Westland mayoral candidate accused of offensive social media posts, residency questions

WESTLAND, Mich. (FOX 2) - Westland mayoral candidate William Asper is facing stiff opposition not from other candidates but his would-be constituents and a group of grassroots women residents behind a Facebook page.

They point to jarring comments on social media made in his name several years ago.

Leslie Rzeznik, a precinct delegate, is raising serious concerns about his residency. She filed a complaint with the clerk's office after watching Asper's recent court hearing and says he actually lives in Canton, not Westland.

"Fifteen times Judge (Mark) McConnell asked him where he lived," said Rzeznik. "Not once did he ever just answer the question.

"That was when I realized this guy doesn't live in the city. And he doesn't have the right to run as mayor of my city."

That claim is now the subject of an election commission meeting Wednesday.

Asper has drawn the ire of some residents after the resurfacing of old Facebook comments in response to a woman asking if she should tell her 8-year-old daughter that Santa Claus is not real:

"He told her that her daughter ought to be in special education, she said her daughter gets great grades," said Tricia Ray. "He said the only reason she gets great grades is because she does sexual favors for them."

And that is not all.

"He told her that the only way she was ever going to have a smart child is if he impregnated her," said Jessica Grevenstuk. "What kind of thing is that to say to a woman, especially these days."

FOX 2 spoke to Asper Tuesday who denied writing the social media messages.

"No, I did not make those posts, I have said this a number of times," he said. "The post is, I want to say, about seven years old. Back then, I was about 29 or 30, I was going out (to) bars, clubs, whatever it was. I didn't have a password on my phone. People got into my phone, got into my Facebook multiple times. And we're talking about personal videos and other stuff as well as that."

"Every time somebody calls him out about something he posted that was derogatory or negative, he claims that his Facebook has been hacked," said Ray. "Like his Facebook has probably been hacked 150 times in the last six weeks according to him."

FOX 2 also asked Asper if lives in Westland. He only offered this:

"You can have a principal residence exemption in another city and live in a different one - and that's the biggest thing," he said. "A lot of people don't know real estate rules or any of that."

Asper is also on probation for attempted aggravated stalking. He maintains that the person who brought that allegation against him filed a false police report.