In Dover, Councilmember Karol Ruiz has clashed publicly with Mayor James Dodd for more than two decades. Now for the first time, both Democratic firebrands have a seat at town hall meetings, where their conflict seems to escalate with each meeting.
The long-running feud will continue at least through the general election in November, where Ruiz will run on the independent ballot line to retain her Third Ward seat. She announced that decision after the Dover Democratic Committee denied the two-term councilwoman an endorsement during its annual convention on Saturday.
The committee instead chose to endorse Debora Acevedo in the Third Ward. She received 16 votes to Ruiz’s five. Incumbents Sandra Wittner (Ward 1) and Marcos Tapia (Ward 4) won their endorsements, as did Geovani Estacio-Carrillo in Ward 2.
Notably, Wittner, who has clashed with Dodd as well, barely won her endorsement with 12 votes over “Do Not Endorse” (10 votes) in the absence of another candidate. Former mayoral candidate Dennis Touhey, who finished second to Tapia in the committee vote, will remain in the primary for Ward 4, which will be the only district with a contested Democratic primary.
Voters will go to the polls in the June 4 primary to select the ultimate candidates for November.
Ruiz blamed Dodd for her snub, accusing him of stacking the Dover Democrats’ screening committee with “hand-selected candidates that he believes he can either manipulate or fool,” including members who she said had publicly criticized and cursed at her in public forums.
“They were never going to choose me,” she told the Daily Record. “They knew it, I knew it, the residents tuned in to town politics knew it. That’s why I was already planning an independent campaign.”
Dodd denied controlling the screening committee but was among those who did not support Ruiz’s candidacy.
“It was clear the entire committee decided not to endorse her,” Dodd said.
A member of the Dover Democratic Committee’s executive board, T.C. McCourt, resigned after the convention, claiming in a public post online that the committee was now acting as a “puppet regime” for Dodd. “I believe the screening committee process was nothing short of a sham,” McCourt wrote.
‘Nothing personal’
The mayor said he “has nothing personal” against Ruiz, who helped build a coalition of Democrats who ousted Dodd-supported council candidates (then known as Aldermen) in 2018. The insurgents defeated Dodd the next year, when Carolyn Blackman won a bitter campaign for the mayoral nomination.
Dodd returned the favor in last year’s primary, besting Blackman and Council Member Edward Correa with more than 50% of the vote in a three-way race for the mayoral nod. He went on to win the general election with 70% of the vote, a result Dodd sees as a “mandate.”
“We’re trying to get things done,” Dodd said of his administration. “There’s always resistance to change. The important thing is we have a mandate from the people who put me back in office and expect change.”
Ruiz, however, said she pushing back against what she sees as a power grab by the mayor.
“Mayor Dodd and I agree about many action items to move Dover forward,” Ruiz said. “We have one fundamental disagreement: I believe it takes a village. His actions demonstrate an effort to consolidate power, particularly with regard to our police department. Such a consolidation of power is unacceptable in a democracy.”
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Ruiz was referring to the previous two meetings where she clashed with the mayor about his discipline of Police Chief Jonathan Delaney for speaking out of turn at a council meeting. Dodd also moved to shift responsibility over public records from the police to the town clerk’s office.
“It’s history repeating itself,” Ruiz said, referring to a previous feud between Dodd and former police chief Harold “Butch” Valentine.
22 years at odds
With Dodd back and presiding over council meetings, the two have clashed repeatedly since January over policies and procedural matters, often resulting in interruptions by Ruiz, followed by Dodd cutting her off.
The conflict, however, goes back more than two decades.
“I’ve been advocating for the community at the mayor and council meetings during Mayor Dodd’s entire 22 years in office,” Ruiz said. “I have advocated against policies and practices that are harmful to our community throughout.”
“Mayor Dodd even directed police to take me out of the meeting,” she said, referring to a November 2019 confrontation after Dodd had lost the election but was still in office, and Ruiz was a Board of Education member. “He has usurped power in our community for 22 years, but I have hope and love for our community. Our community can and will come together and govern together.”
“Karol has her way of doing things and I have mine, and obviously we do not see things the same,” Dodd responded in an interview. “I want to work with everyone, but I’ve said this to Karol before: This is a group effort. The entire [council] has to work together. My goal is to go into a meeting, conduct town business and move on to the next thing. It’s not about the Karol Ruiz Show.”
“There’s going to be some changes that not everybody’s going to be happy about,” Dodd said. “I’m not going to sit there [at meetings], drag things out and make it a circus. I just won’t have it.”
Ruiz also pledged her willingness to work with Dodd, but refused to back down.
“I don’t have anything personal against Dodd,” she said. “When we have conversations, they are fruitful. I appreciate his business acumen. But I will not leave this community defenseless as he tries to consolidate power. He has control of the Dover Democratic Committee, he has control of the council and is trying to control the police and everything he possibly can.”
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com
Twitter: @wwesthoven
