An off-putting remark about one president landed another one in the doghouse for two weeks.
Southington Chamber of Commerce President Arthur Secondo was suspended without pay for implying in a public meeting that President Barack Obama was the Antichrist, several news sources report.
During the town council meeting on Feb. 9, Secondo said, “and everybody loves this Obama. ... I think we should check the back of his head to see if he has 666 there, but that is another issue,” according to meeting minutes.
Secondo, a registered Democrat who supposedly voted for Obama, said he would take the statement back if he could.
State Rep. Bruce Zalaski, D-Southington, a member of the Democratic Town Committee, told the Meriden Record-Journal that Secondo's remarks don’t reflect badly on the party.
"I think Art is an honorable person. He tried to explain what he meant," Zalaski told the Record-Journal. "If he meant it as derogatory, I think he would admit it."
"His comments were very distasteful," Town Council Chairman John Barry told the Hartford Courant. "But Art knew that immediately and he was very remorseful. People were in shock, we didn't understand why he made the comment."
