By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org

Goffstown has new sexual harassment rules for elected officials after a sexist and homophobic text written by Republican state Rep. Joe Alexander came to light.

“I was surprised and truly disappointed in him,” said Select Board Vice Chair Kelly Boyer.

Boyer was the subject of the text Alexander wrote and sent to Select Board Chair Peter Georgantas earlier this year. Georgantas told InDepthNH.org Alexander was angry about a Select Board decision on the municipal budget. Alexander is also an elected member of the town’s Budget Committee.

“Yes, good job I hope you remember who always had your back and not the lesbian clit you wanna lick,” Alexander wrote to Georgantas.

Both Boyer and Alexander are openly gay. Alexander did not respond to requests for comment. 

“He’s obviously … he’s got issues,” Georgantas said.

Georgantas said he pushed back in the text conversation and Alexander apologized to him for the comment. But he’s yet to reach out to Boyer to apologize, which she does not find surprising.

“It’s a pattern of behavior with Joe Alexander to not be so kind to others,” Boyer said. 

Georgantas said it is difficult to manage dealing with Alexander at times. The young state Representative has a rising profile in Concord, sitting in the House Elections Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. But Alexander can be temperamental and troublesome when it comes to town politics, Georgantas said.

“I gotta be careful dealing with him. I make sure I don’t go anyplace he’s at. It’s disappointing I had to expose him,” Georgantas said.

The budget issue that precipitated the offensive text is a typical example of Alexander interactions, Georgantas said. 

“Something came up and I agreed with [Boyer] and Joe took it personally,” Georgantas said.

Boyer is just the third woman in Goffstown’s history to serve on the Select Board, and she wants to make sure no woman is discouraged from taking part in town service because of potential harassment. 

“We are working to try to make sure we can discourage this type of behavior from elected officials in the future,” Boyer said.

The Select Board passed a new code of conduct for elected and appointed town officials as part of the sexual harassment and assault policy. Boyer wants to make sure women who work for the town in any capacity have their rights protected, saying they should be able to do their jobs without being subjected to offensive behavior.

“I want to make sure there’s no barriers to service for other women because of poor behavior,” Boyer said.