David Fortier, Laura Bailey and Rit Carter contributed to this report
The city council received an earful from speakers at Tuesday night’s city council meeting, the first in the newly renovated city hall and the last before this year’s municipal elections in November.
During the public portion of the meeting, eight residents stook to the microphone and expressed their anger and frustration with Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano and several members of the city council.
Criticism once again was focused on the mayor and Republican Town Committee for endorsing of a controversial candidate for the Board of Education and the mayor’s narrative about the city and its progress under his administration. One speaker questioned the mayor’s use of the city’s credit.
In addition, new revelations from old Facebook posts, this time from an account by a councilor, included references to racist and sexist tropes, were raised, and a second council member was set apart as having undue influence in the selection of the controversial Board of Education member.
Under business and reports, the council approved going forward with a letter of recommendation that would aid the owner of the former site of the Chic Miller auto dealership to obtain funding for brownfield clean up. Another endorsement, for a cannabis manufacturer and sales firm to set up business on Main St. was tabled while waiting for action from the state on its application.
An amendment to the current city ordinance was approved for permits and permit fees and failure to secure a building permit. New fees are not less than $200 but not more than $1,000, for each incident. Imprisonment is not to exceed six months.
In public participation, Mike Erosenko returned to the subject of the endorsement of Jennifer Van Gorder to the Board of Education, questioning the mayor about his motives for backing Van Gorder and directing his final comments to District 2 council member Susan Tyler, another Van Gorder supporter.
Erosenko pointed to his son as being the reason for his concern about Board of Education candidates.
“He is 4-years-old and he says about five words,” Erosenko said, “so this Board of Education thing is very important to me.”
Erosenko reiterated that he has been very clear about his disdain over the selection of Van Gorder over Rob Parenti for the Board of Education and admitted that he had a hard time understanding the mayor’s selection. Caggiano and RTC chair Whit Betts have been credited with the final decision, choosing Van Gorder over Rob Parenti, special education teacher and administrator.
“Rob Parenti has dedicated his entire life to helping those with special needs like my little man,” Erosenko said. “To my knowledge Jennifer does not have the background in education.”
He then compared an example of Van Gorder’s take on education, as reported in a newspaper account warning about an epidemic of trans and bisexual kids inundating the school system, versus a statement from Parenti, who said that serving students and their parents is his purpose in life.
“I am here to tell you tonight that I don’t care if Alex is gay or bisexual,” he said. “I care, Mr. Mayor, that he is self-sufficient. What keeps me up at night is the realization that someday I will be gone and my son is going to need adult resources and a government funded home.”
He then turned his attention to Tyler, whom he credited with putting Van Gorder in place for the purposes of political expediency, specifically to position Van Gorder for future elections, and how a seat on the Board of Education would give her political credibility.
“I am telling you, my little Alex and his development, he is not a pawn to be used for political cred,” Erosenko said.
In addition, he admitted that he has been very critical of Tyler on Facebook and that her recourse has been to take legal action, which is a shocking turn for an elected official.
“Tell me, Mr. Mayor, is it acceptable for elected offices to seek legal action against residents who speaking out for what’s best for their child? I know you know the answer,” he queried.
Erosenko then asked the mayor to make a motion to censure Tyler for intimidation by an elected official for seeking legal action against a resident, a suggestion which the mayor did not act on.
Erosenko, early in his statements, thanked council members Erick Rosengren, Andrew Howe and Cheryl Thibeault for taking a stance against Van Gorder on Facebook. They are the first Republicans to break with the party line, set by Caggiano, who refuses to publicly criticize Van Gorder.
Democrats have been vocal in their opposition to Van Gorder’s endorsement since its announcement. Van Gorder was in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.
It is widely known that Erosenko has left the Republican Party over the endorsement. He has been vocal, not only at meetings, but also on Facebook.
Several other speakers addressed a number of items, from the Van Gorder endorsement to the mayor’s narrative about the city’s progress but also brought forward new revelations about Facebook posts and some unusual charges by the mayor on what amounts to incidental expenses.
Among the speakers at Tuesday night’s council meeting were Deb Schur, clockwise from top left, Shelby Pons, Stacie Roberge, Sarah Sullivan and Morris “Rippy” Patton. | Laura Bailey
Peter Kelley, former Democratic council member representing District 2, returned to the podium where last month he called out the mayor for his narrative about the city’s progress and where progress for the many projects now underway belongs.
“When I was here in August to remind you which administration should be taking credit for projects happening,” Kelley said, “my list proved popular and I decided that maybe my future is possibly that of a social influencer, so I am back with another list so that maybe I might could have as many video hits as you, Jeff, except mine will be more substantive.”
The reference to video hits was directed to the number of videos that Caggiano posts regularly on the Mayor’s Office Facebook page and as part of his campaigning.
“It’s seems that you are beginning to understand that you are not the sole reason downtown is developing around us,” he said.
Kelley listed the projects that began under the previous administration or the one previous to that, including Bristol Health, Rt. 69 and 72 intersection project, Chic Miller brownfield and Bristol Health among others.
His purpose on this occasion was not to tout the accomplishments of the previous administration, but to ask about issues that have gone unaddressed.
“So tonight, my list is, Why haven’t you done videos on these issues?” Kelley said. “Covanta, where’s that issue, after the election this toxic issue evaporated into thin air, pardon the pun.”
He then included the closing of Associated Springs, a Barnes Group, and displaced workers, as well as the former Blockbusters Video site.
In addition, Kelley raised questions about how the mayor has been using his city credit card, including registration for the Shamrock Run, golf outings and charges for a Wednesday evening at Firefly Hollow, and said he will be filing an FOI request for details.
Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano, left, Councilman Erick Rosengren and Councilwoman Sue Tyler. | Laura Bailey
Stacie Roberge directed her comments at the mayor’s decision making, but this time, not to the choice of Van Gorder for Board of Education, but current city council member Erick Rosengren, who was appointed to fill a vacancy when Jolene Lusitani left the council for a position with the Registrar’s Office.
Roberge held up a stack of papers with copies of posts by Rosengren that she characterized as offensive to women and racist.
“To the mayor, what vetting criterion is used by you and the Republican committee when appointing people to represent your party and who are here to serve this very diverse community,” she said. “You know, ‘All Heart Bristol’.”
“Do you ever look at their social media because a lot can be said about a person by what they post, share and like,” she added.
Roberge said we know about Van Gorder, who posted an antisemitic image in May 2021 that resurfaced recently, but Rosengren has posted from a group declared an extremist organization by the Anti-Defamation League, others insulting to women and others that are racist, for an example of the latter, during the 2012 election, with Barack Obama running for a second term, “Any White Guy 2012.”
Roberge pointed out that Rosengren is the council liaison to the Bristol Housing Authority, “where we serve our some of our most vulnerable population, people who come in all colors and genders.”
“I am very concerned with this appointment as well,” she said, and shared her dissatisfaction with the mayor’s performance and ended her time by passing out copies of Rosengren’s posts.
Deb Schur raised three relating to the vetting of candidates: 1) it’s easy to vet candidates by checking their Facebook pages, 2) or perhaps the mayor was aware of these and 3) vetting makes a difference when voters do not have a say in these appointments.
“The electorate should feel confident in a mayor’s ability to make sound choices,” she said, “and we should be able to rely on his or her honorable judgement.”
She then queried that perhaps his judgement was hindered out of fear of alienating a base that elected him in the first place, one that included homophobes, antisemites and racists.
Shelby Pons, a current Board of Education member, shared an anecdote about the mayor visiting her mother while door knocking.
She responded to two comments he made during the visit. The first was his how he qualified his response to recent racist incidents by saying that he had been advised by Bristol Police not to use the names of the groups to avoid giving them notoriety.
“I don’t believe they are saying you shouldn’t denounce racism,” she said. “And that is not something that I think should be said to people at their doors because they are two very different things.”
A second issue was a statement he made to her mother about the Board of Education.
“You told my mother that the Board of Ed is a mess,” she said, and added, “It’s a narrative I cannot ignore you saying any more.”
Councilman Andrew Howe and Councilwoman Cheryl Thibeault. | Laura Bailey
She said the Board of Education is not a game for her, it takes time and commitment, and the people on it are doing their best for students and parents.
“This isn’t politics,” she said. “We are acting in a bipartisan way, whether or not that’s how you wanted it.”
She finished by asking the mayor not to perpetuate this narrative. As she was walking back to her seat, the mayor, broke from his typical response of thanking the speaker, regardless of what is said, quipped: “And with all due respect I promise I won’t call you a name as you are walk away from the dais.”
Pons, who did not apparently hear the comment, stopped and asked the mayor what he said. And he repeated it.
The reference apparently was to an open mic incident after a recent Board of Education meeting adjourned.
Sarah Sulivan took issue with the mayor’s track record on business growth. She listed 13 vapes shops, adding that this is more than found in New Britain.
“Do you think these businesses add to a quality of life in Bristol?” she asked.
She finished with a list of restaurant closures and again asking what the mayor has done to assist them.
“I think the Bristol public deserves to have an honest conversation about this not just a salesman version of what you want people to believe,” she said.
Morris “Rippy” Patton, who is running in District 2 for a city council seat, has been outspoken about recent racist and white supremacist incidents, and particularly critical of the mayor’s response, which has emphasized hate, generally, rather than confronting the racism directly.
“As I said two months ago, racism is never a personal or political thing, it’s a human thing,” he said, “so right now we have someone who is putting themselves out there as an antisemite, serving on the Board of Ed in a month with no competition.
“That’s because of you. You did that,” he continued. “When asked about her, you defend her. You pivot.”
He added that the mayor does not defend Jewish people, people of color and LGBTQ+ kids.
“The children she is going to make life harder for,” Patton said. “You defend her.”
He commended council members Thibeault and Howe for taking a stand against Van Gorder’s candidacy, something, he said, despite having fundamental disagreements in other areas with the two.
“Bristol needed to hear that from people who sit in positions like you have,” he said.
He did ask about why it was, however, that people have been silent about Councilwoman Tyler, who has also advocated for Van Gorder and even threatened legal action against people who take issue with her appointment.
The speaker prior to Patton, Brian Cohen quizzed the mayor repeatedly about his relationship with a former Republican Town Committee chair, to which the mayor answered that the meeting was not the proper place to answer.
After public participation, the meeting resumed as usual. Later in the meeting, one councilor brought up the Covanta issue that Kelley raised in his comments. Thibeault, a former Covanta employee discussed the current situation, which is basically status quo with the state.
Covanta had applied for a permit to burn medical waste prior to the last election, which was a campaign issue.
Covanta, she said, does provide reports that are not required and has undergone improvements however in the interim, which makes them a good neighbor.
The mayor, once again, repeated that he would be acknowledging members of the former administration for their work setting the renovation of City Hall in motion at dedication ceremonies on Oct. 21, and welcomed the public to the ceremonies and well as an open house afterwards.
The meeting began with the mayor acknowledging the contribution of D’Amato Construction and their role in the renovation of city hall and thanking the last two administrations for their roles with the planning. He included city workers for their contributions. He also presented a schedule for offices to return to city hall.
Correction: The open mic incident involving Pons did not occur during a Board of Education meeting, as indicated in the original article, but after the meeting concluded.
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