A man running for office is stirring up controversy with social media posts some say are hateful and downright wrong.
Louis Tafoya is the only Republican running for state representative against Democratic Incumbent Georgene Louis in Albuquerque in a district that stretches from the Southwest Mesa to the South Valley, but some find his Facebook posts concerning.
“New Mexico deserves somebody who is going to check their facts before they click, ‘share,’ on their Facebook page,” said Khadija Chudnoff, a member of UNM’s Muslim Student Association. “This is something a teenager would do. It’s not something someone searching for political office should be doing.”
Tafoya’s personal Facebook page, which is open to the public, shares a link titled, “Pedophilia & Islam.”
It takes people to a post that says, “pedophilia is widely accepted in many Muslim countries.”
The site describes all Islam as radical and encourages people to virtually burn a Quran.
“As New Mexicans, as people who have lived through this, we should be aware of this kind of hateful rhetoric and we shouldn’t allow it,” Chudnoff said.
KRQE News 13 tried to reach Tafoya for comment but did not hear back.
On a campaign Facebook page nearly two years ago, Tafoya posted a joke that all religions can get along but Muslims can’t get along with anyone.
As Chudnoff was explaining how common this hate-talk is, someone interrupted the conversation.
A passerby proved her point, calling her a “Taliban.”
Chudnoff smiled through the tears.
She said she is still hopeful this will stop some day.
The Republican Party of New Mexico released the following statement regarding Tafoya’s Facebook posts: “The Republican Party of New Mexico does not share this same view. We support Civil Rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, gender, handicap, religion and national origin; as well as the principle of individual value, respect and dignity.”
Tafoya ran for state representative in 2012 and lost.