DOVER DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE

STATEMENT

November 5, 2018

Mayor James P. Dodd of Dover calls Alderwoman Carolyn Blackman a “F*cking C*nt”

Follows Her in Town Employee’s Jeep While Canvassing in Dover’s Fourth Ward

Not long after former Alderman Dominic Timpani publicly accused Mayor James P. Dodd of referring to Alderwoman Blackman as, “that f*cking n*gger” in 2008, Dodd makes name-calling news again on November 4, 2018 for allegedly calling Alderwoman Blackman a “f*cking c*nt.”

In a dash-cam video attached to the story, Dodd’s voice is clearly heard screaming multiple times, “roll down the window you f*ucking p*ssy!”  Following that Dodd clearly screams loudly, “roll down the window, you f*cking c*nt!”  He then called her a “c*nt” on last time.

Blackman was in a moving car on Myrtle Avenue when Dodd was allegedly ranting.  Fernando Barrios, driver of the car, was formerly a Dodd Team campaign volunteer who organized Latino voters, but reportedly left the Team because he disagreed with how Dodd treats others.

The woman visible at the end of the video sarcastically waving at Barrios and Blackman on the side of the road is former 4th Ward Alderwoman Michelle Espada, now a Town of Dover employee working as a “Recreation Aide” with an annual salary of 52,000.   Ms. Espada was recently in the news because Barrios filed an ethics complaint against the Mayor alleging a “consensual personal relationship” between Dodd and Espada when Dodd voted to hire her in May 23, 2017 and again voted on June 26, 2018  to provide her with an 8.4% raise.

Blackman notified police while the incident was unfolding because she was fearful of how angry the Mayor appeared and because he followed her to a convenience store in a late model Jeep that is used by town employee Michelle Espada.  The store is across the street from the Dover Police Department where Officer Aldo Cicchetti met with each of them and an incident report was filed.

Apparently, this is not the first time Dodd has followed Blackman.  On October 9, 2018, Dodd also followed Blackman in Dover. During that incident, he stopped and raised his phone as if he was taking a picture or a video of her.  Attached to the story is a video of that incident as well.  This is also not the first time Blackman alleges that Dodd has raged at her with foul language.  In a video that Blackman posted online on June 4, 2018, she alleges the Mayor blasted her in front of currently sitting Aldermen because she dared to disagree with him.

Dodd has cyber-lynched both Blackman and Barrios, along with 4th Ward Candidate Carlos Valencia and Timpani, on his political website, DoverLiarsRevealed.com, which he created to retaliate against those whose opinions differ with his.  On October 15, 2018, Barrios filed a tort claims notice with the town alleging that documents Dodd published on it about him are results of a background check when he applied for a job in the police department in August 2017 and a violation of his right to privacy.  Blackman and Barrios are both represented by Goutam Jois, Esq. former Primary Democratic Candidate for Congress.

Blackman was too upset to comment, but Barrios stated, “Mayor Dodd has serious anger management problems.  He really needs help with his mental health.  I hope he gets it soon.  He should stop leading anti-bullying events for the town because he is not a good role model for kids.  He also owes Alderwoman Blackman and me a public apology for this incident and his pattern of harassment against us.  We were terrified of his anger, following us, and his use of foul language was very offensive to both of us. It made us feel unsafe in our own town.”

Link to the November 4th, 2018 incident:
https://youtu.be/P5a6BRmEt4U

Link to the October 9th, 2018 harassment:
https://youtu.be/9gyh7fxklSg

Dodd released the following statement in response:

I would like to set the record straight on an incident that occurred Sunday, November 3rd in the Fourth Ward.

In anticipation of Tuesday’s election, many volunteers were in the Fourth Ward going door-to-door for write-in candidate for Alderman, Ron Camacho. During the entire weekend, I received many disturbing reports of Fernando Barrios harassing several females who volunteered for the Camacho write-in campaign. Mr. Barrios was taking pictures and video of the volunteers to intimidate the volunteers and deter their hard work. Although those reports were upsetting to me, what I found most alarming were the reports I received that Mr. Barrios was stealing campaign literature out of residents’ mailboxes. By way of background, a lot of hard work and time has gone into the efforts of my team to spread the word of our opponent’s criminal history of stealing from the collection plate in church and stealing from the elderly; Dover voters need to know the truth about that candidate and Mr. Barrios was taking that truth from them. This all came to a head when I personally witnessed Mr. Barrios stealing mail from a mailbox. At that point, I admit that I lost my temper. While I apologize and regret using inappropriate language during the encounter, I do not apologize for defending and standing up for the residents of the Fourth Ward. Despite my opponents’ contention, my words were never directed to Ms. Blackman and were solely directed to Mr. Barrios.

This is an important election for the people of Dover, the voters have a right to have all the information and engage in an honest debate about the candidates. I do not regret confronting Mr. Barrios, but I do wish I chose my words more carefully. My character will not be defined by a 50 second video taken completely out of context.

I will offer no further comment on this matter, as I understand that there is an on-going criminal investigation of Mr. Barrios relative to his actions on Sunday.