‘GPD and Black Lives Matter signs belong together’

It’s that time of year again. Since Labor Day, political signs have been sprouting up on private lawns, many of the signs with unfamiliar names. This year, voters have an array of new candidates for the state legislature from which to choose. It’s noteworthy that two of the three incumbents are Democrats.

What a difference a decade makes.

It’s been 10 years, almost to the day — Oct. 3, 2010 — since my first column appeared in Greenwich Time. The headline: “Competition in state assembly races should never be taken for granted.”

That column assumed inevitable defeat for Democratic candidates in races for the state legislature. Greenwich had last elected a Democrat to the state house in 1912, and the last Democratic state senator from Greenwich was H. Allen Barton, elected in 1930. Yet, despite these overwhelming odds against them, I wrote, it was remarkable and praiseworthy that over the years there have been so many outstanding Democrats willing to run.

“They provide us not only with voter choice,” I said, “But also with different perspectives on the important issues that face the state.”

Republicans then vastly outnumbered Democrats, and the districts were drawn in ways that diluted any existing Democratic strength. But that registration gap has been narrowing, with unaffiliated voters now the largest category.

In 2018, Steve Meskers became the first Greenwich Democrat elected to the state House in more than a century, and Alex Bergstein (now Alex Kasser) won the 36th senatorial district, which includes all of Greenwich, and parts of Stamford and New Canaan.

Meskers and Kasser are now Democratic incumbents facing Republican challengers. Board of Education member Joe Kelly is running against Meskers for the 150th assembly seat, and political newcomer Ryan Fazio is challenging Kasser for the state Senate seat.

Harry Arora, the only Republican incumbent, is very new to the state legislature. Elected in January to fill a vacant 151st assembly seat, he faced criticism during that election — including in this column — for his attempt to politicize the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, thereby depriving voters of that candidate debate. Arora’s incumbency experience is limited because the legislature has rarely met during his short tenure. His challenger is Democrat Hector Arzeno.

Democratic Board of Education member Kathleen Stowe and Republican Kimberly Fiorello are vying for the 149th open assembly seat vacated by retiring Livvy

Floren.

Among all these political names displayed on signs around town, there’s a different kind of sign that catches our attention. It’s GPD everywhere.

At first sight, this GPD sign appears benign. It seems nonpartisan, without controversy, eliciting a positive reaction. Most Greenwich residents — myself included — support a police department that keeps us safe. Who takes issue with signs thanking the Greenwich Police Department?

But then, the question arises, why now? Why are these signs cropping up everywhere during a highly polarized political season, just before an election? Why never before? Is GPD running for something?

While GPD signs often stand separate from clusters of political signs, we notice that when they’re with other signs, it’s in connection with Republican candidates.

We learn that the police union, Greenwich’s Silver Shield Association, endorsed a candidate for the state legislature for the first time in its history. We realize this endorsement of Republican Fiorello reflects opposition to police accountability legislation enacted during the state legislature’s summer session. This endorsement makes police accountability a wedge issue between Fiorello and Stowe, perhaps even between all Democratic candidates and Republican candidates.

Seen in this context, the GPD signs appear less benign. This politicization is troubling because it risks connecting our local police with a national presidential campaign that pits law enforcement against the pursuit of justice by Black Lives Matter. This is a dangerous Trump-fueled strategy that foments division, forsakes public safety, and will ultimately tear our nation apart.

We should instead be countering this destructive force by building safe, healthy, integrated communities, including constructive rethinking of our society’s police function. Until we uproot the systemic racism that runs 400 years deep, we are not safe. As long as we allow only some lives to matter, all of our lives are at risk.

The pursuit of justice is a moral imperative. In this pursuit GPD and Black Lives Matter signs belong together.

Alma Rutgers served in Greenwich town government for 30 years.