A candidate running for the Metro Nashville school board has been criticized for tweets he admits to posting several years ago.
Jackson Miller, an entrepreneur, is running against incumbent Will Pinkston to lead District 7 of the Metro Nashville Public Schools.
He announced his campaign at the beginning of the year and made it his mission to make Nashville the #1 urban school district in the country.
"I have told my story as someone who wasn't successful in our schools which is the same for the majority of the students we have now," Miller told NewsChannel 5. "For me this is trying to make Nashville the best it can be."
The father of six has been knocking on doors with volunteers to help spread his mission but recently, Miller had to address a topic that he feels is taking away from the purpose of the race.
This week, Chelle Baldwin discovered a nearly decade old tweets posted by Miller deemed to be offensive, misogynistic and insensitive.
"He should know better, he should have known better eight years ago," Baldwin said.
Miller said the tweets are in bad humor and meant to be sarcastic but Baldwin thinks it was poor decision.
One tweet said, "It has been awhile since I bent Excel every which way and made it my b***."
Another saying, "POW or not, McCain just proved he is a p****."
Another tweet states," The iPhone so easy, even a retard can use it."
Just last year, he called a retired school teacher an abusive a*****e.
"Obviously as a mother with a child with a disability, the r-word kind of cuts to the bone," Baldwin added.
Despite concerns from several parents, Miller said the tweets were old and has grown since posting them.
"I said some things that were offensive and apologize for that," Miller said. "I'm not trying to hide it but rather I recognize it was inappropriate and is part of correcting my behavior."
Miller has apologized and addressed some of his comments on Twitter and Facebook but questioned the purpose of bringing up the tweets.
"Why are we having this discussion about my comments almost a decade ago," he questioned. "How are we not discussing why my opponent and I differ in our views to make Nashville the best school district in the country?"
Critics said the posts show reason to be concerned about Miller's leadership abilities.
Will Pinkston told NewsChannel 5 Baldwin was a supporter and friend of his, but denied any involvement in the discovery of the tweets saying "absolutely not."
Early voting starts July 15 and Election Day is August 4.
