Democrats changing name of fundraiser
Hartford — Connecticut Democrats will change the name of the party’s annual Jefferson Jackson Bailey Dinner, stripping off the names of two former U.S. presidents whowere slave owners.
Members of the Democratic State Central Committee have until the end of August to come up with other names to replace former Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. Party spokesman Leigh Appleby said Thursday that the fundraising dinner’s new name won’t have to include three names.
The name Bailey, however, in honor of the late John M. Bailey, the powerful former state and national Democratic Party chairman, will remain.
On a voice vote, about 50 committee members voted unanimously Wednesday night in favor of a resolution to change the 67-year-old dinner’s name to reflect the party’s “dedication to diversity and forward-thinking vision.”
Party Chairman Nick Balletto told The Associated Press that last month’s massacre at a South Carolina church prompted him to raise the idea of changing the dinner’s name. He said the shooting made him think about how the party has changed and “history has not been kind” to Jefferson and Jackson.
“If we want to be the party of the people, we need to reflect what our community is and we should step up and make a change,” he said.
Both Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman had urged the Democratic State Central Committee members to strip the names. In a letter to the members, they said it marked an opportunity to show the rest of the state what it means to be a Democrat.
“This is by no means an indictment of the legacy of Thomas Jefferson or any of our nation’s founders,” they wrote. “Yet as a party we should continue to look at ourselves in the mirror and ensure that we strive to represent the ideals that we talk about every day...”
Various names have been suggested as possible replacements for Jefferson and Jackson, including former Gov. Ella T. Grasso, who was the first woman to be elected governor without being the wife or widow of a former governor.