South Windsor Council Candidate Drops Out Of Race, No Longer at Agency Over Vegas Gun Comments

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT — A local real estate agent and town council candidate's Facebook post about gun advocates and the Las Vegas mass shooting has created a firestorm of rhetoric on social media and led to the termination of her contract with an agency that has a track record of community service.

In just a few hours, from Tuesday into Wednesday, Ritu Goel had dropped off the Democratic ticket and was dismissed by the agency that employed her.

WFSB 3 TV obtained a screen shot of Goel's post. "Prayers for Las Vegas," it read. "People who are in favor of guns should have been on that strip.”

The post seemed to be either gone or hidden Tuesday night into Wednesday afternoon, but several others had saved the same screen shot.

Reaction on social media was mostly scathing and in some instances downright nasty, even in the review section of her business page on Facebook. That also appeared to vanish Wednesday.

On the South Windsor Patch Facebook page, residents called not only for her to step aside, but also for those in political circles to renounce Goel's comments.

A staffer at South Windsor-based Dzen Realty politely declined comment but said Goel no longer worked at the agency. A message was left with the owners seeking to clarify what that meant.

The also made a national Facebook group called "The Deplorables" and led to further bashing on the Dzen Realty Facebook page. "Ritu's opinion was posted on her own personal page, it does not represent us or our 30-year commitment to helping people find homes," Dzen Realty Inc. said in a reply. "If you have any further concerns, please let us know."

A later post said, "The views regarding the recent horrible events in Las Vegas, by an independent contractor who has provided services to Dzen Realty do not express the views of nor are [they] supported by Dzen Realty."

The South Windsor Democratic Town Committee posted a response on Facebook, indicating Goel was out of the town council race but also called for cooler heads to prevail:

"Over the past couple days our Country has again endured senseless deadly violence. This time it was the largest mass shooting in the U.S. history. Emotions are boiling over for additional and sensible gun control. There are groups on both sides of the topic for gun control. But, no matter which side you support, we need to work together to solve and end these senseless mass shootings. It is equally important that we respect each other’s opinions on gun control. Tragedy sometimes effects people differently and they say things out of anger and frustration, and do not always express themselves appropriately. And because of this a local candidate for 2017 municipal election has been victimized and has received hateful messages threatening her and her family. There is no room in our society for this type of behavior. Out of fear for the safety of her family she has decided to withdraw as a candidate for the Town Council. Healing needs to start today and it needs to be done by everyone." - Tony Duarte, SWDTC Chair

Groel released the following statement:

“For the safety of my family I am withdrawing my candidacy for town council. I will also step down from the South Windsor Alliance for Progress because I do not want to jeopardize their great work. I am afraid for the safety of my kids, my husband and my mom who is just visiting. I have lived here for 23 years, and that beautiful life has been threatened. My professional life is at stake. Last night I went to the police station accompanied by some fellow Democrats, to ask for police protection.

“We recently celebrated diversity in this town. But that is not what I have experienced in the last 24 hours. The calls I am getting not only insult me, but insult our diverse team running for Town Council. The signs for our non-white candidates have been taken off lawns. Another caller said one candidate is “an idiot.”

“Politics has become a blood sport in South Windsor. My one badly worded, emotional painful Facebook post was taken out of context and exploited by our political opponents on social media and news channels. An apology has not stopped the hate directed towards me and my family.

“I have never advocated violence against anyone, nor did my social media comment. What I expressed is complete frustration with the lack of sensible gun controls and my hope that those who support the NRA in believing that guns are more important than lives will see the Las Vegas tragedy and change their minds.

“Kathy Dougherty and the Republicans claim there is “no room for hate” in our town. I would urge her and her colleagues to start at home. Start by truly listening to one another instead of demonizing for the sake of political gain. Think about embracing the frustration everyone is feeling, and find bipartisan solutions to prevent more tragedies. We desperately need to change the culture of this town and our country."

See the full WFSB report here.

Patch File Photo