Milford official plans to send letter instead of meeting with White Wolves

New Haven Register/January 14, 2004

Milford -- Members of an alleged white supremacist group better not be waiting for a phone call from a top city official regarding the group's overture to meet and explain how they feel they've been misrepresented.

State Rep. Richard Roy, D-Milford, a member of the city's Anti Hate Task Force, said he will not be calling members of the group to ameeting. Roy said task force member Jessica Blacketter will send a letter to the White Wolves.

The letter will define what the Anti Hate Task Force is about and it will ask the White Wolves to define what they are all about, Roy said. He said a decision would then be made whether the task force should meet with the White Wolves behind closed doors.

The issue of the White Wolves surfaced last week when two members of the Stratford-based White Wolves showed up at City Hall. It came after Mayor James Richetelli Jr. and members of the task force launched a campaign to encourage residents to sign a Declaration of Tolerance.

White Wolves member Ken Zrallack and other unidentified members of the group talked briefly with Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin, founder of the task force, and Richetelli and then left City Hall without incident.

Zrallack requested his group have an opportunity to meet to discuss how the group feels they have been misrepresented in the media.

Members of the Anti-Hate Task Force met last week and agreed that Roy would phone Zrallack to gauge whether he was serious in working with the group to promote tolerance.

Roy said he doesn't know why Zrallack wants to meet with members of the task force.

"If the White Wolves are willing to join us and spread peace among people of different backgrounds then they can help us," Roy said.

Roy said he's skeptical whether the White Wolves will ever work with the task force to promote tolerance saying they have done nothing to indicate they are sincere.

"We are an inclusive group and they are an exclusive group," Roy said.

The actions of the White Wolves have been well documented, including several arrests of some members for allegedly disrupting the meeting of a gay, lesbian, and transgender group in Stratford and for assaulting a 15 year-old in Milford.

The goal of the Anti-Hate Task Force is to convince as many city residents as possible to sign the Declaration of Tolerance, which asks residents to pledge to have respect for all people.

Roy said task force members are still angry that the White Wolves stole the headline away from last weeks Declaration of Tolerance signing.

Richetelli said he respects the judgement of task force members and that if the White Wolves are sincere in wanting to promote tolerance than a meeting could be appropriate.

"We will not promote an agenda about anything beyond tolerance," Richetelli said.