Former New Britain mayor and current president of the Greater New Britain Chamber of Commerce has been put on administrative leave after what some are calling a misogynistic Facebook comment during the State of the Union Address on Tuesday night.
During President Trump's address, Stewart commented on a photo of some of the female Democratic lawmakers who attended the State of the Union dressed in white in a show of solidarity.
"**tches in heat," Stewart's comment said below the picture.
Stewart issued an apology for the comment on Facebook on Wednesday afternoon.
"My comment was wrong and in poor taste in response to a particular time during the speech that I took offense to, Stewart said in his post. "This in no way excuses my behavior and I am deeply sorry to not only the women in my life but to all women for the remark."
Stewart resigned from his positions on the New Britain School Building Committee and Mattabassett District Commission at the request of Mayor Erin Stewart, his daughter.
"To all of those asking; I'm embarrassed and mortified," Mayor Stewart tweeted earlier on Wednesday morning.
The comment was condemned by several people, including the chairman of the Greater New Britain Chamber of Commerce.
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"I could not be more disappointed in the social media post made last night by Tim Stewart," Gennaro Bizzaro said in a statement. "His choice of words was inexcusable and has no place in modern civil discourse."
NBC Connecticut has reached out to Tim Stewart for comment, but we have not been able to reach him.
The Chamber of Commerce board members plan to confer to determine what authority they have to discipline Stewart, according to Bizzaro.
The new chair of the state Democratic Party, former Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, also released a statement about Stewart.
"This isn't about Republicans or Democrats. This is about basic decency. No one should speak about any woman that way, ever," Wyman said.
Here is Tim Stewart's apology in its entirety:
"To whom it may concern, My comment on Facebook last evening during the SOTU has caused many people I care about concern over my actions. Let me say that first we are living in a culture where social media has become the public justice system for many who choose to utilize it daily. I along with many other people should know better to not say things that might enflame the public. My comment was wrong and in poor taste in response to a particular time during the speech that I took offense to. This in no way excuses my behavior and I am deeply sorry to not only the women in my life but to all women for the remark. I am also ashamed that I once again have put the Chamber in a difficult position of dealing with a situation that arose from my personal actions outside of work. For that I am extremely sorry as well. I know that the viral effect of this action will continue to enflame people and groups for days to come and I can assure you that I will seek help for the issues that allow me to act in that way. I will begin by terminating my social media accounts immediately after this post and apologize to my wife and daughter. I can only hope pray that people can forgive me for this stupidity even if it means things have to change in my life. I know that my words have hurt many and I will do better as a person I can promise you that."
