On Monday, Republican Board of Education member Robert Harrington said that Republican candidate Camilo Riano “crosses the line.” Harrington cited Riano’s comments about superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice, and 2 complaints Riano filed against the town of Westport.
Riano replies:
As one of the Republican candidates for the Board of Education, I was truly hoping for a campaign in which we had substantive discussions on topics which are important to the parents, the teachers and the children of Westport. Instead, we are already down the path of character assassination.
Camilo Riano
During the past few days, there has been an increase in social media posts that reiterate the innuendo against me that my Democrat rivals have been circulating in their campaign communications. The comments are also consistent with the various smears and character attacks that their supporters have been directing towards me in different media outlets.
The objections to my candidacy seem to revolve around two major points. First, my use of the phrase “child grooming.” Second, my legal efforts, as a concerned citizen, to correct violations of the Westport town charter.
For the benefit of voters, I will address both points head on.
First, in an open letter to Superintendent Scarice, and at Board of Education meetings, I have asked for an end to the “child grooming” that is taking place within our schools.
Pornographic images are widely recognized tools within the child grooming toolkit. According to retired FBI Agent Bob Hamer, “the most important step” in seducing a child through successful grooming techniques is the introduction of “sexual talk and pornography, explaining to the child that he was old enough to understand and mature enough to appreciate sexual topics.”
Along with many parents in our community, I considered the “banned books” display that was set up at the high school library extremely problematic. Some of the images in these books were so pornographic that Dan Woog himself took them down from his website, after briefly posting them. This material was not merely sitting on the shelves of our school libraries. The book display was intentionally designed to tempt our children to review the images by inviting students to “find out why” the books were “banned.”
Three books in the Staples High School Library were challenged by parent Tina McLaughlin. A special committee later voted unanimously that the books could remain in the library. Superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice affirmed the decision; McLaughlin later dropped her appeal of that decision.
I do not believe, and never stated, that anyone connected with our schools intended to abuse our children physically, but the unintended risks associated with sexually inappropriate material are potentially very serious. If rational people are having a genuine discussion as to whether or not material displayed in our school library legally qualifies as obscenity or child pornography, something is seriously wrong.
While some might be offended by my choice of words, attacking the words I used does not change the inappropriateness of what has been taking place in our schools. Citizens have a right to dislike this word or that, but I believe most parents, across party lines, are quite uncomfortable with many things happening in our school district that would have been unimaginable in years past. I believe parents are much more concerned about the recent escalation of sexual content and themes in so many facets of our schools and much less concerned about which terms are the most politically correct. As a candidate for BOE, I stand for reasonable and appropriate boundaries when it comes to sex and gender related matters.
Second, let’s discuss my engagement with the town of Westport on the topic of the violation of the town charter. In two instances, I brought to the Town’s attention (working with an attorney who actually acts as legal counsel for multiple other towns in our state) what I believe were clear violations of the Town Charter.
In the first instance, my engagement on the subject of the composition of TEAM Westport, the town lawyer and the first selectwoman actually concurred with our analysis and responded to it by restructuring the committee to bring it in line with the charter. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to thank me for bringing this to the town’s attention, rather than using my involvement here as some kind of talking point against me? Do we not value compliance with the law in Westport?
In the second instance, I communicated my view, supported by legal analysis, that the Board of Ed lacks the legal standing to add student representatives who will function as de facto board members. All 3 Republican board members had objections to the installation of these student “representatives.” I stand with them in their positions.
I am putting myself out there as a candidate because I have strong objections to how the Democrats, under the so-called leadership of chairperson Lee Goldstein, are running the school system. I think it is time to renew the membership of the Board of Education and give parents the representation they deserve.
I continue to believe that how we approach the issues of gender and sexuality within our schools is very important. While activists may continue to insist on their various philosophical positions, these are our children and we need to stand up for them. It was only because of strong advocacy from parents that superintendent Scarice recently had to clarify that our teachers are prohibited from inquiring about student pronouns (indirectly asking children as young as sixth grade, on their very first day of school, if they are transgendered). In some cases, teachers were even asking the students if they wanted this information to be withheld from their parents! Mr. Scarice is correct in his determination that this practice is unacceptable, and I commend him for making that unambiguous.
We should not just blindly trust ideologically motivated activists who have been ignoring what the administration told them. Parents need to be involved. This is why we have a Board of Education. By and large, our teachers are excellent and I have been always on their side, but when something is going wrong in our district, it is the obligation of good parents to step in and make their voice heard.
Enough with the personal attacks. Let’s stop distracting voters with semantics and focus on substance. Let’s have a real dialogue. I welcome the opportunity to engage with my Democrat rivals on these crucial issues.
Let’s have a meaningful and civil exchange of ideas. Let the voters decide. This is how American democracy works.
