Following two queries by The Newtown Bee, Governor Ned Lamont through his press liaison declined to comment on a publicly accessible database of “Connecticut Protests for Racial Justice” that is available on the state Democratic Party website.

That database, listing more than 20 future and dozens of past gatherings, drew the ire of First Selectman Dan Rosenthal who discovered the list of planned protests.

While the site also includes the statement “We encourage all Connecticut residents joining in Constitutionally-guaranteed, peaceful demonstrations across the state, to wear masks and maintain minimum 6 ft. social distancing, in accordance with guidelines from the state of Connecticut,” the first selectman remained concerned that it could still promote mass gatherings in excess of a standing executive order limiting large groups.

“What upsets me is the Connecticut Democratic Party is [sharing] this list telling people where to go, while we have the governor, who is the head of that party, standing by his orders on limiting public gatherings,” said Rosenthal, himself a Democrat. “It leaves me scratching my head. I can’t reconcile the two.”

The first selectman previously noted there is a difference between a gathering that may come together with local residents, and one that is publicized statewide and being promoted by a major political party with thousands of registered members.

“This [web list] crosses the line, so I reached out to the governor about it,” he said. “I don’t think the state Democrats should be promoting this; they’re providing information that would likely build crowd sizes at these local protests and prompting people to come to them from other towns. It seems to be in direct violation of what the governor is trying to do.”

Rosenthal said he received a response from Governor Lamont who said he was unaware of the Democratic party’s web listing. Rosenthal said the governor would be looking into it.

But after the second request for comment about whether the governor had looked into it, The Newtown Bee received a short response from Lamont Press Secretary and Director of Digital Media David Bednarz, saying, “We do not have comment.”

DTC Chairman Responds

That led the newspaper to reach out to Newtown Democratic Town Committee with the question: “Do you feel it is appropriate for the state Dems to promote these mass gatherings — even with the requisite ‘wear masks/socially distance by 6 feet’ encouragement?”

Chairman Eric Paradis offered the following response:

“Personally, I am worried that your question focuses on whether or not a political party should provide information about rallies for Black Lives Matter and social justice campaigns rather than the reason why these rallies are clearly needed. The continued inequity that people of color face on a day to day basis has been protested for generations and yet protests are still needed to enact change,” Paradis said.

“Why hasn’t our country changed, why hasn’t our country listened to the marches, to the people taking a knee? The recent protests across the country since May 26th are now showing some hopeful results,” he continued. “There have been changes made across the country in the past few weeks regarding government policies. The Newtown Police Chief recently shared an FAQ in response to the rally at Edmond Town Hall and the Police Commission just recently reviewed its Use of Force policy. [See related story in today’s print edition.]

“I am very concerned for the health of all of our neighbors during this crisis,” Paradis said. “We have spent three months isolating and quarantining ourselves and it has been working. As the states and cities relaxed their quarantine protocols after the haircut protests (that were heavily publicized), it is only now that we are not sure that people should be protesting? The nation has erupted over these injustices and decided that it can wait no longer.

“How frustrated and angry do people have to be in order to protest during the pandemic? Perhaps if the country had listened years ago and made the changes that are starting to be made today, this round of protests may not have been needed,” he continued."

'Change Is Needed'

“We need to recognize that change is needed at all levels," the local DTC chairman concluded. "We also need to ensure we are following the practices that the governor has put into place, wear a mask, wash your hands, avoid unnecessary crowds and risks. If we listen to the rallies and work with all of our neighbors we can stay healthy and work for change at the same time.”

Following the publication of the original article in which the first selectman also explained his reasoning for not publicly supporting or endorsing local mass gatherings as a means of demonstrating for racial justice, he made a lengthy statement on his Facebook page.

That statement, in part, said:

“Twice I have taken an oath to support the Constitution as First Selectman. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about that awesome duty and the rights the document affords to everyone, not just the people that I perceive as supporters or friends, everyone. Period.

“My statutory responsibility is also the health, welfare and safety of all of our residents. As if worrying about the Constitution wasn’t enough. The last three months have not been easy for any of us but we’ve hung in there as a community. I’ve had to make hard decisions in support of public health, many of which limited or took away people’s freedoms,” Rosenthal added.

“My integrity is important to me so I am not about to pick and choose what Executive Orders to follow. They all matter or they all don’t. I am tired of politicians that say one thing and do another.”