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Janet Sterman was voted out of office following a Democratic party hearing at Newton City Hall.

NEWTON A local Newton Democratic official was ousted from her post Tuesday night, after city party leaders complained that she supported Republican candidates for office and posted racially insensitive social media posts during her tenure.

Janet Sterman, who had served as chairwoman of Newtons Ward 1 Democratic Committee since 2009, was voted out of office and removed as a member of the city committee following a party hearing at City Hall.

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In an interview prior to the vote, Sterman said she is an outspoken bold personality who voices opinions that can differ from the citys local party leadership.

They are telling me that I cant speak out, said Sterman.

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But Shawn Fitzgibbons, chairman of the Newton City Democratic Committee, said some of Stermans social media posts showed her supporting Republicans over Democrats, including 2016 GOP presidential candidates Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson.

Fitzgibbons said other posts were racially insensitive or offensive to minority groups, including comments on Islam and the transgender community.

He contended that Sterman was unable to serve as a representative of the party because of her public positions.

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She can run a meeting okay, Fitzgibbons said, but otherwise, she is doing the opposite of [being] the ward chair in the Democratic party.

The local Democratic party includes a citywide organization, plus groups based in each of the citys eight wards. Members are elected for four-year terms on the citys presidential primary ballot, and work to drum up support for Democratic candidates and causes.

Over the past year, Fitzgibbons said, some committee members have been collecting Stermans social media posts, and created a file of about 50 comments they said violated the organizations rules.

There has been significant extended effort to address this problem with Janet, Fitzgibbons said.

Sterman criticized members of the Newton City Democratic Committee who saved copies of her posts, including from her personal Facebook page.

It is unbelievable the length they will go to go after one person, Sterman said.

Those posts were the focus of much of Tuesday nights hearing, which drew a crowd of about 30 people, including 19 from Stermans ward, to a room at City Hall.

During the hearing, Fitzgibbons pointed to posts he said showed Sterman either didnt support Clinton, backed Trump, or were things youd see on Fox News. In one post taken from the citys Republican party Facebook, Sterman could be seen seated at a table with members of the GOP organization and a Trump campaign sign in the background.

She is a mouthpiece of Republican causes and a supporter of Republican candidates, Fitzgibbons said during the hearing.

He also criticized posts that threaten peoples civil rights and were insensitive toward Muslims, blacks, and Hispanics.

Sterman didnt attend Tuesdays hearing, but her attorney, Guive Mirfendereski, criticized the venue and said voters should make the decision on whether Sterman serves as a committee member. He said Stermans public comments do not contradict the requirements of her office.

He said Sterman should be able to socialize with others, regardless of their party affiliation, and criticized efforts to remove her.

What is going on here tonight is the Democratic party eating its young, he said during the hearing.

Following a nearly two-hour hearing, Ward 1 committee members who were present voted 15-4 to remove Sterman from her ward chairwoman post. The same vote also removed her as a member of the city Democratic committee.

The hearings moderator, Margaret Mardee Xifaras, a New Bedford attorney who has been active in Democratic party circles, said Sterman has 30 days to appeal the vote to the states party committee.

In a phone interview Wednesday, Sterman said she will change her party affiliation from Democrat to unenrolled, but has not decided if she will appeal.

She said the proper rules werent followed in calling the hearing or conducting the vote, and called the partys decision stupid. She said she will be difficult to replace because she worked diligently to build up interest in political issues within Ward 1.

The Democrats in the city are not nice to me. They are nasty people, Sterman said.

Sterman first got involved with Newton politics in 2007, when she ran unsuccessfully for Ward 1 alderman-at-large as an independent. The run led to her recruitment into the city Democratic party two years later, she said.

Sterman described herself as a moderate Democrat who staked out her own positions, including support of Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race, although she voted for Clinton over Donald Trump in November. She also opposed Newtons sanctuary pledge for immigrants, which had the backing of the citys Democratic committee.

On her personal Facebook and other social media sites, Sterman posts and makes comments on news stories, including a range of issues, including Israel, Muslims, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the transgender community.

Sterman said her posts are made as a private individual, and not a representative of the ward or city Democrats. She said she posts about issues she thinks are important and deserve broader discussion.

Barbara John, the Ward 6 chairwoman, said in an interview that Stermans comments, including those about Islam, made her unsuited to serve the interests of the citys Democrats.

She cant represent my beliefs as a fair-minded person, John said of Sterman.

But Sterman argues she has been a loyal Democrat. In an email she sent Monday night, Sterman wrote she actively supported Democrats, including gubernatorial runs by Steve Grossman and Martha Coakley, state representative campaigns for Kay Khan and John Lawn, along with candidates for local offices.

She said she has grown the Ward 1 committee from 18 elected members in 2009 to 30 this year, plus organized the wards Democratic Caucus for the party state convention from 2010 through 2016, and again for the upcoming party convention in June.

A fellow ward chairwoman, Larissa Hordynsky, who leads the Democrats Ward 3 committee, said shes worked with Sterman on public forums on health care, housing, and other issues.

Hordynsky said she doesnt share Stermans views, but credited Sterman with increasing the visibility of Ward 1s committee.

She has been a very good and very active chair, Hordynsky said.

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'Outspoken' Democratic official ousted from Newton party committee - The Boston Globe