the gop guy who posted "teach kids to change gears not genders" flipped his car on saturday night. gears, shawn.

via the New Bedford Light, WBUR and the Boston Globe

One of the memes was a slogan on a car window: "Teach Kids to Change Gears Not Genders."

Shawn Oliver, a New Bedford city councilor, had shared it on his personal Facebook page sometime between May 2019 and February 2022, the New Bedford Light reported in 2023, along with two other memes aimed mostly at trans people. He apologized at the time: "I do see that my actions caused harm and for that, I apologize."

This year he became the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. And around 11:40 p.m. on Saturday, police say, a car overturned on Dartmouth Street in New Bedford and struck parked cars. Five vehicles were involved and two had "extensive damage," police spokesperson Holly Huntoon told the Light. The driver was Oliver. He was treated at St. Luke's and then arrested.

what he is charged with

Operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation and speeding, WBUR reported, citing Huntoon. Police said he admitted to "at least" two alcoholic drinks, the Globe reported. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in New Bedford District Court on Monday and was released on personal recognizance. These are charges, not convictions.

The gears, it turns out, were the hard part.

how fast his own side moved

By late Sunday morning the man at the top of the ticket, gubernatorial nominee Mike Minogue, wanted him gone. "Shawn is lucky to be alive and lucky that no one innocent was hurt," Minogue said in a statement. "There is no excuse for driving under the influence." A few hours later Oliver suspended his campaign on Facebook, saying the election "is too important to be overshadowed by personal matters."

His name stays on the Nov. 3 ballot. Minogue told reporters on Monday that Oliver "will not be" lieutenant governor even if the ticket wins, the Globe reported, which is a sentence you rarely hear a candidate say about his own running mate two weeks out.

No one else was hurt, Minogue said, and that is the part that matters. Everything else is a campaign that spent years worrying about what kids learn, and ended on a Saturday night on Dartmouth Street.