First Dropout of the 2026 Campaign Caused by Anonymous Social Media Posts

There is a popular saying among younger people which is shortened to FAFO—f*** around and find out. A long-term city employee and prospective political candidate just found out he could not escape his supposedly anonymous social media account. He made posts to that account which contained racist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic, and other bigoted content, even though he thought nobody would figure out the source. How was the connection made? The author posted an easily identifiable photo of himself visiting Morocco at the end of December 2025 to the supposedly anonymous account.

The candidate in question is Scott Means, who until Monday, June 29, was preparing a campaign for Alameda City Council. But after posts from AUSD School Board president Ryan LaLonde to the Alameda Subreddit and the Alameda Peeps Facebook group, Means has deleted the offending social media account, taken down his campaign website, and removed his LinkedIn profile.

There is a deep disconnect between the content posted to this social media account—including posts mocking trans people, progressives, the LGBTQ+ community, and other ethnicities—and Means’ work as the appointed president of the City’s Social Services and Human Relations Board (SSHRB), and his seat on the board for Alameda Family Services (AFS). And before those roles in Alameda, he worked for the City of Oakland, in the Parks Department, as the Aging and Adult Services Manager and as the Interim Director of Human Services.

AFS CEO Katherine Schwartz acted swiftly and sent a letter on Monday explaining that Means had resigned from their board effective immediately. But fallout didn’t stop there. Although Means’ term on SSHRB was due to expire on Tuesday, June 30, Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft confirmed to the Post that she asked for and received his resignation on Monday, June 29, and expressed that she never would have chosen him to serve on SSHRB if she had known about his social media posts.

Means also worked with the Alameda Post, providing listings of volunteer opportunities that he was curating for the City, and promoting an age-friendly community survey for the City.

Before it was disabled, his campaign website stated, “Scott Means has spent four decades doing the work most politicians only talk about—building human services programs, organizing communities, and reforming government from the inside. Now he’s running for Alameda City Council because the island city he loves—where his family has roots going back generations—deserves the same level of care.”

The Alameda Post spoke with Means on Tuesday to give him the opportunity to explain himself. He acknowledged the account was his and repeatedly stated that he took full responsibility for the posts. He said has deleted the account as well as the Twitter/X app and didn’t want to drag the situation out. “The best thing to do was to drop out of the campaign, all boards, and commissions in Alameda,” he said.

“I understand I have personal work to do,” he continued. “I regret any harm or damages done to the community. None of my statements were ever meant to do anything harmful to people who live in Alameda.” He says he realized the harm the account had done was far greater than anything else he had ever done and he is fully disengaging from representing any other social services.

However, when challenged as to whether he would have posted the same content to an account with his name on it, he unequivocally stated, “[That account] is for posts I wouldn’t want to say in public.”

Related Articles

Five Vie for Two Council Seats in November Who Will Replace Barbara Lee in Congress? Five Senate Candidates’ Stances on the Border, Crime, Economy Final Alameda Election Results

He said he created the social media account 2008—the account stated it was created a year later—while he was working for the City of Oakland and wanted to post his political takes anonymously, without jeopardizing his job. Then, he claimed the account was dormant for many years, until he picked it back up during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

“The persona [of the account] took on its own personality,” Means said. He explained that his views were centrist and that he was willing to “take on anyone on either side,” but also that some of his posts came from a position of ignorance, without his being fully informed on the topics he opined upon. He lamented that he should have shut down the account before preparing to run for office and expressed regret that his actions might impact the work he has done in social services for the City.

“I hope people move on and can pick someone that they can really support and do the work for them,” he said.

When asked about the name of the social media account, which at first glance seems to be a reference to the recent “Hawk Tuah” girl internet meme, Means clarified the name was from the South American Mataco people’s trickster figure.

When candidates run for public office, their lives invariably come under scrutiny. We want to know about their views and feel confident that the person we consider voting for shares our values. Some candidates can survive this kind of close examination unscathed. But others, as Means has found out, cannot.

To be fair, there are people who share the views he posted to his social media account and would endorse his candidacy if he had been open about those opinions, ill-informed or otherwise. But when someone has a career of working toward laudable goals yet disparages them privately, people notice and respond negatively. Nothing is private on the internet anymore (if it ever was). Someone WILL find it. Being a political candidate requires integrity and consistency to succeed. Compromising that by saying one thing while doing another always gets found out.

Adam Gillitt is the Editor and Publisher of the Alameda Post. Reach him at [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Adam-Gillitt.