Valley Officials And Candidates Issue Statements On George Floyd’s Death, Protests

With riots and looting happening all over the U.S. after the killing of George Floyd in police custody on Memorial Day in Minneapolis, a few lower Valley officials and political candidates took to social media to express their thoughts. 

Here is a roundup of those posts:

State Rep.Themis Klarides, R‑Derby, state House minority leader

“I know I cannot begin to understand the depths of pain and suffering inflicted on our African American communities – not just in the last several weeks – but over the last several centuries – brought on by systemic racism and inequality that led us to where we are today.

I know that not a single thing I say today will end that pain and suffering, but it is so vitally important for me and frankly for all of us to not remain silent as our friends and neighbors of color are suffering.

First and foremost we must condemn these horrendous acts of violence against Black Americans. George Floyd, Ahmaoud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor are just three of the countless lives lost to a system that failed to protect them.

We must acknowledge these wrongs. We must hear the concerns, and the feelings of our friends and neighbors who are scared and angry. And for those of us in position to make a difference, we must vow to take these difficult and emotional issues head on.

This is not a problem in another City, in another State. We know this is a problem in our cities and towns right here in Connecticut.

We cannot naively believe that what is happening in other places does not make very real the fear and sadness felt by our communities of color in Connecticut.

We can and must do better.

If we allow this conversation to devolve into political posturing and finger pointing, we will have failed to rise to this moment.

I am here to listen, to speak and to keep up the fight.”

(Incumbent state Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria shared this post, saying ​“well said” on Facebook)

Ansonia Police Chief Andrew Cota

“Greetings Residents of Ansonia,

It is with sadness that I am posting this letter to you about recent events in our country. By now, many if not, all of you have seen the disturbing video from Minneapolis and the death of George Floyd. I say to all of you, without a doubt, that this is not what the men and women of the Ansonia Police Department stand for or represent. 

We denounce these actions. 

We are part of the community we serve and we strive every day to be good citizens. We promise to always treat our fellow citizens with respect. We understand that sometimes things do not always go perfect but we hold ourselves to a high standard and attempt to be fair in all of our interactions with you, the public.

I ask, in this difficult time, for your help in holding our community together. We can work together to resolve differences. We cannot turn away from one another in a time of crisis. Let Ansonia be the city that comes together instead of pulling apart. We hear you and we feel that same pain that you do when we see unfortunate acts such as the one committed in Minnesota. 

It erodes the trust we have built with one another. Please help us heal by helping each other in a dignified and graceful way.

I ask each of you, as I have asked my officers, to take a minute to think before acting and treat one another with respect. We strive to do this every day and will continue to do so moving forward. We are an integral part of this community and so are you. 

Please find a moment to extend an act of kindness or a smile to one another. Let’s keep Ansonia safe and secure by working together to heal.”

State Rep. Kara Rochelle, D‑Ansonia, 104th District

(sharing Chief Cota’s post on Facebook …)

“An important part of this process is to have the hard conversations and come to the table with grace, humility, and an honest desire to listen and build something better. Every person deserves dignity and respect and our police have a responsibility to carry these principles into every interaction in our community. I thank Chief Cota for setting the tone. Where we go from this tragedy, and all the tragedies before it, depends on all of us. We are stronger when we go together.”

Christopher Bowen, Seymour Board of Selectmen member who is running for 105th District as a Democrat

A sincere thank you to all of you who have liked or followed this page. I look forward to the chance to be a fresh voice in the General Assembly and will fight hard for the right to represent this wonderful area I’ve called home for most of my life.

However, I must immediately make comment on the protests over the senseless murder of George Floyd by an officer of the Minneapolis Police Department. Then again, ​“comment” is trite at this point. ​“Comment” was for Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Kalief Browder, Breonna Taylor, Philandro Castille… those are just the names off the top of my head. The larger statistics are worse: blacks are two times more likely to be stopped by police despite being 1/6 of the population, are more likely to be sanctioned when they are stopped despite committing crime at a proportional rate, and receive stiffer sentences. 

Their killers are almost never held to account, and when attempts to do so occur, juries almost never render guilty verdicts. The protests for Floyd are not random, they are the last straw for a section of Americans who have seen too much.

Black Lives Matter, bad cops are the minority, justice for all… those are comments. I’m tired of comments. I didn’t run to give flowery speeches.
Here are the actions I will fight for if you allow me to represent the 105th district:

- I will work to decriminalize all recreational drugs. The so-called ​“War on Drugs” has been a colossal failure on all fronts, filling jails with non-violent criminals and ruining futures, predominantly in lower income areas.

- I will work to increase government support for voucher programs and magnet schools that allow children in hard-hit areas to get a good education. Zip codes should not be indicative of future success, which they are now.

- I will work to eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines. This will allow judges discretion to keep non-violent offenders out of prisons.

- Finally, I will be reaching out to the police departments of our district and learning about their hiring guidelines and standards of their respective departments. I want to work with the police to better serve our communities, not against them.

Numerous black people would still be alive today if it wasn’t for police officers who tarnish their badges with prejudice and poor discipline, but thousands upon thousands of people of color would not have their lives destroyed if not for systemic biases that tie the hands of the countless good people on both sides of the system. It is time to break down those systemic walls.”

Jorge Cabrera, Democratic candidate (endorsed) for 17th Senate District

“I know your pain, your rage, your sense of despair and hopelessness. Justice has, indeed, been denied for far too long. Rioting, looting, and burning is not the way. Organize. Demonstrate. Sit-in. Stand-up. Vote. Be constructive, not destructive.”

(Quoting a statement from Georgia Congressman John Lewis)

Justin Farmer, Democrat also running for the 17th Senate District)

“Your feelings on black oppression will be in my ​“thoughts and prayers.”

Mary Welander, Democratic candidate for state representative, 114th District

“I want to have the right words to say, the right action to take, but I don’t. All I can say is that I believe we can do better. That we need to do better. My voice isn’t the one we need to listen to right now. I’ve included pieces in the comments below that had an impact on me over the past day or so.” (See her comments on Facebook)