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Jennifer Pope: Once and future mayoral “friend.”
Jennifer Pope is co-founder of the Hamden Progressive Action Network and a Democratic State Central Committee member. We asked Mayor Curt Leng to respond to the following opinion article before we published it. He said he would re-friend Pope on Facebook; she responded to his response. Those two responses appear at the bottom of this article.
In July 2017, I gave one of the nominating speeches to a room full of Hamden Democrats supporting Curt Balzano Leng in his bid for re-election as mayor. I had been newly elected to Hamden’s Democratic Town Committee earlier that year and co-founded a burgeoning political activist group, the Hamden Progressive Action Network, that organizes primarily through Facebook. In my nomination speech, I lauded Leng for his approachability and willingness to listen to residents. I specifically highlighted his ability to “use changing technology” to “listen to new voices and established voices and have a place for all of us.” In the years since, I have continued to organize and take an active role in town affairs. In 2018, I was elected by Democrats in the 11th Senate District to represent them on Connecticut’s Democratic State Central Committee, which is Mayor Leng’s district. I was re-elected to that position in 2020 and continue to serve in that role.
Just over a year ago, I was on an early morning run and I noticed what looked like a water leak on Whitney Avenue. The water appeared to be freezing over and causing cars to slide. I got my phone out and attempted to send the mayor a message on Facebook — as I had done many times before — but instead got a notification that I was unable to contact Leng through Facebook messenger. I reached out to two members on the Legislative Council instead. One got back to me quickly and Public Works resolved the issue. Later in the day, I investigated further and found that Mayor Leng had not only “unfriended” me but also “blocked” me on Facebook.
Curt Leng is ubiquitous on Facebook. He uses his “personal” Facebook account as much as or more than his public facing page, having the max 5,000 “friends” while barely over half that amount of “likes” on his public page. The mayor often communicates immediately through Facebook on issues of critical concern to residents, including storms and the COVID-19 pandemic. I have been blocked from receiving these notifications, alerts, and updates. When this publication devoted an entire article to Leng’s use of social media as a way of engaging with his constituents, The Mayor and his Smart Phone, all of the cited examples were from his personal page. I, his constituent, am blocked from seeing each of these messages.
The mayor and I have disagreed on many issues. In 2019, we disagreed publicly on his inclusion of additional SROs (school-based police officers) for Hamden’s elementary schools in his proposed budget without ever consulting with school leadership. I have been an outspoken critic of his dishonest budgeting ‘strategies.’ As a result of these and other concerns, I have supported his challengers. Despite my disagreements with the mayor and my critiques of him, courts have plainly ruled that elected officials, even former President Trump, cannot block their critics on social media platforms, as Leng has done to me and others who have tried to hold him accountable.
Regardless of the legality, what is the point and what is the impact? How many other residents has he blocked? Can Mayor Leng handle criticism or different viewpoints without emotionally over-reacting? Can he take and consider feedback without painting his detractors as political opportunists? Hamden is facing extremely serious issues. A global pandemic leaving Hamden residents scared for their lives, their jobs, and their ability to put food on the table. A racial justice crisis, including a police shooting that remains insufficiently addressed. One of the top 5 highest mill rates in the state. A 5 million dollar budget deficit. Navigating these challenges requires patience, stability, and thoughtfulness, not impulsive, emotional reactions to different perspectives. For Hamden to thrive in the face of these obstacles, a leader needs to consider every stakeholder and to seek diverse opinions and viewpoints. Mayor Leng has decided that Hamden is not a “place for all of us”, even among his own party. It is past time to elect a leader who can listen to perspectives outside his own, rapidly shrinking, echo chamber.
Mayor Leng’s Response
If Ms. Pope is blocked and wants to reconnect, I wonder why she wouldn’t just just ask instead of writing something to the media. She has been a strong supporter of Mrs. Garrett for a long time, so negativity and misrepresentation is probably her goal and not a surprise. I prefer to just try and resolve problems. I’m going to see if she’s blocked now and if she is, I’ll unblock her.
And if she wants to follow my Mayor Page, it’s Leng For Hamden, which often has the same info.
Pope’s Response To Leng’s Response
Yes, he’s perhaps unblocked me now because it’s being shared publicly. He’s correct, I did not attempt to contact him in another way and specifically ask to be unblocked — I don’t think this is my responsibility as his constituent to let him know he blocked me. I think it’s important for the public to know that he’s doing this to people he disagrees with and wonder how many others he has blocked.
He is incorrect though, most of his “live” videos come from his ‘personal’ account, as you can see in your article.
Curt too often reacts to critics in ways that are eerily similar to Trump. Hamden needs a grownup in charge, not someone so easily triggered by differences of opinion.