November 11, 2016
WASHINGTON, DC – Several months ago, Hornell native Joe Racalto floated the idea around on Facebook, of running for mayor in Hornell. However, this afternoon, Racalto is saying that with the new political reality in Washington, that he wants to stay there and fight for LBGTQ rights, which Racalto says could be in danger.
See full statement below:
As a lifelong Hornellian, I have never lost sight of helping my hometown residents with a career of which I am fortunate enough to have in Washington. My desire to run for mayor was rooted in a deep passion for public service – and that remains.
After the election on Tuesday, I am gravely concerned that the victories I have been a part of in Congress, are in jeopardy of being chipped away, or reversed all together. Like the tens of millions of Americans who are part of the LGBT community, I recognize that our work must continue to preserve our civil rights. This to me is paramount, because without civil rights, nothing else really matters.
I very carefully weighed the important difference between a mayoral run and helping the millions of LGBT children, parents, colleagues, friends and Americans. And while I am confident I could have run a ground-roots campaign with a strong agenda, I simply cannot ignore the political reality that has taken shape in the past few days. My entire career has been devoted to expanding civil rights and making the lives of LGBT Americans more bearable, and it’s clear those are now in danger.
For the reasons of Marriage Equality, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Hate Crimes and all the other basic civil rights, I will not run for mayor of Hornell.
Finally, John Buckley and his wife Shannon remain my friends. If he chooses to run for mayor, he will have a friend in D.C. to help him navigate the federal funding maze — and as I said, my dedication to the residents of Hornell remains unbended.
–Joe Racalto
