Coming to a school near you: Councilman Josh Binda slammed for shirtless pic to promote speaking tour
LOSANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A city councilman from Washington is facing flak for using a suggestive photo to promote his speaking engagements at middle and high schools, and for having a 'Harry and Meghan-sized ego' while doing so.
Josh Binda, 23, was elected in 2021, becoming the state of Washington and Lynwood's youngest African American to hold elective office.
In recent years, he has expanded his "Love Conquers All" speaking tour to include other schools in the state and country. He claims that he speaks to the students about "the importance of leading with love and chasing their dreams."
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'I truly consider myself a transformative leader of our generation'
In order to promote the tour, Binda, a Black Lives Matter activist and progressive who defeated a seasoned politician to gain the seat, shared a shirtless selfie of himself while also making significant claims about his leadership qualities.
Directly addressing the minors he plans to speak to, Binda said, "As I prepare to speak at more conferences and schools in and out of state here soon, I've had time to reflect on my first tour here and how much all you students truly meant to me." He added, "I truly consider myself a transformative leader of our generation. Someone's whose meant to shift the culture and create change that makes a difference in this world. I am not the leader the system necessarily wants, but I am the leader the system needs and I'm here to shake things up and break barriers for future generations."
'An ego competing with Meghan and Harry'
Conservative talk show personality Jason Rantz claimed that Binda had "an ego competing with Meghan and Harry," as reported by DailyMail. Social media users and people outside the district have expressed their disdain for the image. One of the user said, "Might want to alert local school boards who might be foolish enough to pay his expensive speaking fees." Another user wrote. "Just who is hiring this guy?" The third user wrote, "Unbecoming for a council member, but an even worse sexualized advertisement for his Jr high and H. School tours," as reported by Lynwood Times.
The Lynwood Times reported that he was earning $14,000 in speaking fees from the schools, which sparked concern about the trip. Mario Lotmore, who wrote the article and served as the paper's publisher, came under fire from Binda, who claimed that Lotmore, a former State Senate candidate, "made it [his] mission to tear me down cause they see the influence and power I have over the next generation and don't like it."
