A Busy Month For Orange Democrats

By Jody Dietch, Orange Democratic Town Committee Chair

What a month it has been since my last column. Let me start with congratulating my former counterpart, Dominick Lombardi, immediate past chair of the Orange Republican Town Committee. Lombardi resigned as chair to accept a position at the US Department of Agriculture after being appointed by President Donald Trump. You may know Lombardi is a big supporter of Trump, as is his family. Lombardi’s mother serves on the Amity Board of Education after being elected in 2023 along with two other Trump agenda supporters, and his father, Chad, is now the new chair of the ORTC.

It seems the ORTC has strong support for, and is aligned with, the current president of the US.

Since my last column, the Orange Democratic candidates have been busy reaching out to constituents to hear what you have to say. We have held several events where you have been invited to join us, meet us and tell us your thoughts on the future of Orange. Many of you have done so and we thank you for taking the time to let us hear you. We welcome your input.

Our candidates have also been attending various board meetings. These include the Board of Education, the Town Plan & Zoning Commission and, as you may have seen, the Board of Selectmen. First selectman candidate Dan Fitzmaurice offered encouraging words at the June BOS meeting in support of all members of the town of Orange focusing on the LGBTQ community as we celebrated Pride Month.

Fitzmaurice presented First Selectman Jim Zeoli and the Board of Selectmen with a Pride flag, asking it to be hung the next day to show our town’s support for all residents. We thank Zeoli for having the flag flying proudly over the fairgrounds at High Plains Community Center. What better location than a place that clearly identifies as our community’s gathering location. In fact, it hung proudly during the Orange Congregational Church’s annual Strawberry Festival.

I couldn’t help but think of my friend Marie Gesler, who was one of the original organizers of the Strawberry Festival. Gesler passed away last year, and I am sure she would have been proud to see that flag flying over the festival.

Unfortunately, someone removed the flag without permission sometime Sunday night after the festival. The Orange Democrats offered to replace the flag, and many residents reached out to Zeoli regarding this, but unfortunately no further action was taken by the first selectman’s office. While we appreciate the time the flag was up, we can’t help but think how much more impactful it would have been had it been flying through June 30.

Our Democratic caucus to formally endorse our candidates is Tuesday, July 15. We encourage all registered Democrats to attend this caucus at High Plains Community Center.

Remember, early voting starts Oct. 20 and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Local elections have an immediate impact on our lives, and we encourage all registered voters to take a few minutes this fall to vote early, by absentee ballot or in person on Nov. 4. For more information on the Democratic candidates, visit our Facebook page @OrangeCTDems or our website orangectdems.org.

Feel free to reach out me at JLDOrange@yahoo.com or 203-314-9975.

This article originally appeared in the Milford-Orange Times, July 10