A STATEMENT FROM CAUCUS LEADERSHIP

As we kick off Pride Month 2024, we are stunned to learn that, at the Town of Dover’s May 28th Council Meeting, Council Member Geovani Estacio-Carrillo, who was elected in 2022 as a Democrat and is running unopposed for re-election as a Democrat, voted AGAINST the town’s Pride Month Resolution.

This comes after he also voted against a Resolution in October 2023 which sought to recognize Transgender Awareness Month.

For us, and all Democrats nationwide, the will and desire to fight for LGBTQA+ rights isn’t a “fad.” It’s enshrined in our party platform – the platform Mr. Estacio-Carrillo is expected to support.

And not just that – it’s a desire that’s embedded in our souls.

So it is shocking, disappointing, and downright disheartening that, in 2024, a sitting Democratic elected official would oppose a simple Resolution commemorating Pride Month, especially one who represents a town with such a vibrant LGBTQA+ community,

We urge Council Member Estacio-Carrillo to come clean about his reasons for continually denying his LGBTQA+ neighbors their rightful recognition.

If he can’t, or if he doesn’t share our belief that recognizing Pride Month is the least we can do to honor the sacrifices and hardships of the LGBTQA+ community, perhaps he should find a new political home.

It is similarly disheartening that, just three days before the start of Pride Month, an all-Democrat Council would follow the lead of Republican-led Boonton and enact what amounts to a ban on the Pride Flag flying above its Town Hall – as it did in 2023.

Resolution 157, which 6/8 of the Democrats present voted for, is a shameful attempt to deny visibility to the LGBTQA+ community, visibility we have earned and deserve.

To Council Members Karol Ruiz and Sandra Wittner, thank you for doing the right thing and voting against this discriminatory Resolution.

But to those six Democrats who voted for it – Mayor James P. Dodd, Council Member Michael Scarneo, Council Member Geovani Estacio-Carrillo, Council Member Claudia Toro, Council Member Arturo Santana, and Council Member Marcos Tapia – shame on you.

Your LGBTQA+ constituents deserve better.