t want the Town to think there is a problem, I end up receiving the negativity—and the bully sits with the Cheshire grin as I am forced to defend myself. Isn’t it odd how this type of things seems to always play out in our society. No matter what focus on the recipient and look for flaws rather than focusing on the perpetrator. I totally understand why people would question – the Mayor holds all the cards. I told him before he could have ended it all a long time ago. The backlash I have received is 100% because he will not step up in public to say exactly what he knows to be true. He did tell all council in a private meeting though. Sadly that does nothing for the public’s perception.
DavidCogginsCogan
The amount of victim shaming on here is so disappointing, unnecessary, and mean spirited. No one understands the situation better than former Councilman Windle, but the fog of ignorance certainly doesn’t stop some individuals on here from offering their wise counsel and admonishments of weakness. Unless you’ve campaigned for elected office, I doubt you have much idea of what goes on. I’m a councillor in the UK, and if I’d been born in the States, I’m not sure I would have stood for local government there as the political climate is so much more vicious towards queer minorities. I admire and respect Councilman Windle for having the courage to stand for office, knowing that his sexuality will be weaponised against him.
Some individuals on here have claimed that without Councilman Windle’s presence, no one is there for the ones who need support. Perhaps Councilman Windle needs our support? Maybe the one place that Councilman Windle thought he could receive near unanimous support and succour would be a queer audience online? Unfortunately not.
The most galling aspect of the keyboard warrior types is that they make little mention of the bully. It seems that the onus is on Councilman Windle to take the brunt of the disappointment and anger when it should be directed at CM Schlink.
Perhaps as a community we can demonstrate more compassion and understanding towards those around us who need some bolstering every now and again. No one can be ‘strong’ 100% of the time, and it plays into the hands of bigots to see someone needing help be castigated for not perceivably doing enough.
Councilman Windle, you have my respect, admiration and gratitude. You freely gave up your free time to help your community and improve the lives of those around you. I can think of no nobler motivation and I sincerely hope you return to politics in the future.
RExxx59A
“We aim to provide a fun, entertaining, and enjoyable space that celebrates LGBTQ people and culture. We encourage people to comment on articles and engage in conversations, and we strongly discourage (and will not allow) being mean-spirited.”
-Queerty Comment Policy
I post this comment knowing in advance that I will likely be ripped to pieces in a blog filled with comments from nasty, mean spirited, “blame the victim”, narcissistic, tools, trolls, and douche-bags. The majority of posts in this blog ARE often seriously mean-spirited, and vicious.
Mr. Windle, I believe your statement. I would not ask you to take a lie detector test. And since I’m sure that many people don’t believe you or think that you “asked for it”, or “dressed in a suggestive manner;” I’m sure they are lining up to take Mr. Schlink out for drinks and lunch. It seems to me that they just wanted you the hell out of town. Now yes, N. Carolina has some wonderful and very accepting places, all over the state. WELL, so does EVERY other f-ing state in the country. IE: Massachusetts, Texas, Georgia, Montana. On the other hand, there are also places that I wouldn’t drive through in an armored car with the support of a full SWAT Team and F-18 air support.
(Borrowed from David) – “Councilman Windle, you have my respect, admiration and gratitude. You freely gave up your free time to help your community and improve the lives of those around you. I can think of no nobler motivation and I sincerely hope you return to politics in the future.”
And, to all those who are condemning you to eternal hell for not holding your ground and taking on the whole town, I say “don’t condemn me until you’ve walked a mile in my shoes.” PS: I’ve been putting up with shit for 50 years. I doubt anybody can come up with anything new. HUGS.
Juanjo
well said.