First I am an independent voter and agree with some of the statements this republican candidate makes. Parents should always be involved with their child’s education. I do have a really hard time supporting this candidate however. His last statement “ this is how Democracy works” falls on deaf ears.
On a national and state level we all have had to be exposed to the Republicans push the boundaries of moral, ethical and yes even criminal actions. I don’t have to mention names to make this point. So as far as this parent and voter is concerned I question your motives as you represent a party that divides rather than is inclusive.
Camilo, I have not heard you say one single positive thing about Westport and Westport public schools in both the conspiracy theory publication that you write for and at the school board meetings that you have spoken. I have only read and heard your parroting of right wing extremist, politically divisive, hateful and harmful rhetoric that we are witnessing attacking schools, teachers, superintendents and students in the state of Florida.
Come up with some new material please. The parroting is getting old.
We need school board candidates who love the community that they live in and fill it and our schools with positivity, inclusiveness and support, not conspiracy theories, attacks, and bigotry.
I suggest that people in this community attend school board meetings or watch the recordings. Please read what Camilo has written in the CT Centinel and other extremist publications.
Stay educated and aware ( woke is a good thing, not bad).
“Please read what Camilo has written in the CT Centinel and other extremist publications.”
Do you have links to this? A search on CT Sentinel (or Centinel) and Reyna does not give any hits. Curious to read.
CT Centinal ( not Centinel) and Camilo Riano.
I love reading Stephanie’s comments!
Honestly, I hate the way the GOP, has made it a mission to say that if you have woken up to reality, being woke, is a bad thing. Opening our minds to all points of view and then deciding for yourself what you believe in is a great thing and that is what Democracy is meant to be! Being patriotic is also a good thing, but the GOP, has made it sound like you can only be “patriotic” if you believe the way they do! Sounds kind of like a cult or worse, a dictatorship. Luckily we still can vote for the candidates of our own choosing and not try to overturn the elections. Oh, right, these “patriotic” idiots did try to overthrow the rightfully elect d govt. hmmm 🤔
how much sexual content had orange made ? how much of orange sexual content has been exposed to public school children ?
Peter / Stephanie / Beth:
Well written / well stated. Thank you !
I am tired of Camilo attacking our schools, teachers, superintendent students and town.
Enough of the gaslighting and projections. This playbook can not stand any longer.
Do your due diligence on Camilo’s attacks and do not amlow him to turn this around onto others.
He called Scarice a groomer. He has support on a Facebook page where people say teachers make kids trans and hand out puberty blockers.
Not one teacher or superintendent has turned a student trans, gay, or made them have sex.
Enough is enough.
Has Mr. Riano stated a position on the proposed Long Lots school building plans that would likely destroy the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve?
Yellow ‼️
Send this guy to Florida where he belongs – right there with DeSantis who is trying to uneducated children by structuring the schools so that children will not learn and forget to think
There is some irony in efforts to portray Mr. Riano as some kind of extremist. He is a Westport resident and parent of four young children in Westport public schools who are first-generation Americans. He’s expressed concern with what appear to be an increased politicization, highly provocative and age-inappropriate material in school, ever-increasing efforts to categorize students by race, gender and gender identities, limitations on parents’ ability to be involved in their kids’ education, and lack of attention to the sort of things that have made WPS the great schools that they are. He criticized the equity study when he saw it was being spearheaded by a radical group at the NYU Metropolitan Center that openly opposes capitalism and seeks to “dismantle” the education system and inject race into every subject in the K-12 classroom, and whose representative in the Westport study has made some very troubling racist comments. Camilo’s certainly been outspoken on these issues and his explanation above on what he meant and didn’t mean by his use of the term grooming as a concerned parent will likely never satisfy those who prefer to portray Camilo as an extremist. I suppose if you want more politicization, more focus on sexual preferences and practices at younger ages, more focus on immutable characteristics like race and sex in schools, then he’s not your candidate. Whether you agree with him or not, it would be great to see the town focus on the issues. All of the BOE candidates are our neighbors and all appear to be motivated by a genuine desire to improve our schools.
I did not know much about Mr. Raino but after reading prior accusations made against him, I had the impression that he was a radical, manic conservative extremest who would destroy the discourse and collegiality of our town. After reading Mr. Raino’s rebuttal, I can see that others have falsely portrayed him. Although Mr. Raino made a strong embellishment to get attention, he is very: constructive, logical and reasonable. I am incredibly impressed with his articulate response and am now suspicious of the political motivation behind his accusers. It appears that some elected officials are interested to maintain the status quo and their cosy club….”let’s go along to get along.” In fact, these ultra conformists are only protecting themselves from outside input and ideas. I am worried about anyone who uses bullying tactics to exclude others that won’t conform. I notice that our town has robust and inclusive discussions but we have a uniparty of town officials and school board members that control the outcome. It is more representative and democratic to have some gadflies with diversity of ideas and opinions in our government and not only outside the walls.
