this charlotte mayoral candidate wants you to know that she’s white!

A whack-a-do running in Charlotte, NC’s mayoral race wants you to know several things about her: she’s a Republican, traditional, and  white. 53-year-old Kimberley Paige Barnette, a former Mecklenburg County magistrate, is one of three Republican candidates running for Mayor in the growing Southern city, and, according to her, one of her campaign platform positions/qualifications for the position is her whiteness. The dark horse candidate updated her Facebook account last Friday to express her, uh, “values” which the Twittersphere met with disgust and confusion.

Barnette, unsurprisingly, is also a documented queerphobe who is passionately against LGBTQIA rights. Writing in July Barnette said, “I would not support the local Ordinance LGBT. I was a magistrate in Mecklenburg County (Charlotte, NC) for over 18 years. I issued a warrant on a male for secret peeping in the local shopping mall years ago in the restroom.” “I don’t believe that transgenders should be in bathrooms based on their, who they identify with, I never have,” she said. “I believe that there could be a separate restroom, but however I do not believe that that should be allowed whatsoever,” because they will “scare children”. Barnette has since removed the content from her Facebook page, tightened up her privacy settings, and released the following statement:

“I’m not prejudice. I do not judge other people. Other people judge me. What is the difference? I say I’m white. Others describe themselves as example transgenders. Are they labeling themselves? I’m also a divorced mother of two adult children. I accept others as who they are. I have traditional conservative views when it comes to family and friendships.”

If you have to explain that you’re not racist—you’re probably racist.