Hamden Officials Call For Unity After Outcry Over Councilor

HAMDEN, CT — Hamden officials, including the town's mayor, called for civility and unity in the wake of an earlier incident that halted legislative council finance committee deliberations and led to some community members calling for a councilwoman's resignation.

On April 5, Councilwoman Valerie Horsley interrupted her colleague, councilman Justin Farmer, in a council meeting to insist that he addresses her as "doctor," the New Haven Register reported.

According to the Register, the interaction happened in a Legislative Council Finance Committee meeting and led to deliberations being paused until a professional training seminar could be scheduled.

The incident was met with online backlash and calls for Horsley's resignation.

On Thursday, Hamden Mayor Curt Balzano Leng and six other officials released a statement affirming that town leaders "must continue to be active listeners to learn and improve on how to best treat people in every circumstance."

"As the leaders representing Hamden’s three branches of elected government, we don’t profess to fully understand the personal feelings experienced during and after the verbal exchange that occurred during a Hamden Legislative Council meeting last week," the statement reads.

According to the letter, Horsely has apologized in writing and in person for her comment and has reaffirmed that she is committed to building a "culture of equity and inclusion for the betterment of Hamden."

"We recognize Councilwoman Horseley’s apology as a reminder that the path toward healing is paved with these thoughtful and honest actions," the letter reads.

Town leaders called on both citizens and officials to halt the use of disparaging and racist language and to instead treat everyone with dignity and respect, even during disagreements.

"Our collective progress is paused, set back, and disrupted when toxic language, racial slurs, and hate speech are openly used in public and in social media," the letter reads. "This is wrong, harmful, and does not have a place in Hamden. This is not the example we want set for our kids and does not strengthen or improve upon the inclusive community we strive to be."

The letter was signed by Leng, along with legislative council members Mick McGarry, Kathleen Schomaker, Berita Rowe-Lewis and Betty Wetmore.

Board of education members Arturo Perez-Cabello and Mellinda Saller also joined in on calling for civility and respect.

"We call for and sincerely hope that those who took part in racist and deeply hateful name-calling, find the fortitude to acknowledge and rectify these wrongs immediately," officials said in the letter. "Our community deserves a healthy and respectful discussion of differences grounded in civility."