By Jack Krampitz and David Fortier
Members of the Bristol Democratic Party decried the growing incidents of hate speech in the city and criticized the administration of Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano for doing very little about the problem, at a press conference on Monday.
In addition, the Democrats called for the resignation of the manager of the Bristol Farmers Market for the last two years. As recently as a week ago, posts by the manager on his Facebook page included racially charged language.
The press conference, held by the Infinite Hope Mural featuring black luminaries Maya Angelou and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Bristol historian Barbara Hudson, drew about 50 people, including news media from the Harford Courant, Fox61 and Channel 3. (check these).
Ken Rasmussen-Tuller, chair of the Democratic Town Committee, opened the 2 p.m. press conference, which included local Democrats as well as the Lieutenant Governor and members of the NAACP.
“The Bristol Democratic Party is taking a stand to support all of our neighbors and businesses and to let them know the fear and hate mongering that has been seeping into our town is wrong,” Rasmussen-Tuller said.
In pointing out that 8.2 percent of Bristol residents are foreign born, 6 percent of the population is African American, and 17 percent is Hispanic, followed by a variety of other ethnic backgrounds, as well as there being 117 minority-owned businesses on record in the city today, he set the stage for the speakers who followed.
Scott Rosado, former Democratic city council member and current Democratic mayoral candidate, said he was proud of the work accomplished in the previous administration to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, making sure that everyone who lives and works in the city feels welcome and safe in their neighborhoods.
Rosado is the first Hispanic candidate to be elected to the city council.
“During the aftermath of the George Floyd murder,” Rosado said, “we held a community conversation with residents, local officials, community organizations, and our local police to continue our efforts in making sure our community was inclusive.
“We fully funded and supported our Police Department, community policing initiatives, and the role of school resource officers in our schools.”
He said regardless of political, sexual or gender labels, the administration flew flags signaling to these segments that they were supported.
“We had an active and engaged opioid task force that won awards and helped families and individuals understand what the path to recovery was,” he said.
The administration actively recruited residents from diverse backgrounds and races to boards and commissions, he said, giving them a seat at the table.
From upper left, clockwise, Morris “Rippy” Patton, community activist and Democratic candidate for 2nd District; Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz: State Rep. Mary Fortier: the crowd alongside the Infinite Hope mural; Corrie Betts, State Criminal Justice Officer for NAACP and president of the Greater Hartford NAACP chapter; and Mayra Berrios-Sampson, resident and former city council member. | David Fortier
“Unfortunately, we are here today because the current mayor and City Council elected together in 2021 have not embraced the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in Bristol and once again we’ve been the target of outside groups coming here to promote a racist and divisive message,” he said.
In June of 2022, he said, a group came into Bristol and dropped racist literature promoting white supremacy in the driveways of a neighborhood. Bristol residents went to a City Council meeting looking for a response.
“They didn’t get one,” he said.
Last week, he said, another white supremacist group came to town promoting a ‘KEEP CT WHITE’ message, wearing masks and holding torches.
This weekend, he said, a Bristol resident from one of our minority communities brought to the attention of Democrats a post by the man who has run the city’s Farmers Market for the last two years, under the auspices of the mayor’s office. The message in the posts is full of hate towards blacks.
“Today, the diversity committee barely has a quorum,” he said. “There are no flags flying. The opioid task force has only met a handful of times. There has been a landslide of resignations from boards and commissions. And there are questions as to who is being replaced, reappointed or endorsed for committees.”
“I tell you today that we do not support any hate acts of racism in our community,” he said.
In addtion, he said, if elected, he would work to make sure the city has tougher ordinances to ensure Bristol’s citizens are safe.
“That would be one of my top priorities,” he said.
Rippy Patton, former chair of the DTC, former vice president of the local NAACP chapter and current candidate for City Council in District 2, reminded the audience that this week is the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s March on Washington.
“It breaks my heart that 60 years later we still have to carry on that legacy,” he said. “My grandfather moved to Bristol in the ‘40’s. He came from Mississippi to Bristol so that his children would not feel the sting of racism that he felt in the South. And here we are almost 100 years later with his grandson in front of you fighting the same fight.”
Patton called out the current Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano for his “vanilla and vague responses” to the presence of white supremacist in the city over the past two years and asked for him to speak out.
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz (sp) cited statistics that have seen 207 incidents involving white supremacist propaganda in 2022, a 115 percent increase from the previous year, and efforts on behalf of the state to address the problem.
“We have seen racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic messages in people’s yards, and we found flyers on car windows,” she said.
As a result the state has created its Hate Crime Council and the state police Hate Crimes Unit.
She condemned hate groups and their activity, and credited local law enforcement for their efforts to address them.
Rasmussen-Tuller ended the conference with a specific list of actions for the mayor and community:
- Take a proactive stance and remove the current farmers market manager from his position.
- Send a report to the state of Connecticut Hate Crimes division of the events in Bristol so that it is documented.
- We’re asking members of the community to step up and serve on boards and commissions so that a diverse group of voices are heard and are impacting how local policies are made.
- We would like to especially have a call to action for volunteers from diverse backgrounds to contact the mayor’s office and offer to serve on the diversity committee so that it can return to full strength and take up these important issues.
- last but very much not the least, educate yourself on the candidates. And get to the polls and vote.
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