Two Taunton city councilors sit out convo on racism's threat to public health

Jul. 23—TAUNTON — In a discussion of how racism harms health in the city, a Morton Hospital nurse described how prenatal care is harder to get for some expectant mothers.

Since the hospital closed its maternity ward in 2018, there's a unique burden on families of color without their own transportation or whose members juggle several jobs, Jacqueline Fitts said during a Tuesday City Council committee meeting.

"There's been a huge drop-off in prenatal visits," said Fitts, who was part of a three-person panel that included Kara Civale, vice-president of the Taunton Diversity Network and Tanya Lobo, founder of T.R.U.E. Diversity and a candidate for City Council.

City Councilor Barry Sanders said he scheduled the meeting in light of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledging racism as a "serious threat to the public's health." He said Taunton and Bristol County consistently have low health outcomes.

"We're supposed to be helping to improve the quality of life for residents of Taunton, and access to health care is something we all are interested in learning more about," Sanders said.

All nine City Councilors are white. According to the most recent Census estimates, about 25% of Tauntonians identify as non-white and not Hispanic or Latino.

Two City Councilors, John McCaul and Chris Coute, were absent during the discussion on racism and public health at the meeting of the Committee on Public Health and Environmental Affairs on Tuesday. That led CJ Daye, who has launched his second bid for a City Council seat, to blast them for allegedly walking out in protest of the hearing's topic. But both councilors say that's not why they were not present.

"For me, being a Black man, it was a smack in the face," Daye said on Wednesday. "The optics look like they don't care about it."

McCaul said he received an urgent call for his job as an emergency response coordinator for ServiceMaster restoration services.

"People are calling me racist," McCaul said Wednesday. "How can I be racist by taking a phone call?"

McCaul said that while he is not on the committee in question, he would have liked to have heard the discussion. He accused Sanders of pushing divisive national politics.

"We must never play politics with public health," the five-term councilor said. "Councilor Sanders has chosen to do so."

Pressed on whether he sees racism embedded in the city's power structure, McCaul said he's just interested in helping Tauntonians of all skin colors move forward.

"I don't see racism at all in the city of Taunton," McCaul said.

Daye said it's laughable to argue there's no racism in the city, noting that there hasn't been a Black city councilor for more than 30 years.

"There's obviously something wrong here," Daye said.

Chris Coute, the other councilor not present during Tuesday's committee hearing, said his absence also wasn't a protest of the topic. He said he was meeting elsewhere in City Hall with Mayor Shaunna O'Connell about charter reform. The council president pointed out that he is not a member of either of the first two committees that held hearings on Tuesday, and that he came down to the council chambers once the meeting of the Committee on Public Property, on which he does sit, began deliberations.

Civale, one of the panelists, said she didn't realize during the meeting that two of the nine councilors weren't present.

"It gives me a little concern," Civale said, "but I would hate to make judgment on them since they're not part of the committee."

Sanders, a social worker by trade, said if the City Council keeps talking to the same people it always has, the outcomes will always be the same.

"How we can be more deliberate in our anti-racism efforts?" Sander said. "For me, this was an important first meeting to orient our thinking."

Civale said she'd like to see more sessions like Tuesday's.

"It's a good way to start the conversation," said Civale, who added that a way to keep racism on the agenda at City Hall would be creation of a new committee specifically for the subject.

Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@tauntongazette.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Taunton Daily Gazette.

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