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Ohio Chief Justice, election opponents condemn Bill O'Neill's Facebook post

O'Neill claimed he has been "sexually intimate with approximately 50 very attractive females," including "a gorgeous blonde who was [his] first true love" and "a drop dead gorgeous red head from Cleveland."
<p>William O'Neill</p>

Ohio Supreme Court Justice and Democratic candidate for governor Bill O'Neill raised more than a few eyebrows Friday after he described his sexual history on social media.

In a Facebook post, O'Neill claimed he has been "sexually intimate with approximately 50 very attractive females," including "a gorgeous blonde who was [his] first true love" and "a drop dead gorgeous red head from Cleveland."

O'Neill claimed to be speaking out "on behalf of all heterosexual males" in response to recent allegations of sexual assault made against U.S. Sen. Al Franken and others. The state Supreme Court's lone Democrat added he was "sooooo disappointed by this national feeding frenzy about sexual indiscretions decades ago."

However, many of O'Neill's political contemporaries are now speaking out against his remarks, including his colleagues on the state Supreme Court.

“I condemn in no uncertain terms Justice O’Neill’s Facebook post," Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor said in a statement. "No words can convey my shock. This gross disrespect for women shakes the public’s confidence in the integrity of the judiciary.”

Former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, one of O'Neill's Democratic candidates for governor, tweeted she was "horrified" by the Facebook post and called on O'Neill to step down from the court.

Fellow Democratic candidate and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley also called for O'Neill's resignation, tweeting, "Sexual harassment, degrading and devaluing women is not a joke."

Former State Rep. Connie Pillich called O'Neill "a friend" who had donated to her own gubernatorial campaign, but she also called on him to resign, and pledged to donate all of his campaign contributions to women's organizations.

But there's nothing funny about sexual assault. Justice O'Neill should resign and I will be donating his contributions to orgs helping women.

— Connie Pillich (@ConniePillich) November 17, 2017

State Sen. Joe Schiavoni also called for O'Neill to step down, saying the justice "is not speaking 'on behalf of all heterosexual males.'"

On the Republican side of the race, Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor stopped short of calling for O'Neill's resignation but did call the post "crass" and "dismissive at best," adding, "We have to be better than this."

Prior to today's remarks, O'Neill had previously faced calls to step down from the bench after he announced his candidacy for governor. While O'Neill said he would recuse himself from all new cases, he planned to continue to provide input on the nearly 100 current cases before the court.

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