Dodd Attacks Council Candidate

Daniella Mendez vehemently denies unsupported claims made by the Mayor at Council and BOE meetings.

First Ward Council candidate Daniella Mendez, right, with activist Karol Ruiz, was verbally attacked by Mayor James P. Dodd at the October 14 Town Council and Board of Education meetings. (Photo/DOVERNOW)

Tuesday's meeting of the Dover Town Council went smoothly, at least by Council standards. That is, until just before the two-hour mark, when the heated public comment segment of the virtual meeting laid bare shocking and unsubstantiated allegations by Mayor James P. Dodd that one of his political opponents has engaged in prostitution.

Some participants at the meeting criticized the mayor for what they said was his role in creating and distributing a shocking paper flyer just three weeks before the November elections. The flyer features photographs of a scantily clad Daniella Mendez, the former president of the Dovery Board of Education, who is running against the Dodd ally and incumbent Claudia Toro, for a Council seat in the First Ward.

The critics charged that two Dover Board of Education members aligned with Dodd – Maria Solines and Victoria Pinales – had been seen distributing the flyers, which mock various anti-Dodd candidates and administration critics as "clowns" and feature photos of Mendez in skimpy lingerie.

Mayor Dodd, sitting in a middle seat in the Council chambers, didn’t say a word for seven minutes. But then he spoke, his words doubling down on what critics describe as an outrageous political smear – effectively accusing Mendez, without evidence, of engaging in prostitution, a crime.

“What people are failing to realize is that the flyer was put out on an individual, that one was okay to be on social media as an escort or a prostitute, and how it means to know that you have an individual that may be elected to this town council,” the mayor said.

“The public needs to know that's who that individual is or was….” Dodd continued. “I think God does grant us wisdom. At least he grants me wisdom.” Then he continued his attack, expressing outrage that “our children can go and look at those pictures online,” before claiming, again without evidence, that Mendez “thinks it's okay to break the law.”

Mendez has since adamantly denied having engaged in illegal activity. But she was unable to voice her outrage over the mayor's character assassination because the virtual meeting was being held on Zoom.

Then the mayor doubled down. He called the Council meeting to a close at 8 p.m., hustled out of Town Hall, raced the 1.6 miles to the in-person Board of Education meeting, arriving by 8:20, then waited until 8:55 to address the board – and the public – as a "citizen," Dodd said, though everyone, of course, knew that he was the mayor.

He defended the distribution of the salacious flyer by his two Board allies, Solines and Pinales, and then repeated his smear against Mendez, again without providing evidence.

Mendez, Judy Rugg (D- Ward 2), and Christopher Almada (D-Ward 3) defeated incumbents Toro, Sergio Rodriguez, and Michael Scarneo, respectively, in the June primary. Mayor Dodd backed all three incumbents. Toro is running against Mendez as an independent write-in candidate.

MENDEZ DENIES CLAIMS

When Mendez got her chance to address the situation, she skewered the effort to smear her.

“My neighbors, friends, and even Dodd supporters sent me emails and text messages expressing support for me and disgust at how low the Dodd administration would go immediately after receiving the flyer or seeing Board of Education member Victoria Pinales distributing it via an online video,” she said. “This hateful flyer backfired on Dodd immediately. Too many people in Dover have themselves been the victims of revenge porn or blackmail using intimate images or even sex trafficking. No one condones this behavior, except for Mayor Dodd’s political cronies, Claudia Toro and Sergio Rodriguez, as well as Board of Education members and Town employees, Victoria Pinales and Maria Solines.”

Mendez says some of the images on the flyer were taken for personal use, but she was unaware that they had been used against her. “Like so many women my age and younger in today’s world, I live my life on social media. I have shared private intimate pictures of myself with people I love and people I trusted,” she said. “Like so many women, people that I love and people that I trusted have betrayed me. Some of the images you see on that flyer are of me, shared without my consent, and some of those images have been altered using AI. I never consented to my images being shared on harlot hub or any of those escort sites. Once I learned that my images were on those sites, I started the fight to have them removed. Like so many women before me, I’ve learned the struggle is never-ending.

“I don’t know if Mayor Dodd himself stole the images and put them on those sites or if he simply found them on those sites and exploited them, but this is greater than me,” she continued. “This is about all women who have been the victims of invasions of privacy, the victims of revenge porn. And while this is deeply painful for me, I find some solace in the fact that I can be an example of courage for others. I ground myself in the commitment never to allow my sexuality and my gender to be weaponized against me, to silence me. They will not shame me.”

Mendez said she will continue to advocate for anyone facing these challenges. “åI’ve had dating profiles since I was a teen. Like me, many people who date online don’t realize how vulnerable they are to their images being shared without their consent,” she said. “I look forward to the day that we can have stronger laws to protect young people against this. The non-consensual sharing of intimate images has led to suicide in young people, and now we have to address it here in Dover.”

“My focus is on serving the people of Dover, not engaging in the Mayor’s baseless attacks,” she said. “But I take defamation seriously and am reviewing all legal options to hold him accountable for this reckless behavior.”

Mayor Dodd did not respond to requests to discuss his comments or share evidence supporting his allegations about Mendez. Others spoke out in support of her.

Fellow candidates Almada and Rugg issued a joint statement in support of Mendez. 

“Daniella isn't just a name on a ballot; she is our friend,” the candidates said. “She is a dedicated member of this community, and to see her character assaulted in this way is personally offensive. These aren't policy disagreements; they are extreme, personal smears designed to scare you into voting out of fear.”

Wittner also went from the Council meeting to the BOE session.

“The revelation that a board of education member is unapologetically engaging in harassing and bullying behavior under the guise of protected political speech is extremely distressing,” she said. 

“Our students deserve to be led by compassionate adults who rise above the fray and set the example. How can families expect Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) complaints to be handled appropriately when Board members are engaging in the same sort of behavior they should be protecting our children from? I stand firmly against intimidation, bullying, and harassment. I wholeheartedly support Ms. Mendez, not just as an excellent candidate for office, but as a human being and fellow Dover resident who deserves the grace and love we should all afford one another.”