WEST HARTFORD, CT — The town's two major political parties are engaged in a war of words over a prominent school board member's comments on social media recently comparing the birth of the U.S. to the Holocaust.
The West Hartford Republican Town Committee and the West Hartford Democratic Town Committee have issued competing public statements over social media posts by West Hartford Board of Education Vice Chairperson LaToya Yagaloff, who is Black.
Embattled School Board Member
The dispute centers on comments Yagaloff made in a July 4 social media post about the America 250.
In her post, she compared the founding of the U.S. and slavery against Blacks as being similar to the Holocaust.
Yagaloff said America 250, to her, wasn't as celebratory as it was to others, saying it is "celebrating a nightmare that built the country that created conditions for white privilege that allow you to turn a blind eye and be annoyed that I even mentioned it."
Democrats, specifically, pinpointed subsequent social media attacks on Yagaloff as being kickstarted by the local GOP, who blasted Yagaloff.
The West Hartford Democratic Town Committee on July 20 released a statement backing Yagaloff and criticizing what it described as a campaign of harassment.
"We stand with LaToya Yagaloff. Full stop," the committee wrote.
The Democratic committee said criticism from the West Hartford Republican Town Committee had resulted in "a flood of vile, racist, and misogynistic messages" directed at Yagaloff.
"This is NOT acceptable political discourse. This is harassment. This is intimidation. Enough is enough," the statement said.
The committee said Yagaloff, whom it described as a volunteer public servant, "deserves dignity and safety, not a coordinated campaign designed to silence and demean her."
ICE Criticized in West Hartford
This latest controversy has escalated a political dispute tied to a recent local immigration enforcement case.
The exchange comes weeks after West Hartford restaurateur and business owner Seyo Cecunjanin was released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after spending nearly two weeks at a federal detention facility in Rhode Island.
Cecunjanin was detained by ICE agents on June 20 outside a Dunkin' restaurant in West Hartford, prompting demonstrations and calls for his release from elected officials and community advocates. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, announced his release ahead of the July 4 holiday.
According to Larson, Cecunjanin was walking to his vehicle after leaving the restaurant when ICE agents surrounded his car with five federal vehicles, took him into custody at gunpoint and transported him to a detention facility in Rhode Island.
Larson said Cecunjanin fled the former Yugoslavia in 1997 during the conflicts associated with Slobodan Milošević's government, is legally authorized to work in the United States, owns two West Hartford businesses and has been pursuing lawful permanent resident status.
Cecunjanin owns Portobello Restaurant on Park Road and The Laundry Room on the Ave. on Farmington Avenue.
Supporters argued his decades-long residence in the United States, local business ownership and pending application for lawful permanent resident status supported his release.
The case drew differing reactions in West Hartford.
While Democratic elected officials and community supporters called for Cecunjanin's release and denounced his capture, West Hartford Republicans defended ICE's enforcement actions, saying federal agents were carrying out their duties and raising questions about Cecunjanin's immigration status.
West Hartford Republicans claimed Yagaloff had publicly compared ICE agents to "Nazis," something the GOP said was inappropriate.
In a July 21 statement, the West Hartford Republican Town Committee said it was "profoundly disappointing" that the West Hartford Democratic Town Committee had chosen to defend Yagaloff.
The GOP criticized Yagaloff for referring to ICE agents as "Nazis," calling the comparison "deeply offensive" and "a serious lapse in judgment."
The committee said there is "a legitimate and necessary space for debate over federal immigration policy," but argued that comparing American law enforcement officers to the Nazi regime "crosses a clear and unacceptable line."
The Republican committee also challenged Yagaloff's characterization of the nation's founding, disputing her historical assertions and arguing they misrepresented American history.
The statement said her public comments "fail to reflect the nuance, accuracy, and responsibility expected of someone entrusted with helping shape the education of West Hartford's children."
The GOP also rejected the Democratic committee's characterization of the criticism, saying the issue was "about accountability and transparency" and that residents "deserve to know the views being expressed by those serving on the board of education."
In a statement released Monday, Yagaloff said her July 4 post was intended to encourage reflection on American history rather than disparage the country.
"I stand by the heart of my message," she said. "My July 4th post was not written to diminish America, but to invite reflection on a historical truth that continues to shape how many Americans experience Independence Day."
Yagaloff said her post highlighted that slavery remained legal when the United States declared independence in 1776 and that millions of enslaved Africans and their descendants "were excluded from the freedoms being celebrated."
"That history is not an opinion—it is a fact," she said.
Addressing criticism that she compared the nation's founding to the Holocaust, Yagaloff said that "was not my intention."
"My point was to encourage reflection on how societies remember painful histories and to ask whether we can hold celebration and truth together," she said. "I believe we honor our nation not by avoiding difficult parts of our history, but by having the courage to confront them honestly."
Yagaloff also said she received racist and misogynistic messages after being publicly criticized.
"After being singled out publicly, I received a wave of racist and misogynistic harassment, including messages calling me the N-word and other degrading slurs," she said. "I welcome respectful disagreement and thoughtful debate. That is part of servant leadership. Racism, intimidation, and dehumanization are not."
Yagaloff said her background as a Marine Corps veteran, educator, West Hartford Board of Education vice chair, and restorative justice practitioner has shaped her commitment to dialogue and reconciliation.
"My work is rooted in the belief that truth and dignity must coexist," she said. "We cannot build reconciliation by denying history, nor can we create healing by dehumanizing those with whom we disagree."
She concluded by saying, "Patriotism is not the absence of criticism. It is loving your country enough to tell the truth about its past while believing in its capacity to grow."
From July 3: 'Detained West Hartford Restaurateur Released From ICE: Officials'
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