“I think it’s an insult to the city that we would even consider this,” Dolan said. 10 meeting to bring the MEO resolution to a vote, but an amended motion to punt it to a work session later this month was rejected 4-3. Misjuns pushed again at the council’s Oct. Getting an item on the council’s agenda isn’t a given, she continued, and Misjuns’ repeated attempts to do so with the resolution after abundant discussions and emails about it is a waste of time for the council, staff and residents. This is not a new concept at all,” she said. “The most damaging thing I think it does is the elimination of diversity training and education, which I think is so important when employees are dealing with each other. Wilder did not respond to a request for comment for this article.Ĭouncil member MaryJane Dolan, the other Democrat on the council, said in an interview that the resolution is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” that bears the potential to conflict with state and federal laws. The exchanges included Misjuns accusing fellow council member Sterling Wilder of supporting “sustaining racist and sexist concepts in city government” after Wilder, a Democrat, said he was against putting the resolution on the agenda. What followed was a series of feedback and discussion that involved other members of council, the city manager and the city attorney, and that quickly escalated in tone. He claimed that “the city government contributes it’s fair share to racial division in our city,” and warned that “pposition to this resolution will reveal a person’s true character on this governing body.” Reed opined that city hiring processes and personnel policies fall under City Manager Wynter Benda’s responsibilities, to which Misjuns responded that “actually, with no disrespect intended, the City Manager is an unelected bureaucrat” and called for the council to take direct control on the issue. It was disseminated to other members of the council and city leadership, according to emails obtained through the FOIA request. Misjuns first submitted the resolution to clerk of council Alicia Finney on June 20. Other members of the council have voiced objections or doubts about the resolution in the months since it was introduced, and members of city staff have described how existing policy already bases personnel decisions on merit and performance. In emails, he stated that the resolution had been “vetted by highly qualified legal counsel” but didn’t elaborate on that counsel when asked about it in an interview, citing attorney-client privilege. It decries “divisive concepts,” and in discussions among council and with relevant city staff, Misjuns has posited it as a replacement for diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, training, equating the concepts therein with critical race theory. The resolution has been volleyed by council members, city staff and citizens alike during meetings, work sessions and settings outside city hall. Prior to that, a major point of lasting contention has been Misjuns’ repeated insistence on bringing what he’s named a “Merit, Excellence, and Opportunity,” or MEO, resolution to a vote in a council meeting. If there are some things that I have learned about you in the past year, it is that you cannot be trusted to act with integrity and if you are accusing someone else of something - it’s probably because you are doing it.” “The only thing that is consistent in your official actions is that you give a free pass to those that sing your praises, and you try to use your official office to crush those that oppose you. “Moving forward, I urge you to carefully consider how you act before spreading unsubstantiated and unfounded claims, that include false elements,” he fired back. 10 and addressed to the mayor, Misjuns doesn’t substantially address the base allegation, instead going straight on the offensive in listing off alleged abuses of power by Reed. Reed tells him “what you did was unbecoming of a Councilmember and highly inappropriate,” later warning him to carefully consider his conduct. Reed said the incident was reported to the university and it’s being reviewed, and Misjuns didn’t address the accusation in an earlier response. She was told Misjuns had tried to recruit a “ University student” to find someone to wear a body camera at the meeting and “set the Vice Mayor up with difficult questions,” the letter states.
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