David Fortier, Rit Carter and Laura Bailey contributed to this report
Tuesday night’s candidate forum at Manross Library was a free-wheeling one-hour and 40-minute affair, which included several interruptions from the audience and one huddle so a mayoral candidate might consult with his slate of candidates.
Audience members looking for the mayor to repudiate a controversial candidate for the Board of Education for an antisemitic post might have walked away disappointed, but the 75 people who showed up received plenty of give and take on issues from downtown development to diversity.
Although she was not in attendance, the proverbial elephant in the room was Republican Board of Education candidate Jennifer Van Gorder. Following an antisemitic image that was posted in 2021 but recently brought to light, her name was invoked or implied many times.
“I think, we should let individuals speak for themselves,” Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano about the Board of Education candidate, Jennifer Van Gorder, who posted, back in May 2021 an antisemitic image, which resurfaced recently.
Republican Caggiano was responding to his Democratic opponent Scott Rosado who raised the issue in the first minutes of the forum, in answer to the first question from the moderator.
“So I think all of you should do your homework and see what Jennifer said,” Caggiano advised after sharing that he called Van Gorder, immediately, once the news broke to confirm she did post the image.
Van Gorder posted an apology the evening before the forum but did not attend, as was the case with her fellow Republican Board of Education candidates.
Left: Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano. Right: Mayoral candidate Scott Rosado. | Laura Bailey
COUNCIL MEMBER ASKS ADDRESSES VAN GORDER
While Caggiano refused to address the Van Gorder situation, District 3 Republican city council member Cheryl Thibeault went much further and said she asked Van Gorder to step down.
“I personally asked the candidate to withdraw. I sent an email and asked for the withdrawal,” Thibeault stated to applause.
In other areas covered during the forum, Caggiano took credit for most of the work being done downtown, including Wheeler Clinic, which early in his administration was voted down and had to be salvaged with a second vote.
In answering a “yes/no” question about whether the city would ever fly a Gay Pride flag over city hall, Caggiano said that the decision was not his to make, referring to a Supreme Court decision that he said decided the issue, an interpretation that again deflected responsibility.
“One of the big reasons that we passed our ordinance a little over a year ago was based on that Supreme Court case,” Caggiano said.
The ordinance, passed prior to the court’s final decision but while it was in deliberation, states that the flag flying over city hall is limited to the American flag, the Connecticut flag, the city flag and some flags associated with the military, such as MIA flags.
“This is a Supreme Court decision that you can look up in Boston that really doesn’t give us much liberty to pick and choose one over the other,” Caggiano said, and concluded, “That’s a ‘No'” to the question.
City Councilor Cheryl Thibeault (left) answers the question posed by Logan Williams (left) about Jennifer Van Gorder’s actions. | Laura Bailey
SUPREME COURT CASE SETS PRECEDENT
The Supreme Court case from May of 2022 says that there needs to be a distinction between whether a city has, through the use of its flagpole, created a public forum or whether it is expressing its own opinions.
A city might fly a Gay Pride flag if it were expressing support for the LGBTQ+ community, however, rather than a city agreeing to fly the flag at the request of a particular group.
Beginning with his opening remarks, taking Caggiano to task for not taking a stronger position on the Van Gorder post, Rosado challenged Caggiano on downtown development, diversity and leadership.
“The statement from Jennifer Van Gorder is very disturbing,” he said, “disturbing to the community, disturbing to the position she is about to uphold, and action needs to be taken. She needs to be removed off that ballot anyway possible.”
Later, in responding to the question about the flying of the Gay Pride flag at city hall, rather than jumping in, Rosado asked to huddle with his slate before replying that the city would fly the flag under his administration and would find places where it would be displayed prominently.
“We will represent each and every one,” he said.
In another answer, Rosado, in answering a question about a plan to support businesses, said he would rely on his background as a small business owner for 35 years. “It’s simple,” he said, “It’s easy, it’s easy,” but did not present any further explanation, except to refer to his background as a small business owner.
The forum held Tuesday night in the basement meeting room at Manross Library and sponsored by the local chapter of the NAACP, has become an election year staple. This year the task of moderating the event was handed to Dana Snell, from Plainville, insulating her from any partisan leanings.
In laying down the guidelines for the evening, she said, “We are not interested in negativity, in throwing tea or shade.”
And she cautioned that, if necessary, she would exercise her authority to cut people off, which she had to do since there were several outbursts from the audience as well as attempts by the candidates who pressed for additional time to rebut.
Left: Republican candidates. Right: Democratic candidates. | Laura Bailey
MODERATOR LAYS OUT GUIDELINES
Candidates were given three minutes to answer questions posed by the audience; questions not directed to a specific candidate could be discussed among the parties and an individual candidate chosen to answer.
Two outbursts dealt with the Van Gorder’s actions and the mayor’s response. A third was directed at the possibility of censorship of books.
Two people from the audience, Logan Williams and Michael Erosenko, taking on the Van Gorder issue, have left the Republican Party over Van Gorder’s endorsement, prior to the surfacing of the antisemitic post.
