This column, from the weekly opinion piece MATTER OF FACT, first appeared on BrooklynReporter.com, the Home Reporter and Spectator dated February 25, 2022
Appointments to high-level positions in politics mean something. While people should be given opportunities to redeem themselves, being elevated to such posts of influence and then simply dismissing criticism or apologizing after the backlash to the news of it erupts, is certainly not the way to establish one has evolved.
Recent mayoral appointments by Mayor Adams have attracted widespread condemnation. Erick Salgado was tapped last week to be the assistant commissioner of outreach at the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. Salgado spoke out against marriage equality when he ran for mayor in 2013 and was endorsed by a nonprofit opposing same-sex marriage, the National Organization of Marriage, in that race. On multiple occasions throughout the years, including recently, he has joined events with former city elected official Ruben Diaz Sr., who has also denounced marriage equality and said the City Council is “controlled by the homosexual community.”
On February 21, while at an outdoor event in Jackson Heights, a woman questioned the mayor about his appointment of Salgado. Adams responded, “Don’t yell at me. Talk to me like a human being.” While it is true that the woman had raised her voice, the fact is he was being asked about elevating someone within his administration who has a history of publicly advocating for members of the LGBTQ+ community to be denied equal rights under the law.
The mayor had originally planned to name former Councilmember Fernando Cabrera to head up the Office of Community Health, but after immediate outcry from elected officials and LGBTQ+ advocates, Adams named him as his senior advisor in the Office of Faith-based and Community Partnerships, an office that Adams had recently announced will be led by Brooklyn Pastor Gilford Monrose, who has made numerous anti-LGBTQ+ statements on social media and in interviews. Cabrera’s history of homophobic positions includes speaking in favor of a Ugandan law that allowed life imprisonment or execution of those convicted of being gay, having traveled to the country specifically to support their anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
“I wore a bullet proof vest for 22 years and protected the people of this city. When you do that, then you have the right to question me…”
Mayor-elect Eric Adams, December 22, 2021, when asked about letter from 30 City Council members, urging him not to expand solitary confinement
When asked about his Cabrera appointment, Adams said that he “has acknowledged the pain that his past comments have caused and has apologized for the words he used.” An apology is a good place to start, but that alone comes nowhere near close to offsetting the hate Cabrera so eagerly espoused for many years, nor does it demonstrate that he is an individual who can represent all New Yorkers fairly. When asked what his message is to the LGBTQ+ community and lawmakers who are upset with his appointments of two people with anti-gay histories, Adams said, “I respect your thoughts, but I’m going to do what’s best for the city of New York.”
This manner of Adams dismissively scoffing at valid criticisms is nothing new. In December, when rejecting a majority of City Council members who had publicly called for him to not expand solitary confinement, he referenced how he wore a bullet-proof vest for 22 years as a cop and said, “When you do that, then you have the right to question me.” The mayor has the right to tout his resume but stating that anyone, especially other city electeds, who do not have his exact career experience, have no right to ever question him on an issue, is absurd and disconcerting.
These appointments seem to be a trend. When we see stories about how Florida is moving toward passage of their “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would prohibit any mention of sexual identity or gender expression in classrooms and permit parents to sue schools that do, it is clear that New York City must commit to stamping out homophobia in our government. With more than a dozen bills moving forward in several states that would ban even mentioning LGBTQ+ issues in schools, like a Kansas bill that would criminalize any teaching that involves homosexuality in any way as a violation of the state’s obscenity law, it is imperative that our mayor not staff his administration with individuals who have espoused these same ideas.
We know that New York City values diversity, equality, and inclusion. That is why it is so important that our mayor live those values through his official actions.
