Virginia Gov.’s appointee resigns over social media posts

RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia governor’s new appointee to a state council on women’s issues has resigned because of past derogatory comments about Catholics she made on social media.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Gov. Ralph Northam’s appointee, Democratic activist Gail Gordon Donegan, resigned Tuesday from the Virginia Council on Women.

Two Virginia Catholic bishops had called on Donegan to resign after media reports detailed some of the comments she had made on Twitter.

Some posts mocked Catholics as pedophiles. She also made vulgar comments about Republican politicians. Before she resigned, the corporate lawyer from Alexandria defended her posts, saying her father was severely beaten in Catholic foster homes. She also said her husband is an ex-Catholic “and he’s not offended by my tweets.”