The ORTC View on DEI

Orange, CT – This week, Chairman Dominick Lombardi of the Orange Republican Town Committee (ORTC) unveiled the party’s position on one of the most pressing community issues today: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Released through the Milford Orange Times, the ORTC’s “Blue Ribbon DEI Blueprint” offers a values-driven, merit-based framework rooted in fairness, opportunity, and mutual respect.

“This blueprint isn’t about what we’re against—it’s about what we’re for,” said Chairman Lombardi. “We believe Orange deserves a vision rooted in common sense, not conformity. Our approach to DEI re-centers the conversation around individual merit, opportunity for all, and dignity without division.”

In developing the Blueprint, the ORTC engaged with multiple community officials and held in-depth conversations with more than two dozen educators to understand concerns, aspirations, and experiences from the front lines of education and public service. Their input helped shape a unifying framework focused on real-world needs and community values.

Key principles of the Blueprint include:

• Diversity as strength through differing ideas, experiences, and skills—not identity quotas.
• Equality as equal access to opportunity—not engineered equitable outcomes or lowered standards.
• Inclusion as respect for all voices—not compelled ideology or silenced dissent.

The ORTC supports initiatives like Open Choice school grants to expand educational access and defends leveled coursework to promote academic excellence based on merit. The Blueprint also calls for robust, inclusive support for students with disabilities, emphasizing accommodations, parental involvement, and educator empowerment.

A companion graphic titled “A DEI Blueprint You Can Believe In” reinforces the party’s vision:

“Diversity should enrich, not divide. Equality should empower, not lower standards. Inclusion should unify, not conform.”

Chairman Lombardi added, “We listened to our community, we studied the data, and we built a plan based on respect—not rhetoric. This Blueprint reflects what Orange families believe in: fairness, opportunity, and excellence.”