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By Guy Page
Barre City’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Belonging (JEDB) Committee on November 13 elected William Toborg as its new chair, a decision that prompted pointed debate among members and onlookers about the role of personal religious beliefs in equity work.
In September, 2022, then-chair Joellen Mulvaney-Stanak and others vociferously demanded Toborg resign from the committee because of his Roman Catholic pro-life beliefs and public expression. Tolerance and inclusion were apparently in short supply as Mulvaney – Stanak – mother of Burlington mayor Emma Mulvaney – Stanak – threatened to hit the mute button every time Toborg spoke if he did not resign.
Toborg did not resign. The city council criticized the chair’s statement but did not force her resignation. Toborg, an active member of Vermont Right to Life and resident of a city with a traditionally strong Roman-Catholic presence, did not resign.
His election to chair this month by the other members of the committee was not without hesitation and misgivings.
The departing chair (leaving for health reasons) urged a co-chair setup, an idea that gained no traction. He said he’s glad the chair does not typically vote, and he and others wondered what items Toborg, as chair, would place on the agenda.
“You know, I have an issue, I’m not part of the committee and I don’t get to vote, but I have an issue with the chair of the committee not recognizing all of the rights of the people who are serving on the committee,” City Councilor Sonya Spaulding said.
“Well, let me just put it right out here,” Toborg responded. “I think she’s referring to the fact that I am a Catholic and hold to the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
During the meeting, Spaulding openly questioned whether the committee should move forward with a vote, citing discomfort with a chair who, she says, conflicts with her rights as a woman. “When there are people on the committee who want to take my rights away as a woman… that’s a problem for me,” Spaulding said, adding that limits on reproductive choice are not simply ‘opinions’ but directly impacts on bodily autonomy.”
Toborg responded by acknowledging that his views are grounded in his Catholic faith. Spaulding argued that invoking religious doctrine to justify restricting others’ rights did not constitute “diversity of thought.”
Toborg countered that Spaulding’s positions also affect others, saying, “Your ideas take away the rights of the unborn.” At that point another member insisted the unborn are not people and have no rights.
Spaulding pressed him: “Which rights of yours are being taken away?”
“The right of women to give birth,” Toborg replied, expressing concern that under state law providers offering abortion-reversal drug treatment could face charges or lose licenses.
When Spaulding again asked what rights he, as an individual “at the top of the hierarchy” had lost, Toborg said the goal was “to make sure that does not happen.”
Committee member Matt Mulligan, who described himself as a baptized Catholic who lived closeted as a gay person for 15 years, said he respects Toborg’s right to express his faith but added, “I refuse to have your beliefs limit my rights.”
Toborg said that as chair he would work towards all four of the JEDB, especially the Belonging part. Despite the tensions, the committee proceeded, and Toborg was elected chair.
The board is comprised of Mulligan, Toborg, Sean Warner, Gregory Quetel and Carlos Pereira.
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Categories: Local government
What comfort it brings to know that two of Vermont’s largest cities are being run by the Mulvaney-Stanak family. Hyphens really do add so much to a public official’s stature and authority. It is beyond irony that those cities both have some of their precious resources supporting committees that are intended to promote “equity, diversity, belonging, justice, inclusion etc”, but that the leadership dont consider that any of those attributes apply to pre-born humans. Abortion is a touchy subject, but discussions about it’s many aspects are not something that should be literally or figuratively muted from all public debate. The double standard speaks loudly. To paraphrase a recent comment from Dennis Prager: “the difference between issues discussed by the left and right are such that the person on the right thinks the other is wrong, while the person on the left thinks the other is evil”.
My opinion is that everyone has a right to their own beliefs.
God bless you, William, for your faith, love, and courage to stand up and speak out and engage the conversation in the public square from a biblical worldview.
In answer to the question posed to Mr. Toborg, “What rights of yours are being taken away?”, I’m reminded of what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
The problem, however, is when one group or perspective changes the ground rules of the debate by dehumanizing a particular group of humans. For example, with livery in the United States, those who were pro-slavery skirted the issue of justice by declaring that Black persons were subhuman, thereby justifying the “right” to own slaves, but denying slaves their most basic rights to life and liberty. Pro-slavery folks were deceived and blinded by their own selfish ideology, willfully rejecting the self-evident truth that slaves were human beings just as they were.
