CT residents rally to defend against ‘attack’ on USPS

Residents gathered at post offices in New Haven, Hamden, Bridgeport, Hartford and other communities in Connecticut Saturday, as they and people across the nation rallied for “Save the Post Office Saturday.”

In Danbury, the event — one of many organized across the nation — was held virtually, one day after state Department of Public Health reported a spike in coronavirus cases in the city Friday night.

The department declared a coronavirus alert for the city, which urges Danbury residents to stay home and avoid unnecessary outings.

Speaking during the online event, state Rep. Bob Godfrey, a Navy veteran, said the right to cast a free and fair ballot had been “enshrined in the blood and sacrifice of those that came before us.”

“I think all of us just won’t take it any more,” the Danbury Democrat said.

President Donald Trump has spent months casting doubt on the validity of mail-in ballots, suggesting they could be subject to fraud, and last week acknowledged that providing additional funding for the postal service would influence the service’s ability to handle millions of ballots.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy previously announced, then halted under criticism, plans to remove mail-processing machines and blue collection boxes from post offices around the country, among other operational changes, according to the Associated Press.

DeJoy also cut overtime and other expenses that ensure prompt delivery of mail, resulting in a national slowdown of the service, according to the AP.

In testimony before Congress Friday, DeJoy said the cost-cutting measures — including removal in the late spring of mail-sorting equipment, some of it in Connecticut — would not affect delivery of absentee ballots in the upcoming election. But on July 31, the U.S. Postal Service notified 46 states, including Connecticut, that it could not assure on-time delivery of absentee ballots under the states’ election timetables.

Rallies were also planned at post offices in Fairfield, Norwalk, Simsbury, Bethelehem and Avon, organizers said on the website.

The rallies were organized in connection with a national initiative from MoveOn.Org, the NAACP, the Working Families Party, the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of Teachers, among others, according to the website set up for the endeavor.

John Goncalves, of the Danbury Democratic Town Committee, a 30-year employee of the United States Postal Service, said during Danbury’s event that DeJoy was “intentionally abusing” the postal service, “an iconic American institution.”

He warned that if sorting machines and ballot boxes were not restored across the country, the damage to the election and the service “had already been done.”

Speakers called on the public to sign a petition calling for DeJoy’s resignation and to email the USPS Board Of Governors and express that same desire.

Najely, a young undocumented activist from Danbury, noted that people of color are already dealing with a disproportionate impact from the coronavirus, and thus are at greater risk. Taking away the ability to submit votes by mail, she noted, would force them to choose between risking their safety and raising their voice.

Some rally organizers said Saturday morning that they felt compelled to defend the ability of the post office to function effectively, given its central role in American democracy and life.

“I think the post office is a fundamentally important organization in the United States,” said Henry Lowendorf, the organizer of the rally at New Haven’s Fountain Street office. “It maintains communication, personal and business, and it’s under attack right now by the Trump administration.”

Max Hyre, the organizer of the rally at the Brewery Street post office in New Haven, said that Trump and other officials had focused inappropriately on the profitability of the postal service.

The Post Office regularly carries checks, medication, love letters and Christmas cards, Hyer noted — “so many of the things that bind us together.” And, given the global pandemic, its ability to handle ballots will potentially impact the well-being of residents, he noted.

John Leary, who organized the rally at the Whitneyville post office in Hamden, said four of his uncles had worked for the Post Office in New Haven, including one who was the postmaster general in Fair Haven.

“I jokingly said they’re looking down and shaking their fist about what’s going on with their legacy,” said Leary. “Those people that are attacking it right now are not interested in supporting the people served by the post office.”