Tonight the Bristol 4th of July Committee showed a shocking level of disregard for the community and did not consider a vote to relocate the 4th of July Concert series back to Independence Park. The General Chairman Camille Teixeira set the tone in an opening statement making clear the committee would not change course prior to even hearing from the public.

After presentations, the Chair immediately stated, with no factual basis, that the committee could not accept funds raised by the community and that they were not changing course. This was before any member of the committee was allowed to comment and was a blatant effort to blunt dissenting voices.

The committee ultimately hid behind a misleading narrative of safety, despite our group raising the money needed to implement the safety measures requested by the Police Chief, and our group having an extremely positive meeting with the Police Chief prior to the tonight’s meeting.

The tone could be described as flippant and overall spiteful of the community opposing their plans. Ultimately, while the committee is made up of dedicated volunteers who should be thanked for their efforts, the leadership has shown to be woefully problematic. The Bristol 4th of July Committee is an official Town Committee that serves the public and received public funds. They have unfortunately lost sight of this, and tonight simply rejected funding and ample volunteers that would have breathed new life into the 4th of July celebration we all hold dear.

Further, after the meeting the committee posted a statement on Facebook and immediately locked comments, which they have done repeatedly since this decision has been announced, further suppressing the voice of Bristol residents.

The conduct displayed at the meeting tonight, along with repeated rejected efforts to engage in discussion with the Committee leadership, particularly Chair Teixeira, the suppression of public comment, and the intentional effort to hide the initial decision from the public for 3 months, leaves us with one path forward. A path that residents and business owners have asked us to consider.

Tomorrow, Save Bristol 4th will be officially filing a citizen’s ballot initiative to overturn this decision. The ballot measure would enshrine Independence Park as the permanent venue of the Bristol 4th of July Concert Series and require that any proposed venue change be subject to a vote of Town residents.

Please reach out to savebristol4th@gmail.com if you would like to assist us in gathering signatures. Stay tuned!

Our coalition representatives have been nothing but polite, constructive, and professional yet we have been met with silence and hostility, leaving us no other choice.