In Nazi Germany, same scenario, but this time with Jewish persons.
While both the slave and anti-Semitic deceptions still exist, the preeminent human rights crisis (in terms of being sanctioned by the state or government) today is abortion. Here again, the “my body, my choice” narrative walks in blatant deception because it rejects and denies the self-evident truth that preborn babies are humans fully deserving of our God given rights to life and liberty.
But can you imagine the absurdity of Nazis angrily saying that the Nazis’ “right” to enslave, torture, experiment on, and murder Jewish persons trumped the Jews’ rights to life and liberty? And yet, this is essentially what the pro-abortion perspective does. Those who adhere to its deception must by by necessity dehumanize an entire group of persons—preborn babies—to call it their “rights,” reproductive liberty,” and “bodily autonomy.”
Behind every dehumanization, there is deception, and what feeds that deception is a selfish motive which completely leaves God and His created order out of the equation. At its heart, it denies that we are all created in God’s image, and, therefore, have inherent value and dignity.
The pro-abortion folks opposed to Mr. Toborg’s worldview shuffle the argument around and in so doing, distort truth and reality.
But thank God He is able to transform us and deliver us from lies and devotion and receive His love and mercy in Jesus Christ. Mat He bestow abundant wisdom and grace to Mr.Toborg, for He has surely placed him in this arena and good fight for such a time as this
One simply does not need to invoke their religious beliefs to stand defiant against abortion on demand.
By virtue of their unique DNA, from the moment of conception exists a unique human person never to be repeated in all human history. Just as DNA has confirmed to uncountable courts of law that a unique person was present, DNA confirms that a unique human person was present in the womb.
Fingerprints begin to form on the developing fetus at approx 12 weeks of age. Even identical twins have unique fingerprints. And those same fingerprints are considered confirmation that a unique individual was present in a court of law.
Other markers present in the fetus in-utero are considered proof of life by the medical profession.
Everyone of you knows that all of the above is true, and still some of you would deny unique personhood to the unborn child. Why?
Your putrid souls are hellbent on child sacrifice. You don’t want to hear about Toborg’s God because your God writhes in agony and torment at His name.
When I met my birth mother some 30 years after she gave me up as in infant, she wanted me to know, “You were a child, not a choice.”
So when abortion rights people get into my face, you can imagine the looks I get when I ask them, “Oh? It’s OK to kill children? Which of your children would you like me to kill.”
Maybe it’s also why I don’t have any friends. I’m fine with that. No friends=no drama.
Good to see Equity and Diversity is still a two-way street. Godspeed William.
The eyes of Vermont will be following your efforts. I pray there will be many more that realize diversity in our committees is healthy. The dramatic hate dynamic that exists in some sectors, needs to be reminded that our former ancestors decided there can be peaceful resolves to co-exist. I also pray that more will realize as John Montgomery pointedly realizes that children in the womb merit our protection. John, I pray you find other avenues to peaceful coexistence.
A message downloaded to me this morning – Can anyone genuinely be a man/woman/child of God also be a politician or involved in current government or a church that operates against God? When testing the spirit – are their acts or words of God or in synch with what Jesus said, warned of, and testified in Scripture? There are many stories within the Bible of characters who struggled with their calling – yet, in time, they had to carry out the command for the good of the People. How they did it was going against the herd, against the church, against the powers – holding the authority given to them by God – even when doubting it was real or they would be victorious. The overall themes seem to be restoration of balance and Peace among the tribes – thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven?
Then I read this article, the Spirit instantly pinged me hard. For what I witness in Barre City is akin to Sodom and Gomorrah. Apparently, they know not what they say or do? The mixing and convorting is conveyed as cooporation and community service. Yet, one seat holder proclaims to be a devout Christian publically giggled when talking about how to create more taxation. Ping! The entanlged mix of luke warm pew riders, the agnostics, the heretics, the blasphemers, the athiests, and the satanists. The only thing they agree upon is they all want to steer the herd in their direction with their own distorted dogmas. The failure of such transgressions is witnessed all around the City.
All of which permeates throughout the land. All of which points to the end of these days as written in many of the books. The signs are everywhere. The fake authorities falling off their perches, secrets being revealed, and the earth is shaking in diverse places. Men’s hearts failing in fear seeing what is coming. It is not 31Atlas or the money changers trying to paper over their corruption and fraud.