Mayor Stewart’s Response to Trump’s Oval Office Address

On November 9, 2016, the day after the national election, the City issued a statement reaffirming our stance and recommitting to the values we uphold in our community. We vowed that as our nation faced transition and uncertainty, in Takoma Park, we would stand strong against hate and vitriol based on ignorance and misinformation.

Given the current government shutdown and the slurs and attacks on immigrants and those seeking to come to our country, I believe it is once again time to reiterate our values.

We are a City with residents and staff from all over the world and we celebrate and cherish our diversity.

We are a City that welcomes those who are the victims of terrorism, violence, or economic upheaval regardless of their national origins.

We refuse to demonize individuals based on their place of birth, religion, or race.

We are a City that upholds the right of ALL people to live their lives with dignity and respect.

Today, in the face of hateful, dehumanizing, and blatant lies being espoused by the current occupant of the White House, we remind the world that in Takoma Park we believe in building strong, inclusive, and healthy communities by ensuring that the rights of all are upheld — immigrants, people of different faiths, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, people of color.

We believe our immigration system should prioritize keeping families together and not tearing them apart.
Here, we believe that every individual has an inherent right to be treated with fairness and justice, not with hatred and bigotry.

We are a City dedicated to forging stronger relationships and creating out of our myriad of differences and experiences one community that stands together.