Friday, March 26, 2021

Discussions involving the Durham Board of County Commissioners takes attention away from the findings of the Coleman Report

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Children, everyone take a seat. I need everyone to hush and listen.  

 

Durham politics has become a game of wars. The tussle for power between members of the Durham Board of County Commissioners is amplified by the intrusion of four political action committees – People's Alliance, The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, Durham Association of Educators and the Friends of Durham. A variety of perspectives have been pitched involving the core issue impacting division.  

 

For some, it’s a philosophical gap between Durham County Manager Wendell Davis and the perception of Durham’s progressive reputation. People’s Alliance and Durham Association of Educators point to the manager’s funding of schools as an example of a philosophy they claim mirrors Ronald Reagan's trickle-down theory. Some residents attack the proposal to contract the services of the Robert Bobb Group, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm, due to Bobb’s involvement in closing numerous schools in Detroit, Michigan. 

 

The back and forth is brutal. It’s the classic game of he says, she says with the contract of the county manager dangling as the prize. Lost in the maneuvering to be heard is the fundamental reason of how we got here.  

 

Let’s review the Coleman Report. Submitted on August 2, 2020, James E. Coleman, Jr., the attorney retained by the county to review allegations made by Durham County Manager Wendell Davis that Commissioner Heidi Carter “demonstrated a consistent pattern of disparate treatment towards [him] and employees of color”, presented a firm conclusion: 

 

The matters reflect a troubling lack of trust and meaningful communication between the Board, as the governing body, and the County Manager; and, to a lesser degree, a lack of collegiality among some members of the Board. As a result, the Durham County Government is in a state of periodic dysfunction, at a time when the residents of Durham County need it to be effective in dealing with several daunting issues, any one of which alone would be challenging. In the circumstances, it is critically important as a matter of first order for the Board and the County Manager to find a constructive way to move forward and put these issues behind the County. 

 

Nothing matters more than for the board to “find a constructive way to move forward and put these issues behind the County.” The report notes a pattern of “micromanaging by individual commissioners as evidence of racial bias, in which individual commissioners bypass the County Manager and communicate directly with members of the staff about the details of their work.”  

 

A majority of the senior staff agreed “that employees who experience it might reasonably perceive the conduct as biased, whether conscious or implicit. But there is wide agreement on the corrosive impact of the behavior on the staff; often, it puts the staff in the middle of disputes between the Board and the Manager”. 

 

Let’s rewind to the March 8, 2021 board meeting where the Robert Bobb Group presented their proposal to members of the board. Durham County Attorney Lowell Siler was given the task of locating a consultant to address the findings in the Coleman Report. It’s his job. The county is in a state of crisis. Siler exerted time and county resources to locate the company he believes, based on his expertise, experience and time spent with the board, best aligned with the needs of the board. 

 

What followed was massive intrusion of groups with their own political agenda. Members of Durham Association of Educators opposed the selection of Bobb due to actions that reflect what they believe to be in opposition to teacher unions. Siler’s selection of the Bobb Group took into consideration recommendations from county and city managers from across the country. It wasn’t a decision based on Bobb’s politics. It considered the merit of his current company. 

 

This brief summation is important in exposing concerns in the Coleman Report.  

 

In publicly shaming an employee, the board relates a lack of trust that impacts employee morale.  

Siler’s proposal was dismissed by some members of the board with questions that attacked the credibility of the process. Given these questions were part of a public meeting, Siler may have been left demoralized after doing the heavy lifting of finding what he believed to be the best company to manage the county’s concerns. Employees who witnessed the exchange between Siler and members of the board may perceive this as an assault on Siler’s professional integrity.  

 

The board allowed political agendas to undermine what the county needs. 

Beyond the concerns of Durham Association of Educators and other advocates of unions, the ultimate concerns facing the county are the issues related in the Coleman Report. Dismissing the professional judgement of the county attorney in favor of political interest made a very public statement regarding how power dynamics can be used to circumvent an important process. The concerns of Durham Association of Educators are viable if the consulting involved public education. Making a statement of support and trust of the work of county employees matters during a time when employees feel attacked by members of the board. 

