‘Let’s Show Him Love’: Supporters Embrace Dale Caldwell After Resignation
Photo courtesy of New Jersey Government.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is posted on Front Runner New Jersey.com as part of its content-sharing agreement with NJ.com’s Mosaic Project. See original story here.
BY ANDE RICHARDS | NJ.com
EAST ORANGE — “Let’s show him love!”
That was the call Sunday as former New Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell entered the sanctuary of BET HaSHEM YHWH Worldwide Ministries in East Orange with his daughter, Ashley.
The band that had accompanied singers before his arrival shifted into a funkier rhythm, punctuated by a rapper’s refrain of “Who dat? Who dat?” Caldwell embraced congregants lining his path as he made his way to the front of the church.
The enthusiastic welcome came days after Caldwell resigned following the release of a 61-page investigative report into allegations of sexual harassment, improper conduct and ethics violations. Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who ordered the investigation, called on Caldwell to step down after the report was released.
The allegations and findings sent shockwaves through political and faith circles across New Jersey. The report concluded that Caldwell violated state workplace and ethics rules by intervening in a promotion involving a state employee with whom he had a romantic relationship, making sexually suggestive comments to a female staff member and continuing conduct deemed inappropriate after being warned.
Caldwell’s attorney said he was not given a meaningful opportunity to answer the anonymous allegations. Caldwell has denied the allegations.
Earlier Sunday, Caldwell preached at Covenant United Methodist Church in Plainfield, where members of BET HaSHEM YHWH were in attendance before returning with him to East Orange.
In a sermon titled “When Lies Become Weapons,” Caldwell drew on biblical accounts of false accusations and argued that investigations do not necessarily establish the truth. He also said people should be held accountable when evidence establishes wrongdoing, according to the New Jersey Globe.
Although the report substantiated three violations, witness accounts cited in the report did not uniformly support every allegation raised during the investigation. In several instances, witnesses contradicted one another, did not corroborate an allegation or offered sharply different interpretations of Caldwell’s conduct.
Much of the public discussion has focused on the allegations, the investigative findings and Sherrill’s demand that Caldwell resign.
At Sunday’s gathering, his supporters offered another perspective — one centered on Caldwell’s character, concerns about the investigative process and the consequences of accusations they believe were accepted without sufficient scrutiny.
One speaker questioned why investigators did not seek information from organizers of an event cited in the report. The April 18 Whitesboro Black History Gala in Cape May County was among seven ticketed events examined by investigators.
The report said a longtime friend accompanied Caldwell without paying the $75 admission charge. The Rev. Elorm Ocansey of Franklin Township, one of the gala’s organizers, told Mosaic that neither he nor other organizers were contacted during the investigation.
“We never heard from the state,” Ocansey said. “We still haven’t heard from the state.”
The report does not indicate whether Whitesboro event organizers were interviewed. It also says its ethics finding did not depend on whether an organizer offered to waive the admission charge.
Investigators concluded that Caldwell’s acceptance of free admission for a personal guest violated state ethics rules. Ocansey said the failure to interview organizers raised questions for him about whether Caldwell was given sufficient opportunity to answer the accusations.
“If we’re going to be a state and a nation of law and order, we really need to grant that opportunity to everybody,” he said.
Bishop Timothy L. Pernell Jr., senior pastor and founder of BET HaSHEM YHWH and organizer of Sunday’s gathering, said the public display of support was intentional.
“There’s a difference between politicians and covenant people,” Bishop Pernell told the congregation. “Politicians run when things get hot. Politicians will disown you, but covenant doesn’t do that.”
In an interview with Mosaic after the service, Bishop Pernell accused some religious leaders of abandoning Caldwell before he had been treated fairly.
“He’s being blacklisted, not just by politicians, but by churches. He’s being blacklisted by pastors,” Pernell said. “Nothing was more grievous to me than for pastors to come together and push him out, and for pastors to come together and sign a letter to encourage him to resign.”
Bishop Pernell said the gathering was intended to provide a counterweight to that rejection.
“What I wanted was for you and your daughter to experience the love,” he told Caldwell. “Our love is real. This is not fake stuff.”
The support also took ceremonial form. Alwin Roland Timothy of Chennai, India, international vice president and global ambassador for the International Human Rights Peace Commission, presented Caldwell with an award recognizing his public and humanitarian service. Timothy cited Caldwell’s “distinguished leadership” and service in public life, education, faith and community development.
Jewel Pollard, an East Orange educator and community advocate, spoke with Mosaic after the service. She said supporting Caldwell should not be interpreted as dismissing concerns about the treatment of Black women. Instead, she said, the case raised questions about whether institutions apply fair procedures consistently.
“As a woman myself, yes, I definitely hear it,” Pollard said. “But I also saw a lack of due process. It’s a systemic lack of due process for Black women, for Black men, for all of us.”
Pollard said she also worried that the public nature of Caldwell’s fall could discourage younger Black people from entering politics or seeking other positions of leadership.
Dr. Chris Pernell, a public health physician who now directs the NAACP Center for Health Equity, said her support for Caldwell was informed by her own experience at University Hospital. She said she faced rumors, resistance to her leadership and an internal investigation after becoming a prominent public voice during the pandemic.
“When I saw the lieutenant governor, the first thing I said was, ‘We support you. We’re standing in the gap for you, because when the alarm is sounded, I know better than anyone,’” Chris Pernell recalled.
She told Caldwell that his “greatest opportunities lie outside of the system.” Drawing from Joel 2:25, a passage promising restoration after years of loss, she added:
“I’m here to tell you that we are going to be restored.”
Lawrence Hamm, founder and chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress, said his relationship with Caldwell dates to their years at Princeton University, when both participated in protests calling on the university to divest from companies doing business in apartheid South Africa.
Speaking directly to Caldwell’s daughter, Hamm said: “Your father is a good man. … We are here to say that he does not stand alone. We stand with him.”
Before Caldwell addressed the congregation, Ashley thanked her father for his service and assured him that his public work would continue.
“I’ve never seen my dad so happy as when he was in that position,” she said. “I know you’re going to continue to do the work outside of that title. And you never know — you were too good to be second best anyway.” She added: “All of us will continue to fight. No, it’s not over.”
After Ashley introduced him, Caldwell acknowledged the effect the controversy has had on his daughter.
“I’m a fighter, and my daughter is a fighter,” Caldwell said. “But this whole thing — seeing her dad attacked — it’s inhuman.” Caldwell said he and his daughter were “fighting this together in our own way” and drawing guidance from their faith.
He suggested that losing his title would not end his work in the community.
“In many ways, it’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said. “All things work together for good.”
Caldwell said the Faith Action Center, now led by the Rev. Semaj Y. Vanzant Sr., would continue its work. He described faith as a “fourth sector,” alongside government, business and nonprofit organizations, that must be included in efforts to transform communities.
“If we’re going to transform our communities, each and every one of those has to work together, hand in hand, to really make sure that people have what they need,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell cited Proverbs 31:8-9 — which calls on people to speak for those without a voice — as the foundation of his public work.
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