Letter To The Editor: Certain Resolutions Should Transend Politics
To the Editor:
At the April RTM meeting in Fairfield, a sense of the body resolution that included Racism as a Public Health Crisis was proposed by the Democrat members of the RTM.
The resolution was drafted without any outreach from the Democrat Majority Leaders to their Republican minority counterparts to work on the proposal jointly prior to its release. Historically, both parties work together on these types of resolutions, which have no binding legal authority, but which are supposed to represent a shared perspective on an issue.
The co-sponsors, both Democrats, obtained boiler plate language in a pro forma proclamation on the website of a Hartford-based, non-profit, public policy, advocacy group. The template was designed using generic language to be approved by municipalities all across CT. We do not think it is by coincidence that the 22 towns that have passed this same boilerplate language have democrat
majorities.
When the resolution was presented to Fairfield’s RTM, it failed to address the unique characteristics of our town and contained no reference to the commitment our town leaders have already made to combat racism. The majority party felt it was important to use a one-size fits all approach to address the needs of our town.
As proposed, the Democrat-sponsored resolution focused solely on racism and excluded discrimination, bigotry, and prejudice against people of many other identities and backgrounds besides race – such as different ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientation, and disabilities. Their copy and pasted resolution also failed to address the health crisis we are facing with mental illness, teen depression, substance/opioid abuse, and violent crime that threaten the lives and
well-being of all Fairfield residents regardless of background.
As an alternative resolution, Jeff Steele, Deputy Minority Leader, R-2, offered an amendment that addressed these other urgent public health challenges and went a step further by acknowledging the work Fairfield is already doing to address racism.
The Republican backed amendment resolved that the RTM:
(1) Fully supports efforts and initiatives to combat racism, anti-Semitism, discrimination and bigotry in all its forms in Town government, the Public School System and in the broader community;
(2) Will consider equality and inclusion in any new or existing ordinances, committees, and commissions approved by the RTM;
(3) Will support initiatives in the Human Resources Department to expand diversity recruitment, and policies in Town government;
(4) Will continue coordinated efforts through the Town to remove the stigma and challenges of accessing mental health services by providing funding, and collaborating with Town departments, so individuals and families can access mental health services without regard for their ability to pay;
(5) Further work to solidify alliances and partnerships with other organizations that are confronting racism and encourage other local, state, regional and national entities;
(6) Will promote continued engagement on issues involving racism, anti-Semitism, discrimination and bigotry among all Town departments and service providers to get their support and input on current processes/procedures and new initiatives to address any issues as they arise.
Unfortunately, the amendment failed on a party line vote.
Sense of the body resolutions are just that, “a sense of the body” and they require a 2/3 vote of the Body to pass. The goal should be to build consensus from the onset, not using a partisan approach of divide and conquer.
In failing to reach across the aisle from the onset to seek bi-partisan RTM input prior to the publication of the proposal; by pre-determining to “expect support from across the aisle” rather than asking for collaboration, the Democrat Majority Leader’s only success here was in sinking her own resolution and rejecting a more encompassing, powerful version from Representative Steele that actually condemned racism, anti-Semitism, discrimination, and bigotry and stated that Fairfield looks to be a welcoming, inclusive, tolerant, and supportive community.
Hyper-partisanship at the local level has reached an unhealthy and unproductive level. The time for partisan gotcha politics must stop so that real governance can begin.
To read the full resolution put forward by Rep. Steele which was unanimously supported by the Republican minority see below.