It was in response to William’s query, from the audience, “What consequences should be imposed for candidates running for public office who engage in actions of prejudice and bigotry like Board of Education candidate Jennifer Van Gorder?” that Thibeault told of her email asking Van Gorder to withdraw.
All was not about Van Gorder. At one point a member of the audience raised the issue of book censorship in schools. Ralph Parent said over the din of the crowd directly to Caggiano that if this happened, he would go after the mayor’s job, which garnered laughter.
The forum attracted eight Democrats in person and one virtually. There were Rosado, running for mayor, District 1 candidates Kim Caron and Andrew Rasmussen-Tuller; District 2 candidates Liza Salgado-Sirko and Morris “Rippy” Patton (virtually); District 3 candidates Mark Dickau and David Landi; and Board of Education candidates Shelby Pons, Corey Nagle and Maria Simmons.
Republicans in attendance were Caggiano, running for mayor; District 1 candidates Sebastian Panioto and Erick Rosengren; District 2 candidates Sue Tyler and Jacqui Olson; District 3 candidate Thibeault. No Board of Education candidates were in attendance. Andrew Howe, from District 3 was also absent.
Patton, who is running for a seat in the second district and attended virtually, answered a question about diversity, which has been a consistent theme throughout this year’s campaigning.
“The reality is addressing diversity has to be something that is lived not just when you are voted in or not voted in, why you become involved in politics. You have to look at people’s lives and say, ‘Do they have a record of service to other people?'” he said.
“Then you know and you don’t have to wonder where their commitment comes from, or whether or not it’s genuine. So I would just advise people in the crowd to look at your candidates from that perspective. It’s easy to say one thing, and then not do it.”
Left: BoE Commissioner Shelby Pons. Right: City Councilor Sue Tyler. | Laura Bailey
PATTON PRESSES CAGGIANO
Early in his statement, Patton addressed Panioto, who questioned the motivation behind a press conference called by Democrats that confronted another common theme, that Caggiano has been less than enthusiastic about his response to racism, white supremacy and antisemitism.
He said, “The press conference was held specifically to address the fact that Mayor Jeff Caggiano refuses to condemn racism in Bristol. If all you took from that press conference was the fact that one quotable that was attributed to Scott Rosado that was in the Hartford Courant I think that is reflective of your own personal commitment to diversity in Bristol.”
Patton’s comment elicited a response from the mayor who said that he did condemn the racist flyers that were dropped in the northeast section of town as well as each time there was an incident.
The mayor waved a stack of papers, which he said were copies of newspaper articles where he is quoted as condemning hatred, from July 2022 through August 2023. The leaflets were dropped late in May 2022. The latest incident occurred in August this past summer.
“We believe in equality and equity for all those kinds of things aren’t good for anybody talking about racism or hatred. And this is an all-heart city where there is no room for racism,” he said.
Caggiano added that he consults with the local chapter of NAACP and the Bristol Police for guidance in handling the situations.
“We treat every case individually,” he said.
Left: Mike Arashinko reacts to a statement from Sue Tyler. Ralph Parent addresses Mayor Caggiano. | Laura Bailey
CANDIDATES ON RACISM
Patton’s District 2 running mate, Salgado-Sirko, addressed racism.
“What standing up against racism means to me is active fighting for equality and justice for all, amplifying marginalized voices and promoting inclusivity,” a statement that received applause.
Simmons, running for Board of Education said, “My values run deep. I do not, however, allow racism to be a part of my space, not only with my children, not only with people that are close to me in my circle, but publicly speaking up against the things that hurl and marginalize people in our community. Things that create separation do not have a place in our community, in the Bristol all-heart community.”
Rasmussen-Tuller, running in District 1, and Nagle, running for Board of Education, addressed a question about how to increase diversity, specifically for the LGBTQ community.
As the only LGBTQ candidate, Rasmussen-Tuller pointed out that one of the first things the Caggiano administration did was to shut down the Gay Pride flag ceremony.
“It shows that we are not the all-heart city. We don’t recognize the LGBTQ community,” he said, and referenced New Britain mayor Erin Stewart, Republican, who does fly a Gay Pride flag there.
Nagle, an educator who advised the Gay Straight Alliance club at Bristol Central High School before moving on–students at BCHS renamed the GSA, Liberated LGBTQ+ while he was there–along with another club where he connected with Rosado, said the two discussed many ideas about how to support these students.
“A lot of those ideas are about how we can support our young people and be advocates for themselves,” Nagle said, “making sure their voices are heard.”
He qualified, “I’m not going to say giving them a voice because they have a voice.”
Left: Moderator Dana Snell. Right: BoE candidate Corey Nagle
FOCUS ON BRINGING DOWN BARRIERS
Pons, running for Board of Education, focused her comments on bipartisan efforts on the current board which have addressed new programming for black and Hispanic curricula and the removal of gate fees to sports and arts programs, the latter of which is a financial barrier for many families.
