A Democrat challenging an incumbent Republican councilman on Staten Island once called her would-be constituents “misinformed misogynistic racists” and mused about slugging US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, according to copies of messages from her now-private Twitter account.
Olivia Drabczyk, who is vying for the South Shore seat held by Joe Borelli, is a public high school special education teacher who tweeted publicly under the handle @peaceandliv until last year when she restricted the account.
On 10:26 p.m. June 4, 2020, Drabczyk sent Borelli a direct message on Twitter vowing to “troll your account endlessly,” according to a copy of the communication obtained by The Post.
“You thrive on Staten Islanders remaining misinformed misogynistic racists,” she wrote.
“It reinforces the narrative that some average run down white man like you deserves something (a job, a title, power, etc) just because,” she added.
In November 2020, she retweeted a CNN headline about McConnell (R-Ky.), then the majority leader, saying President Donald Trump was within his rights to explore “legal options” after he lost the election to Joe Biden. Above the retweet she wrote: “I’d be fine with those options being punching @SenateMajLdr in the face.”
Reached by phone Wednesday, Drabczyk asked for a couple hours to review the posts before responding.
“The emotions of the time and my deep concern as the mother of a young Black boy led me to reach out to my Council Member in this way,” she said in a statement about the period of protests following George Floyd’s death.
“I apologize for my choice of words and generality. The sentiments were prompted by my Council Member’s divisive social media presence at a time when he had the opportunity to message unity and healing and failed to do so,” Drabczyk said.
At the time, Borelli had said that the coming $1 billion defunding of the NYPD would invite crime.
“I am sorry that we’re talking about tweets as Hurricane Ida is once again flooding the South Shore, and instead of talking about the special education students and families waiting on mandated services, seniors facing food and housing insecurity, and the disproportionate impact of the opioid epidemic on the South Shore,” she said in the statement.
Borelli called her remarks about his constituents inexcusable and is calling on the Staten Island Democratic Party to withdraw its support for Drabczyk. The party’s leader, Assemblyman Michael Cusick, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“When she knocks on your door, there’s no need to answer,” Borelli told The Post in a message to voters.
“This is what she thinks of you. We all hate the traffic, hate the cost of living, and have a lot to complain about as Staten Islanders, but in the end, it’s the people who make up our community which gives us the strongest reasons to stay. It’s a shame she doesn’t see that,” Borelli said.
While Drabczyk has no political experience, she’s raised enough money to qualify for $156,000 in public matching funds — just $4,000 less than Borelli, according to campaign finance records.