To watch the meeting click
here:
To view two articles supporting the public health challenges that Mr. Steele
mentions, click here:
Resolution Promoting Equality, Tolerance & Anti-Discrimination in The Town of Fairfield
WHEREAS the Fairfield RTM wholeheartedly condemns racism, anti-semitism, discrimination
and bigotry, whenever and wherever it occurs;
WHEREAS Fairfield residents have experienced racism, anti-semitism, discrimination and/or
bigotry;
WHEREAS Fairfield residents of all identities face many public health challenges, including
mental illness, teen depression, substance abuse and violent crime;
WHEREAS the pandemic has had an unprecedented and far-reaching impact on the mental
health of our residents; further exacerbating struggles that existed long before COVID;
WHEREAS there is no place for discrimination of any kind, including for reasons of race, color,
ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual preference, disability, religious or political beliefs in our
Town, all Fairfield residents should have equitable access to opportunity;
WHEREAS the Town of Fairfield has made a commitment to be a welcoming, inclusive, tolerant
and supportive community to all, taking a position of encouraging diversity of thoughts and ideas, and meaningful dialogue between, and input from, its residents, town government, police, and the school system, and constantly seeking to improve the quality of life for all who live here;
WHEREAS in 2020, the Fairfield Board of Selectmen (BOS), the first in the state, proactively
established a Racial Equity and Justice Task Force to identify any racial and ethnic inequalities
and injustices within Town governance and operations, and to provide the BOS with proposals to
effectively address and eliminate them;
WHEREAS the Town Boards approved funding through ARPA for $75,000 for a Diversity &
Inclusion consultant to create an Affirmative Action Plan, review the Blueprint provided by the
Racial Equity and Justice Task Force, and provide recommendations;
WHEREAS the Board of Selectmen proposed a Diversity Recruitment Coordinator in the FY23
budget to expand the Town’s hiring practices and update the Affirmative Action Plan, once
developed;
WHEREAS the first step, to call and ask for help, should be the most difficult step in working
through any crisis, a full time Town Social Services Director will allow for planning and
reviewing processes and procedures to streamline how services are provided in an efficient,
compassionate and respectful way;
WHEREAS three hundred thousand dollars were designated in ARPA funds to assist local
nonprofits that provide mental health services to residents;
WHEREAS the Board of Education hired a DEI Program Director to provide leadership
fostering the academic and social/emotional growth of all students through the promotion of a
culture of community, tolerance, diversity and inclusion, and support students and staff to
address issues and opportunities that impact student learning;
WHEREAS trust between law enforcement agencies and the people they protect and serve is
essential in a functioning democracy, the Fairfield Police Department has established a
Community Outreach Team, and has fully embraced and implemented community policing best
practices and policies as recommended by President Obama’s Task Force on 21 st Century
Policing;
WHEREAS the Fairfield Police Department has officially established the Fairfield Police
Behavioral Health Network (FPBHN), in partnership with the Department of Mental Health and
Addiction Services (DMHAS), Greater Bridgeport Community Mental Health Center
(GBCMHC), Child and Family Guidance Center (CFGC), Mobil Crisis Intervention Services
(MCIS), Operation Hope, and Fairfield Senior/Social Services, to discuss trending issues, current
best practices, available joint-training opportunities, debriefings on shared investigations, and to
continually evaluate how they can better serve their communities, and each other, when
responding to incidents involving behavioral/mental health;
Now, therefore, be it Resolved, that the RTM of Fairfield:
(1) Fully supports efforts and initiatives to combat racism, anti-Semitism, discrimination and
bigotry in all its forms in Town government, the Public School System and in the broader
community;
(2) Will consider equality and inclusion in any new or existing ordinances, committees, and
commissions approved by the RTM;
(3) Will support initiatives in the Human Resources Department to expand diversity recruitment,
and policies in Town government;
(4) Will continue coordinated efforts through the Town to remove the stigma and challenges of
accessing mental health services by providing funding, and collaborating with Town
departments, so individuals and families can access mental health services without regard for
their ability to pay;
(5) Further work to solidify alliances and partnerships with other organizations that are
confronting racism and encourage other local, state, regional and national entities;
(6) Will promote continued engagement on issues involving racism, antisemitism,
discrimination and bigotry among all Town departments and service providers to get their
support and input on current processes/procedures and new initiatives to address any issues as they arise.
— Fairfield RTM Republican Caucus
Letter To The Editor: Certain Resolutions Should Transend Politics originally appeared on the Fairfield Patch
