TRENTON -- The former head of a union local representing more than 6,000 corrections officers said Monday racial tensions within the group are at a boiling point.
Lance Lopez called on the state's Policemen's Benevolent Association to take control of PBA Local 105. He was president of the group before he was ousted in a June election.
Lopez cited as examples of tension a senior union member dressing up as a blackface Santa for a Halloween party five years ago and text messages between an unnamed person and the group's current president, Brian Renshaw, in which that unnamed person used racial slurs.
"It's time for the state PBA to step in and take care of the local," Lopez said.
But Renshaw, the group's president, dismissed the allegations as baseless.
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"Im not going to directly comment on any of Lance Lopez's allegations and or his opinions," Renshaw told NJ Advance Media by phone Monday.
"It's unfortunate that this draws attention away from the progress of this union and the increasing unity that is felt and expressed by so many members," he said.
Patrick Colligan, the president of the state PBA, suggested Lopez's claims have more to do with politics than actual cases of discrimination. Regardless, Colligan said no official request for the state PBA to take the reins has been made.
"There's a lot of internal politics there," Colligan said.
Renshaw unseated Lopez in June.
Around that time, The Trentonian reported on a photo of the group's new executive vice president, Michael Gallagher, dressed as a blackface Santa. The photo was from a Halloween party five years prior.
Gallagher didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. But he told the Trentonian at the time that he dressed as "black gangster Santa Claus" and didn't think it was controversial.
"It's been on my Facebook for over five years," he told the newspaper. "The girl I was dating at the time was a black girl. She didn't have a problem with it, no one else at the party had a problem with it."
Also around that time, text messages between Renshaw and an anonymous person surfaced and were reported on by The Trentonian. The anonymous person sent Renshaw messages that used the n-word and "darkies" to describe African American union officials.
Renshaw didn't use any of the slurs in the text exchange and says he doesn't know who sent the text. Lopez criticized the union president on Monday for not immediately condemning, in the text exchange, the anonymous person's use of the slurs.
Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook.
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