Republicans reject forum

A forum for candidates running in this year’s Winsted municipal elections will be held on Thursday, Sept. 24, at Northwestern Connecticut Community College. The event is being organized by the Winchester Cradle to Career collaborative.

In the press release for the event written by Northwest YMCA Executive Director Jason Cohen, the forum is described as being “non-confrontational” and will give candidates “an opportunity to speak about themselves, they will also be addressing issues of concern to the collaborative and the community as a whole.”

The forum will include Democratic candidates, but will not include Republican candidates. Winchester Republican Town Committee Chairman Jerry Martinez announced via email on Aug. 29 that the candidates from his party will not participate.

“The Winchester Republicans choose not to give respectability to a ‘Ready by 21’ activist group with a national progressive agenda trying to embed itself in the lives of local citizens,” Martinez wrote in his email.

Despite calls for comment, Martinez would not explain the party’s position further to The Winsted Journal.

This move by the Republicans is irresponsible. It shows a reluctance to explain their platform in a public forum. Are they afraid to answer questions directly from the community?

All candidates, no matter what political party, should take the opportunity, when given, to speak about their platform and where they stand on issues.

Furthermore, Martinez’s email is quite perplexing. The Cradle To Career collaborative works with both the Winchester School District and the Northwest YMCA in order to improve the welfare of children in the community.

Why would Republicans want to take a stand against what Martinez described as an “activist group”? This group has researched and presented data to the town concerning the safety, health and well-being of children in Winsted. What’s wrong with that?

Coincidentally, in July, Martinez, who is a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, led the charge at a commission meeting against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule. The rule strengthens the Fair Housing Act, which is part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and protects people from discrimination due to race, color, religion, sexuality, national origin or disability when they try to rent or buy housing.

With Martinez offering this kind of leadership to his party, the Republicans should strongly consider looking for a new leader.

By rejecting an appearance at the candidates forum for the reasons given by Martinez, the party has not taken a stand on the issues, but instead has taken a major stumble.