Previously Published in The Messenger
By Matt Meduri
The campaign for the First Council District in the Town of Islip is heating up as one-term Councilman Jorge Guadrón (D-Central Islip) has accused his opponent Manny Troche (R-Brentwood) of supporting “hateful rhetoric and acts that terrorize communities of color.”
Troche ran against Guadrón for the open seat in 2021. Guadrón won 64.16% to Troche’s 35.84%. The rematch is taking place in a district that contains North Bay Shore, most of Brentwood, and parts of Central Islip
On September 23, Councilman Guadrón posted a statement to his Town Facebook page denouncing comments made by someone under the screen name “Win De”, stating he found the comments “very offensive and disrespectful.”
“I am a BROWN person, and, as a minority, I understand too well the issue of colorism and the constant need to educate people like ‘Win De’ and my opponent [Troche] who support hateful rhetoric and acts that terrorize communities of color,” said Guadrón in his statement. “I welcome freedom of speech and believe in constructive criticism that brings solutions. However, I will NOT allow my page to be used to promote misinformation, hate, and division.”
Councilman Guadrón also made a statement accusing the Brentwood Fire Department of taking down his campaign signs, although no irrefutable proof was brought forward and charges were not applied.
The Messenger spoke with a representative for the Guadrón campaign on the background of the comments and accusations against Mr. Troche.
“The comment made by ‘Win De’ accused the Councilman of being racist. Not only was this person themselves racist, they stated that El Salvadorians are racist and stated that why anyone from the colored community is supporting Guadrón when he [Guadrón] is racist,” said the spokesperson. “Naturally, if you were in the Councilman’s place, you would be offended if you were called a racist and if every Caucasian person was called a racist.”
The spokesperson said that the Councilman respects his “multi-diverse staff and district”, and that he felt that it was “right to call out the stereotypical comments that were made by Win De” and the “vulgarity” of other comments. In screenshots obtained by The Messenger, the “Win De” commenter accused participants in a campaign promotion of being “puppets” for the Councilman.
Facebook commenter under the name “Barh Rehman” replied to “Win De”, calling Mr. Troche a “wanna-be racist Hispanic” who “doesn’t care about his fellow Hispanics.” Vulgar comments were then made by “Win De” in response.
“We’re wondering why people are commenting on a campaign page for the Councilman, because we haven’t seen anything of this sort on his opponent’s page,” said the Guadrón spokesperson. “We haven’t had anyone targeting the opponent’s page with outlandish emojis and disrespectful information that is not true. The only thing we did is we called for his opponent to come out and explain where he stands in regards to the community he wants to serve, who is being targeted by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and that several families have been separated.”
The spokesperson said Mr. Troche has not responded to those items. The spokesperson also claimed that Mr. Troche and Suffolk County Legislator Trish Bergin (R-East Islip) made comments at a recent meet-the-candidates meeting that they are both “happy” about the deportations and that they hope “all Hispanics need to be removed.”
Deb Cavanagh, President of the Central Islip Coalition of Good Neighbors and Vice President of the Central Islip Board of Education, issued a statement in response to those claims.
“I do not know where he [Guadrón] is getting this information and the attack on Legislator Bergin was false, since Legislator Bergin was not in attendance that night,” Cavanagh said in her statement. “Manny Troche is a volunteer fireman and puts life on the line for his community every time he answers a call. Obviously, you [Guadrón] are running scared, that you are lowering yourself to name-calling and running a smear campaign. I thought you had integrity; I guess I was wrong.”
The Guadrón campaign spokesperson said that the Councilman’s position is one of a “conservative Democrat” on the issue of immigration, including background checks and regulation. The spokesperson also said that Mr. Troche has “made comments” to mutual acquaintances on how he feels on ICE in the community.
“We’re giving him [Troche] a chance to truly represent this community, not just the Puerto Rican community, but the law-abiding members of our community who have their working permits, paying taxes, and not receiving any services from the government,” said the spokesperson. “These are the majority of people in the community he’s looking to serve.”
Mr. Troche responded.
“He wants to talk about being ‘brown.’ He forgets that I’m a little bit darker than him,” Troche told The Messenger. “The way society is right now, anyone will take it to the next level. He’s put an X above my head, because there are sick people who might want to take his comments to heart and do something. There is no excuse for any candidate, including myself, to get ourselves to the point of winning a race by utilizing the ‘racist’ angle. We live in a diverse community that doesn’t tolerate racists. If I am elected, anyone will come into my office and be my friend. For Guadrón to announce I’m a racist, he’d better have the facts. Right now, that’s defamation of character.”
Troche posits that Guadrón “wanted” a legal and public “reaction.”
“Being a fireman, we do not choose on the color, the race, the party, or whatever there is. I love what I do to save lives and am willing to give my life, including even for his,” said Troche. “I never knew to make a point you call yourself brown to make a public statement. You would normally address yourself with your name. Him wanting to make a racist call against myself and people around me has passed a line and now it’s come to the point that I will speak out.”
Troche says that the comments made by “Win De” originated with the commenter stating his/her challenges to Councilman Guadrón’s assumption of credit for the revitalization of Roberto Clemente Park in Brentwood. The commenter made the point that the park was a product of Supervisor Angie Carpenter (R-West Islip) and Assemblyman Phil Ramos (D-Brentwood).
“If you choose to post whatever you’re doing, you need to be able to take the consequences of people who don’t like you or what you’re saying,” said Troche. “Then, he attaches me to this ‘Win De’ and that we are racist and that we don’t like our community. I guess his skin is not thick enough.”
Troche also says that comments were made in support of his candidacy and people started “bashing” the Councilman in the comments.
“Not one of those comments was visible. Guadrón was taking them off one by one,” said Troche.”
“My wife comes from Honduras; I’m from Puerto Rico. My family is highly upset and fearful that there are people out there that might hurt me because of what we have going on in society now, but I will never stop doing what I love to do, which is work for the community that is diverse.”