LYNN — A pair of city councilors are calling on Mayor Jared Nicholson to take action after the city’s diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, Faustina Cuevas, posted pro-Palestinian statements on her LinkedIn page.
Nicholson said he had a lengthy conversation with Cuevas after being made aware of the social-media post, and noted that Cuevas has since updated her profile to remove her official city title. He added he does not believe Cuevas intended to speak on behalf of the city.
And, Nicholson noted the comments were not made on the city’s official website or on any city social-media accounts.
Ward 2 Councilor Rick Starbard and Ward 4 Councilor Rich Colucci both said they felt it was inappropriate for someone whose job centers on inclusivity to make statements directly taking sides on an issue — particularly one like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has escalated dramatically in the wake of attacks by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7 — in which both sides feel aggrieved.
Nicholson said he had not heard from Starbard or Colucci but was happy to speak to them. He added his office had received comments from members of the Jewish community and responded to them.
Nicholson added that he condemns the attacks carried out by Hamas and stands against antisemitism and Islamophobia in all forms.
“I feel terribly for all the lives that were lost and I… want to be there to support all our residents,” he said.
Nicholson also complimented Cuevas, saying she “has done and continues to do amazing work.”
Cuevas has used her LinkedIn page to repeatedly express her support for Palestinians, and wrote “I know too much about the Palestinian struggle, and will continue to be in solidarity with them.”
“I am willing to die on this hill rather than stand by and see an entire people be wiped out from the face of the earth,” she wrote.
Nicholson said the post was written while Cuevas was out of the office and on her personal device.
Starbard said while he disagreed with Cuevas’ stance, he would not have had an issue with her expressing the same sentiments on her personal Facebook page. But, he said that doing so on LinkedIn, a social-media platform geared toward employees and businesses, was inappropriate.
Because Cuevas’ profile had her city title attached, Starbard said her post made it seem her feelings were those of the city.
“I totally disagree with the opinion and I don’t think that it should have been done basically flying the city’s flag,” Starbard said. “Honestly, I don’t think that that’s the place for anybody to be making that type of a post on that platform with the title of their city job on that post sharing that opinion.”
Starbard said he believes Nicholson should take some action, though he stopped short of saying he should reprimand or discipline Cuevas.
“If the mayor has an issue with it as one of his staff members, he should deal with it,” Starbard said.
Colucci, though, was more forceful, saying Nicholson should “reprimand her” or “do something.”
“She’s an equity person, an inclusion person. She’s taking sides,” he said. “It’s not the right thing for someone in that position to say.”
John M. Gilberg of Edison Realty LLC, a Jewish Community Center North Shore board member and a director of The Item, was one of the concerned residents who reached out to Nicholson. He did not comment specifically on Cuevas’ posts to The Item, instead offering remarks made by former Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, in defending Israel.
“Israel is the only nation on earth that inhabits the same land, bears the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same God that it did 3,000 years ago,” Gilberg said, quoting Krauthammer.
Cuevas emphasized that what she posts on social media as a private citizen is entirely separate from her role in the city. She said she has a proven track record of being “equitable to all” and condemned terrorism and antisemitism.
Moving forward, Cuevas said she will be more thoughtful and intentional in defining the separation between her comments as a city official and as a private citizen.
“Nothing that I post on my personal page is reflective of my city role,” she said.
