Statement of UFCW Local 1994 President Gino Renne on Harford County Delegate Mary Ann Lisanti:

March 4, 2019

Since the era of Dr. King, Labor has always stood as a strong advocate for civil and human rights. We cannot allow bigotry to stand and when it tries to emerge in our political arena, we must call it out for what it is.  

We’re disappointed with what Delegate Lisanti said, and no matter the circumstances, we cannot allow for her words to stand.

Just last week, our eloquent representative from Maryland, Elijah Cummings, said in the halls of Congress, “We’re better than this.”

His words were extremely powerful to me.

He said, “When we’re dancing with the angels, the question we’ll be asked: In 2019, what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact? Did we stand on the sidelines and say nothing? …”

I’m not one to stand on the sidelines and say nothing. Our democracy can only be made better by being represented by the best people. People who truly represent the values of our state. And our state does not value bigotry.

On behalf of the members of Local 1994, I join the many others around Maryland who are calling for Del. Lisanti’s resignation. We are better than this.

#  #  #