Mr. Raino has provided his response. There is nothing he has set forth that would cause me to vote for him for the BoE. It is also possible that there will be an organizational element to support Mr. Raino. I hope that all voters vote for Mr. Raino’s Republican running mate and the two Democratic nominees for the BoE. I think it would be tragic if Mr. Raino won election because very few people voted for the other Republican. Three seats will be filled. Mr. Raino should not fill one of them.
What Camilo Riano thinks of America, stolen classified documents, and the law: “The raid of president Trump’s home is a terrifying action. As a first generation American from Latin America, I have felt safe from government abuse in this country because the Bill of Rights protects me from ‘unreasonable searches and seizures.’ If the FBI can call me a domestic terrorist if I speak at my town’s Board of Education meetings, and can raid the home of a former president of the United States for political reasons, I am not in a democracy anymore. I am living in a totalitarian, tyrannical system.” (Connecticut Centinel, August 9, 2022)
What Camilo Riano thinks of town government: “The reality is that Westport, CT, has a shadow communist government and TEAM Westport is its politburo.” (Connecticut Centinel, July 13, 2022)
Words matter. That’s why we define them, and that’s why we ought to choose them carefully. For example, “grooming” is “the action of attempting to form a relationship with a child or young person, with the intention of sexually assaulting them or inducing them to commit an illegal act such as selling drugs or joining a terrorist organization.” You do not get to use this term (and others) so cavalierly and then handwave your usage away, lamenting that some are “attacking your words.” This is a democracy, not a “totalitarian, tyrannical system,’ and therefore you have every right to use words however you want, but when you put yourself forth as a candidate to represent the rest of us, the words you choose become a window into who you are and what you stand for, allowing the rest of us to look in and decide if you’re worthy of the position you seek. Sadly, the words you have chosen time and again tell us all we need to know.
What are Republicans afraid will happen if we let students sit in as non-voting members of the BOE?
If you want to be taken seriously stop tearing down our magnificent school system and tone down your rhetoric – throwing words around like “grooming” and “communist” shows how out of touch you are with the Westport community – save it for cable news if you are that desperate for attention.
Let teachers and administrators do their jobs without this infantile interference.
Do not be distracted by his claiming to be the one attacked and politicized. Anyone who has been remotely involved in the PTA or BoE has seen him personally attack our BoE and administration continually.
But this is about much more than personal attacks and politicized negative behavior. Camilo Riano is the EDITOR of the Connecticut Centinial. Go to their Education tab and there are articles against CRT, DEI, LGBTQ, progressives etc. All the boogey men.
They report that these are the things that the PTA supports.
https://connecticutcentinal.com/ten-things-you-might-not-realize-you-are-supporting-when-you-pay-dues-to-your-local-pta/
This BoE candidate is anti BoE and anti PTA, in fact largely anti public school.
Do not be distracted that this is about him disagreeing with Democrats or standing up for his children. Look harder, I don’t believe he represents the majority of the Republicans in this country or this town (such as Robert). The Westport RTC needs to answer to this. Or perhaps their actions speak louder than words.
Hi, All-
As an observation and something that is missing from this discourse is the fact that the information regarding sexuality and gender are not initiated by Westport School District- kids are learning all about gender and sexuality from social media who is the main villain in this story. I believe the schools are doing their best to “catch up” and provide students safe guidelines and information from materials and videos that they can access with no context 24 hours a day. If I had to guess, dialogue around these issues is not something the school system eagerly desired. In order to keep up with the kids, they’ve had to implement new ways of teaching. If you want to lay blame at the feet of a groomer, I would start with the tragic introduction of social media to our children. All of us, Democrats and Republicans, are all in this together at the end of the day.
Well put Blake although I think there is also a hidden agenda here too.
If a BOE member constantly spouts off about how “broken” our schools are (despite all evidence to the contrary) then you plant the idea in folks’ minds that you ought to siphon off local tax dollars to advance the notion that education needs to be privatized, thereby ensuring they eventually are broken.
It’s a slippery slope – one thing I’ve learned over the past six or seven years is that it’s amazing what people will believe if you repeat a blatant falsehood often enough…as we’ve all heard before – A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth puts its boots on!
Your use of the word “grooming” – in line with others calling themselves right wing republicans –is wildly inappropriate. Most of us believe in educating our children, including about history, literature, science, gender, and sexuality. That is NOT grooming. Grooming is related to sex CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN. Only people who themselves are deeply troubled would call education “grooming”. Westport has many trained therapists and I’m sure one could help you. This is not about your politics: this is about your misuse of language and concepts. Perhaps you should read the books (not just the pictures).
Candidate C writes: “First, in an open letter to Superintendent Scarice, and at Board of Education meetings, I have asked for an end to the “child grooming” that is taking place within our schools.”
