Opposing Racial Justice Advocates, Stewart Vetoes Columbus Statue Resolution

With people’s attention focused on digging out from a nor’easter on December 17, 2020, only a week before Christmas, Republican Mayor Erin Stewart vetoed a resolution to move a statue of Christopher Columbus from a prominent city park.

The issue of moving the statue has been the subject of intense debate for months, with community activists advocating for this removal. The New Britain Racial Justice Coalition has been advocating for the city to remove the statue since July. The group held a protest against the statue in July and has been pressing for its removal since.

“As a community, we cannot continue to praise a man who stole land and continually chose to dehumanize native people,” New Britain NAACP President Ronald P. Davis said in comments he also made in July. “Why should we have a statue, or a street dedicated to anyone who stands as a symbol for the violence?”

With nationwide protests against racism and inequality including a focus on bringing down symbols of racism and colonialism, renewed attention to accounts from a priest, Bartolome de las Casas, and others, telling about enslavement, murder, rape and other brutality upon native peoples under Columbus’ conquests have led to successful calls for statues of him being removed in some cities.

Opposition to moving the statue has been expressed, but has drawn strongly worded rebukes from community leaders about racist comments made against removing the statue.

In her veto message, Stewart mocked the City Council for the five months that the issue of removing the statue has been under consideration. Yet advocates for moving the statue had been pressing for swift action on doing so since the summer, criticizing Stewart’s city hall for dragging its feet on the matter.

Stewart also said that removing the statue would not advance a, “goal of social justice or racial equality.”

The New Britain Racial Justice Coalition responded to Stewart’s veto, saying, “We are extremely disheartened to hear Mayor Stewart vetoes the statue removal.”

“The fight continues…” the Coalition added.

The matter now returns to the Council, setting up the possibility of a rare veto override attempt.

When the resolution was approved by the Council at its meeting on December 9, 2020, it was by a 10 to 4 vote, with four Republican Council members joining the six Democrats in approving the measure. The Council can override a veto and pass the resolution against the mayor’s wishes, but only if ten Council members vote to do so.

That vote would generally occur at the next Council after the veto. The next regular Council meeting is on January 13, 2021.

Introduced by two Democratic Council members, Ald. Chris Anderson (D-AL) and Ald. Colin Osborn (D-2), the resolution calls for the removal of the statue of Columbus from its present location on city parkland at the corner of Main and North streets and replacing it with another symbol honoring Italian Americans in New Britain.

Stewart and city Republicans have been seen by many in an increasingly negative light after a string of divisive decisions. In October, Republicans voted down the creation of a strong community police review board in a Council committee. In recent weeks, Council Republicans and Stewart, herself, have acted to block a vote on the appointment of Democrat Veronica T. DeLandro to succeed Rep.-Elect Manny Sanchez (D-24) on the Council.