“The No. 1 lens I wear when I sit on this board is removing barriers, looking at policies and seeing what are the unintentional consequences that are harming some of our community members and making sure that we look at those and we change those,” she said.
Landi and Caron, running for District 3 and District 1 seats on the city council, addressed a question about food insecurity among seniors.
Landi said it was important to find out directly from seniors why they are food insecure. “Is it access to food? Is it financial? Is it transportation. Are they just not able to make food on their own? So all this adds to food insecurity. I think we really need to find out why a lot of them are feeling that way and where we can bridge that gap.”
Caron said she would like to see more community health workers involved in the solution, helping to identify the issues.
Among Republicans, Panioto, incumbent from District 1, took issue with a statement that Rosado made at the press conference Democrats called to bring attention to Caggiano’s tepid response to racist, white supremacist and antisemitic incidents in the city.
In addition, Democrats revealed Facebook posts from the former manager of the Bristol Farmers Market that surfaced containing racist posts.
The source of Panioto’s comments was a comment during the press conference that stated the Diversity Council for which he is the council liaison had been inactive.
Left: Democratic candidates huddle to discuss the Pride Flag. Right: Jen Dube reacts to Mayor Caggiano’s statement about Jen Van Gorder. | Laura Bailey
PANIOTO REBUTS
“That’s just not the case,” Panioto said. “You know, we have volunteers there. They have families, they have jobs. They dedicate time to doing this outside of those area of their life.”
Panioto extolled the virtues of the Diversity Council chair and the work that the council has accomplished over the past two years, including a panel series and addressing race relations and autism issues.
“We do hold space for a lot of different communities,” he said, and added he was excited about four new members joining the council recently.
In addressing food insecurity among seniors, Thibeault, District 3 city councilor, said as part of her job with the New Britain Housing Authority, she will be attending a national conference, where one of the topics is dealing with seniors and how to handle their insecurities.
She said she will share what she learns.
“It’s a true issue,” she said. “We need to address it, but it’s going to take a team and we just can’t always depend on the government for that. It has to be a private public partnership.”
In response to the racism question, Thibeault said, “It comes down to two quick things, we are all made in his image. And I strongly live that out and that we are to love one another.”
Olson, who is running to retain her seat in District 1,” in referring senior needs recommended connecting with the Bristol Senior Center.
Left: City Councilor Sebastian Panioto. Right: City Council candidates Kim Caron and Liza Selgado-Sirko. | Laura Bailey
SENIOR CENTER GETS KUDOS
“You can call the Senior Center for anything,” she said. “They will take care of any problems and issues that anyone has. They’re amazing.”
Olson, in discussing racism, said, “I stand against racism because I don’t believe that anybody should be racist. “I have a biracial family, so that would be kind of weird for me to be a racist.”
Tyler, addressing racism, said, “I stand against racism by the way I live my life, in every single action I take, in every single decision I make.”
In addressing, senior food insecurity, Tyler said, “It’s the relationships that we form with our seniors that allows the door to open. So that is not just government because I think government needs to kind of stay or of a lot of things.”
Rosengren, who is council liaison to the newly established Fair Rent Commission, explained the function of the commission and its goal.
“It basically looks after the tenants, making sure that the landlords just can’t come in and go, ‘Well, this was $1,000. Now I want $1,700,’ ” he said, adding that the commission also protects landlords as well.
“We have renters on the commission, and we have tenants on the commission,” he said, “so everyone is included, and everybody has a voice as a commissioner.”
The crowd watching the candidates speak. | Laura Bailey
MORE FROM MAYORIAL CANDIDATES
On downtown development and the Wheeler Clinic, Caggiano said, “I hate to do it, but the Wheeler Health project was completely turned down and completely restarted under our administration, and I am proud of that project.”
He added, “So I would take an awful lot of credit for that project.”
Caggiano pointed to two new projects, including Roosters Chicken and Waffles coming to Riverside Avenue and that plans are underway on Parcel 10 on Main Street across from Pint & Plate for 30 new apartments and four work units on the first floor.
In response, Rosado said, “If we are not giving credit to the past, guess what? We are not moving forward.”
He added that taking credit for Wheeler, “That’s absurd to me.”
In discussing more development, Rosado said that it’s not enough to relocate businesses from other parts of the city downtown, but to consider a more wide-ranging approach.
“You have to really look at every neighborhood, every aspect in our community, and we have to build this community from the outside and when you do that it becomes more vibrant.”
Caggiano responded by pointing out that grants under his administration have brought in Bristol Works and Bristol Bizarre.
“By the way,” he said, “both are downtown.”
Both candidates addressed a question on whether there would be spending cuts, coupled with a question about caps on rents.
“So right now we have 67 homeless people sleeping in the streets. We have just had 17 evictions. The highest we’ve seen,” Rosado said. “And you know what that was from? Redeterminations. Some of our senior populations are getting evicted because they didn’t submit their forms properly.”
He said the same was true of some younger families, too.
“That’s the system,” he said. “The system needs to be corrected.”
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