 

Members of the board empowered themselves in setting the terms of selecting a consultant in addressing their personal dysfunction. 

Residents have the right to ask if the board should control the selection process. Given Commissioners Carter and Jacobs are directly and indirectly named in the Coleman Report, the integrity of the work of a consultant is severely compromised by the board’s involvement in the process. Their participation compromises the findings of the Coleman Report, continues a trend of micromanagement of county employees, is tainted by the demands of individuals and groups with political interest and further divides a community fuming over allegations of a perceived pattern of disparate treatment towards the county manager and other Black employees. 

 

It’s critical we remain focused. 

Thursday, March 25, 2021

The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People challenges the childish behavior of white members of the Board of County Commissioners

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The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People (DCABP) says it’s time for members of the Durham Board of County Commissioners to act like they have some home training. They say the first step is to apologize. The second step involves Commissioner Heidi Carter taking some time out for misbehaving. 

 

It reminds me of Robert Fulghum’s 2004 book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. It’s the simple things - play fair, don’t hit people, clean up your mess, say you’re sorry when you hurt people and when you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together – that make for healthy governance. The truth is Durham County Government has been sick for a long time. 

 

The DCABP chastises members of the board of commissioners for an inappropriate exchange in front of members of The Robert Bobb Group, a Washington, D.C. based consulting firm, during March 8, 2021 board meeting. 


“The community witnessed first-hand how certain County Commissioners treat Black county staff and a Black consultant seeking to provide much needed, individualized services to the members of the Board of County Commissioners,” the letter states. “This treatment is eerily similar to the examples listed in the aforementioned Coleman Report which details how County staff members attribute such behavior to racial bias.” 

 

I’m reminded of getting spanked for showing my tail in the presence of company. Robert Bobb, and members of his team, got a front row seat to the dysfunction outlined in the Coleman Report. It’s one thing to read about a group's messy ways. It’s another to watch things implode before your eyes. It’s even worse when the participants have no clue that someone in the room smells like someone did a number two, and that someone is you. 

 

It’s painful watching undisciplined children incapable of controlling tempers and managing bad behavior. It feels like a few bullies unwilling to share. Given Carter’s history in naming her reluctance to work with Durham County Manager Wendell Davis, it’s appropriate to ask her to recuse herself from his upcoming contract negotiations.  When the politics become personal, the outcomes are compromised by childish behavior. 

 

“We ask again that Commissioner Heidi Carter is recused from any discussion pertaining to the renegotiation of County Manager Wendell Davis’ contract,” The DCABP letter states. “The initial complaint levied against Commissioner Carter in early 2020 has yet to be resolved and Commissioner Carter has failed to take the necessary steps to regain the community’s trust.” 

 

Feelings have been hurt. Not much has changed since the release of the Coleman report. Black residents are watching, and they don’t like what they see. Carter’s response is to buckle in, speed up and take a ride dismissive of the concerns of Black residents. 

 

Therefore, it is my duty to vote. According to statute, my duty to vote is actually a requirement,” Carter responded to the DCABP request in a press release. “Furthermore, in a council-manager form of government, the hiring of the county manager to implement the progressive policies of our board, is perhaps our most important decision. I was just re-elected by the people of Durham to participate in this decision. I will not recuse myself from this obligation.”  

 

Hear the tone. I don’t care what you think. I have the right to do what I do, and nothing you say, think or do will matter. Feel the freedom of her affirmation. I got this. I’m backed by law and the voters of Durham. Let me be clear, I have the support of white people. Black opinions don’t matter. 

 

Watching the board of commissioner' function is a reminder of what happens when grown folks don’t learn from lessons taught in kindergarten.  

 

I wonder if Heidi Carter and Wendy Jacobs had any Black students in their kindergarten class? Maybe we should ask that question.