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New London Board of Education member Elaine Maynard-Adams, a Working Families Party-endorsed candidate, shared a Winnie the Pooh meme on Facebook declaring it “the day we burn the motherf*cking Republican party to the ground” on her personal Facebook page. In a separate interaction on a blue “We Voted!!” graphic, Maynard-Adams replied “Now go do it again!” The posts have drawn criticism that an elected school board member is publicly glorifying violent political rhetoric aimed at constituents and appearing to encourage voting more than once.
Kat Goulart, who previously served as New London Republican Town Committee Chair and who also ran for Board of Education, responded to the meme on Facebook, writing that Piglet had “traded his anxiety disorder for a political manifesto” and Winnie the Pooh had gone “from hunting honey to hunting Republicans.”
Goulart noted that while Republicans are a minority in New London, “they’re still constituents. Their children still attend public schools. And their tax dollars still help fund them.” She added that there is “something spectacularly ironic about holding a position intended to serve an entire community while sharing memes fantasizing about burning one segment of that community’s political party to the ground,” and observed, “The oft-repeated lesson from the left: We celebrate diversity. Unless you disagree. Then we destroy you and dance on your grave.”
The Centinal spoke with Goulart. She said that comments like Maynard-Adams’s concern her because “you are elected to represent the entire body [the town], so you are to take the thoughts, ideas, and opinions of the people and pass them through you.” She added that remarks like this show an elected official who appears to be “unable and unwilling to do that.” Goulart further noted that while the First Amendment is very important and everyone has the right to freely express their opinions, public figures should expect that everything they say or write, especially on social media, is subject to public scrutiny.
The New London Board of Education consists of seven members, all Democrats. In fact, Democrats have held every seat on the board (and the City Council) for years, and the board is not subject to minority-representation rules that would require seats for other parties. Maynard-Adams has been a longtime figure on the board and has previously served as its president.
Local commentary has highlighted persistent low performance in New London Public Schools under the board’s oversight—citing state data showing many students below grade-level in math and reading, high chronic absenteeism, and weaker college-and-career readiness indicators. Neighboring districts such as East Lyme have posted markedly stronger results under the same state standards.
The Centinal contacted Maynard-Adams for comment about the post. She replied, “That’s my personal FB page.” When asked whether she had anything to say in response to local Republicans who expressed concern that she may not be able to fairly represent them on the Board of Education as a result of the sentiment in her posts, she replied, “Must be a slow news day,” and added that she had no further comment.
The explicit call made by Maynard-Adams' to “burn” a major political party, combined with the “do it again” comment on a voting graphic, has prompted legitimate questions about whether such rhetoric is appropriate for a member of a local board of education responsible for serving students and families of all political backgrounds—even when posted on a personal Facebook page.
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