Surry Co. Leader Apologizes for Comments on Facebook

WESTFIELD, N.C. (WGHP) - Paul Johnson, the chairman of the Surry County Board of Commissioners and a state Senate candidate, apologized on Tuesday for referring to two other office seekers as a "dumba**" on Facebook, according to the Mount Airy News.

According to the paper, the statement appeared late last week on Johnson's Facebook profile page. The comment stemmed from a conversation between Bennie Harris, former chairman of the Surry County Republican Party, regarding the candidacy of Stokes County Democrat Robert Nickell. Nickell announced he was seeking his party's nomination for the Senate.

Harris posted on Johnson's page, "Who the heck is Robert Nickell? He says in this morning's paper that he wants to use the state Senate seat to repeal NAFTA. Is this guy really that ill-informed?" Johnson later replied, "He lives on the Stokes side of Westfield. He's a DUMBA** like RIC MARSHALL."

When the paper asked Johnson how the comment ended up on his page, Johnson said, "I guess you could say bad judgment." The comments have since been removed from his Facebook page.