Meriden/Wallingford NAACP Respond to Dismissal of Concerns Over Councilman Lenny Rich's Comments

The Meriden and Wallingford NAACP issued a statement today after demands for Councilman Lenny Rich’s resignation were dismissed at Monday night’s Town Council meeting.

The organization demanded his resignation after remarks the councilman made at a City Council meeting on Sept. 22.

The Meriden/Wallingford NAACP said they believe Rich’s comments to be indefensible and will do everything in their power to aid in that mission. The organization said they were not calling Rich a racist but were choosing to focus the community’s frustration on the statement itself.

Rich’s supporters claimed the councilman was merely quoting a statistic.

In response, the NAACP said, “Rich’s words expressed the type of negative perspective on race that continues to contribute to any number of policies and practices that currently plague minority communities. Whether it be brutal policing tactics that disproportionately target minorities (which has recently dominated news headlines across the country), insufficient representation amongst the department heads in this city, or having our voice dismissed by the city council when we make an appeal for justice, we are all too aware of the deleterious effects that the perspective expressed by Councilor Rich can and does have. We have paid a heavy toll for that perspective and cannot afford to allow our elected officials to make statements that reinforce that view.“

The organization said they provided Councilor Rich an opportunity to make this right prior to Monday’s demonstration, but he chose not to put forth a sincere effort to make amends calling his email apology impersonal. They said that the constituents only requested respect and for the councilman to hold himself accountable to his words.

“As of now we don’t believe you hold our best interest at heart and have no confidence in you to effectively represent us,” the Meriden/Wallingford NAACP said in the statement. 

Image via Meriden Republicans

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