I call on Paul Toner to resign from the Cambridge City Council. I join councillor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler in making that call. Toner will have his day in court, but the evidence presented to the magistrate by Cambridge police, the details of the guilty plea of one of the brothel operators and Toner’s own statements to the press demonstrate that he knew that sex trafficking was occurring in the city he represents. He knew it firsthand.
Who are the victims? I think there are many more than we might imagine.
First, there are the women whose bodies were being advertised and sold to men for sex. We learned from the recent Robert Kraft case in Florida that many Asian women in particular are brought to the United States for the purpose of providing sex for pay, are often coerced and trapped by their traffickers. These Asian women in Cambridge were hidden from the public by the very underground nature of the sex-for-sale business and moved around among locations. They were advertised to clients for unprotected sexual acts as an expensive option.
Our young people learn there is an illegal sex ring operating in one of their neighborhoods in this relatively small city, maybe in the building where they live. They find out that one of their elected officials not only knew about it and did nothing, but likely paid big money to the brothel. Many of us have been involved in Cambridge teaching about the dignity and rights of women and girls, the mutual responsibilities of men and women, safe sex, gender power dynamics, etc. Will much of this good work be undone? How much damage will all of us – parents, teachers, coaches, health and safety providers and others – have to address?
The women of the city have fought for rights and dignity during the city’s long history. We led the establishment of the Women’s Commission, the Women’s Center, the Rape Crisis Center, Transition House for domestic and relationship violence and the Gender-based Violence Prevention Initiative, helped start the LGBTQ Commission and the Sanctuary City for Transgender Persons and more. Our values and our work have been compromised by one of our officials. Toner’s very knowledge and tolerance of the exploitation of women right here in Cambridge makes him unfit to be legislating on our behalf.
There is no contradiction between Toner pursuing his rights under our judicial system and taking responsibility for the evidence of his behavior that has come to light.
Toner is unfit to represent us and he must resign.
Nancy Ryan, Ashburton Place, Cambridge
Nancy Ryan was executive director of the Cambridge Women’s Commission from 1980 to 2006.
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Toner should resign.
Paul Toner’s alleged (but well substantiated) acts raise important questions of criminality, judgement and integrity.
Yes, the women whose bodies Toner bought are victims. But so are his spouse, kids and friends. What on earth possessed him to do this repeatedly? This was not a one-off “mistake”. He had hundreds of interactions with the brothel.
Toner deserves his day in court, and I hope he gets due process. But he does not deserve to serve in a position of public trust. In the short term, this legal matter will be a huge distraction from his duties. In the long term, his reputation and effectiveness will always be compromised.
Agreed. His sustained deception and knowingly illegal actions show without a doubt a total disregard for his community and city. It is utterly unacceptable for him to govern or “lead” this city.
Apparently now our elected officials are no better than the felon in the WH.