May 7, 2020
AJC New Jersey's Community of Conscience Statement on Recent Bigoted Remarks by Trenton Councilwoman
We, members of the New Jersey Community of Conscience, a statewide initiative comprising leaders from various religious, ethnic, civil and social justice communities, strongly condemn the bigoted remarks made recently by Trenton City Councilwoman Robin Vaughn. We unequivocally stand with New Jersey’s and Trenton’s LGBTQ residents in opposing such language, especially among our elected officials.
During a heated City Council coronavirus update phone call, Councilwoman Vaughn hurled homophobic insults at Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, an openly gay man. Mayor Gusciora was the first openly gay state legislator in New Jersey and is the first openly LGBTQ mayor of Trenton, the state’s capital. Councilwoman Vaughn’s use of homophobic language and homophobic tropes are unacceptable for an elected official and are part of a troubling pattern that included her defense last year of the use of an antisemitic slur by the Trenton City Council President.
We join Governor Murphy, Lt. Governor Oliver, Senators Booker and Menendez, Representative Watson Coleman, other state leaders, and Garden State Equality in condemning Councilwoman Vaughn’s remarks and calling on her to resign. The Community of Conscience whole-heartedly agrees with Senator Booker’s statement: “From her previous defense of anti-Semitic rhetoric in 2019, to her hateful words used against the LGBTQ community this weekend, Councilwoman Vaughn has shown a pattern of intolerance that has no place on the Trenton City Council.”
On Wednesday, Councilwoman Vaughn offered a public apology for her remarks. while the apology is a necessary step forward, she has now repeatedly engaged in behavior disparaging the diverse communities of Trenton. We must hold our elected leaders to a higher standard. The councilwoman has a responsibility to now pursue further steps of personal reflection, diversity counseling, and public conversation to actively repair the breaches of public trust created by her rhetoric.
Hate and bigotry cannot be tolerated in Trenton, in New Jersey, or anywhere in our world. As we stated following the Jersey City massacre, “An attack on one of our communities is an attack on all communities. We proudly stand together to speak out, and stand up, for one another.”
For the New Jersey Community of Conscience (list in formation)
(Organizations listed for identification only)
Very Rev. Peter Baktis
Orthodox Church of America
Rabbi Philip Bazeley
Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple
Rev. Charles Boyer
Salvation and Social Justice
Ali Chaudry, Ph.D.
NJ Muslim Jewish Advisory Council
and NJ Interfaith Coalition
Christian Fuscarino
Garden State Equality
Rev. Rob Gregson
Unitarian Universalist FaithAction NJ
Reverend Jack Johnson
Coalition of Religious Leaders of New Jersey
Rabbi David C. Levy
AJC New Jersey
Raghu Rao
Hindu Jewish Coalition
and Forum for Religious Freedom