He states as a fact that such abhorrent intentional behavior takes place in our schools.
If indeed such actions are occurring, CALL LAW ENFORCEMENT, don’t prattle on about it in public. Yours is a serious and intentionally provocative accusation that sounds more like a Pizzagate political maneuver than genuine concern about the safety of children.
I’ve been in a room with this guy. He doesn’t belong here. I’m all for constructive change but I truly believe our school system and the scores of people working within it are doing a great job. I don’t think RC would ever be satisfied here. So go somewhere else more aligned with your ideals of exclusion and fear based thinking.
Thank you to Dan and Rob for highlighting this BOE election. I’ll admit, I had no idea what the candidates of this election stood for, but now do. If you want to get a real sense of who Mr. Riano is, I invite you to check out the website that he is an editor for: https://connecticutcentinal.com/meet-the-team/ – It’s filled with anti-vaccine content (including a recent article about Ivermectin being a better solution to Covid than vaccines!), anti LGBTQ, anti-Ukraine, “globalist” talk that aligns with Alex Jones conspiracies, and much more. It’s scary that a town like Westport would have such radicals supported by the local GOP, but here we are.
Mr. Riano, I find it absolutely comical that you object to going “down the path of character assassination”, when it was you yourself who have put us on that path!
I watched you week after week stand up at BOE meetings and personally attack Lee Goldstein. Your attacks were always proffered during the moments of the meetings allotted for “non-agenda items”, so clearly your comments had absolutely nothing to do with the board business of the day and were specifically designed to systematically denigrate viewers’ opinion of Lee as a leader. I’ve read as you’ve tried to do the same to Mr. Scarice.
As a parent, I have been very involved with the Westport school system since my arrival 17 years ago and I can assure you the seven current board members and the current administration are some of the most effective I’ve ever seen.
As it is said, the proof is in the pudding. Our entire district was recently ranked #1 in the state and #17 in the country. We would never have impressive rankings such as those if we were lead by inept, uncaring leaders (as you continually imply).
#1 and #17…not too shabby if you ask me.
I’d like to personally thank Ms. Goldstein, Mr. Scarice and the entire BOE and current school administrators. Job very well done.
By now we all understand exactly what “grooming children “ means.
We have seen the playbook from birth certificate deniers to a brazen assault on this country’s institutions and cherished democratic traditions.
We are no longer shocked by the inane and dishonest antics of low minded sycophants in high places .
We have witnessed unprepared minds run with every insanity from Q Anon to pedophilia in pizza parlors.
We are no longer stunned at malignant political ambition masquerading as patriotism.
No, in fact we know exactly,precisely and absolutely what you mean whenever, foot firmly in mouth, the dishonest apologias spew forth.
And in this town ,in particular ,we clearly know what you mean but most importantly we are no longer having any of it.
The purposeful use of the phrase “child grooming” badly damages real and complicated efforts to have conversations about:
1. Changing the compliance regulations surrounding SOR
2. Plea bargaining reform.
3. Unresolved disclosure tracking.
4. Mandatory minimums and statute of limitations reform.
Camilo Riano “I have asked for an end to the “child grooming” that IS taking place within our schools”
Why ask? He should call the Westport Police or the FBI. Why would he not report it to law enforcement? The BoE doesn’t have the proper enforcement tools to address actual child grooming.
Uh oh he’s anti- Ukraine. That’s a no go right there.
Mr. Riano might be excused, or tolerated, as a private citizen criticizing a public official, for attempting to gloss over the fact that calling someone’s actions “grooming” implies they are a “groomer,” despicable though it is. The world is full of flat earthers, truthers, Q-Anoners, space laser and direct energy weapon theorists, pizza gate gunmen and assorted other cranks. But failing to understand why accusing our superintendent of being a “groomer” is incendiary and borderline libelous, shows he is unfit for public office, particularly in education. Even the language he quotes above makes it clear that “grooming” is not a passive act by a negligent third party – it is a prelude to molestation by the groomer. If he can’t understand that, or accept his culpability, well then bubba, bless his little heart.
The Westport Republican Party should be ashamed of themselves for nominating him for a role on the BoE, and for staying silent while their candidate – who they selected – spouts such nonsense. Mr. Riano didn’t put himself on the ballot, he had to be endorsed by the party. So kudos to Mr. Harrington for avoiding tribalism, standing up for decency, and calling out his own party. There is too little of that these days.
Either Mr. Riano’s nomination is a cynical ploy to appease and muzzle him (“Look, Camilo, we ran you and you lost, now please let someone else have a go”) or an outright endorsement of his extremism and a bet on voter apathy. Either way, it should make any moderate independents, and even moderate republicans, question how they could support republican candidates at any level, unless or until this type of extremism is banished to the fringes where it belongs.
Be sure to tell this story to your friends and neighbors, and most of all get out and VOTE.