A top aide to Jeb Bush, former Florida Governor and a potential frontrunner for Republican presidential nominee, was forced to step down on Tuesday, just few days after taking up the role of digital advisor following controversy over his past racial posts and derogatory comments about women on social forums.
Ethan Czahor, chief technology officer for the Right to Rise PAC initiative of Bush, extended his resignation to the former Florida Governor, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“The Right to Rise PAC accepted Ethan Czahor’s resignation today,” Kristy Campbell said in a statement.
According to the reports, Czahor was expected to lead all of the technology efforts of Bush’s presidential campaign from California.
Distancing Bush and his organization from Czahor’s views and posts, Campbell in the statement said, “While Ethan has apologized for regrettable and insensitive comments, they do not reflect the views of Governor Bush or his organization and it is appropriate for him to step aside. We wish him the best.”
Soon after the news broke on Monday about Czahor’s hiring by TIME (which first reported it), several Democratic operatives as well as BuzzFeed came up with some of his controversial tweets which also included derogatory comments about women.
This marks the first dramatic episode in the so-called ‘as-yet carefully-controlled’ presidential campaign of Jeb Bush, as the Republican operatives have raised objections over Czahor’s appointment, questioning how Bush’s team went on to hire him without any proper vetting.
On the micro-blogging site, Czahor admitted that he has deleted some of his tweets, saying he don’t find them funny or appropriate any more.
i deleted some old jokes i made years ago that i no longer find funny or appropriate. #learning #maturing
— Ethan Czahor (@czahor) February 9, 2015
Soon after the news broke on Tuesday evening, Bush’s senior aide immediately took to the Twitter. He extended his apology in advance to his successor, saying he has stepped down at right to rise.
i only hope that my recent news won’t dissuade future techies from entering politics, regardless of political affiliations/backgrounds…
— Ethan Czahor (@czahor) February 11, 2015
… and i’ve resigned my role at right to rise. best of luck to everyone there, and i apologize in advance to whoever fills my position.
— Ethan Czahor (@czahor) February 11, 2015