2019-10-02 Diversity Commission Packetor EDIJ
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AGENDA
Edmonds Diversitv Commission
Brackett Meeting Room, Edmonds City Hall
121 5th Avenue North, Edmonds, WA 98020
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
6:OOPM — 8:OOPM
6:00 P.M. — Call to Order and Land Acknowledeement: "We acknowledee the orieinal inhabitants of this
place, the Sdohobsh (Snohomish) people and their successors the Tulalip Tribes, who since time
immemorial have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands. We respect their sovereignty,
ty,
their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and water." -
City Council Land Acknowledgment
10 min 1. Roll Call and Absences
2. Approval of Agenda
3. Approval of September 4, 2019 Meeting Summary
4. Public Comment (3 minutes per speaker)
15 min 5. Update from the city: Patrick Doherty, Adrienne Fraley-Momllas, Giovanne Schachere:
Budget review
15 min. 6. Old Business:
a. "I Am Edmonds" Project update/progress
b. Letter to Sno Co Prosecutor re: Harvey's Tavern
c. Unexpended Funds Policy — please send ideas to Patrick, Giovanne, or Cindi
7. Subgroup Reports:
15 min a. Policy:
Progress on captioning recommendations
15 min b. Partnerships:
Decal discussion
15 min c. Events:
2019/2020 Film Series — assign hosts for Oct. & Nov.
3o min 8, New Business:
a. Recognition of Indigenous Day
b. Arts and Youth Commission Partnerships
15 min 9. Commissioner's Corner:
Adjourn — 8:OOPM
Next regular meeting: Wednesday, November 6, 2019, 6 PM, Brackett Meeting Room.
Guiding Principles
To ensure we meet our responsibilities as a Commission, we agree to
• start and end our meetings on time
• demonstrate our respect for our fellow Commissioners, the City of Edmonds, and the citizens we represent by: being present, being prepared, actively
listening, participating in meetings, completing our individual assignments, and holding ourselves accountable
• "step up and step back"
• establish goals and action plans that are results oriented
• establish subcommittees as needed
• engage in courageous, honest, and open dialogue when faced with difficult issues or questions
• utilize the "Ouch Rule" (assume positive intent; resist the temptation to be offended)
• embrace the education opportunities presented through the Commission meetings
• strive to make decisions by consensus. In a case where consensus cannot be reached after a reasonable attempt has been made, the Chairperson may call for a
majority vote.
DRAFT
CITY OF EDMONDS
DIVERSITY COMMISSION
tember 4, 2019
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT
Pat Valle, Chair
Anabel Hovig, Vice -Chair
Maria Montalvo
Mindy Woods
Dean Olson
Donnie Griffin arrived at 6:13 p.m.
Sarah Mixson
Councilmember Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, ex
officio
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT
Ed Dorame, (excused)
Brian Potter, (unexcused)
Tomas Brodniak, Student Representative
GUEST: Al Compaan, Police Chief
STAFF PRESENT
Patrick Doherty, ED/CS Director
Giovanne Schachere, Diversity Commission
Coordinator
Cindi Cruz, Program Coordinator
CALL TO ORDER AND LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: "We are meeting on the traditional
homelands to the Coast Salish Tribes. We pay our respects to indigenous peoples past and
present.
1. Roll Call: Pat called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. Pat recognized Maria's absence last
month as excused for vacation over two weeks. Pat recognized Ed Dorame's absence for
vacation over two weeks. Brian Potter's absence is not excused as it does not fit with any of the
criteria for an excused absence.
2. Approval of Agenda: The agenda was approved by consensus.
3. Approval of Meeting Summary of August 7, 2019: Summary minutes approved as amended
in recognition that Mindy was present. Approved by consensus.
4. Public Comment: Karen Rosebaugh from American Association of University Women
(AAUW) along with Sandra Distelhorst, Anne Penny, and Helen Behan spoke about what
AAUW is and how they would like to be involved in community diversity. This chapter has
been located in Edmonds for a long time and wanted to share a little bit about what they are
about. A major focus is scholarships for young women. In October they plan to put on a policy
cafe patterned after the world caf6 format. Would like to invite the Diversity Commission to be
part of this or possibly be a partner. The event will be October 12 at 10 a.m. at EdCC,
Snohomish Hall, Room 338. They meet monthly and they would like to encourage more
community members. Men are welcome now and you do not have to be a university graduate to
join. Founded in 1891 by group of women graduates and purpose was to provide scholarships.
In the last few decades have expanded to other projects. Teacher grants is one of the things they
provide. Would like to encourage younger people involvement and to hear ideas from
Commission for new projects. It was suggested the partnership group reach out to AAUW on
ideas of participation.
DRAFT Meeting Summary
Diversity Commission
September 4, 2019
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DRAFT
Ardeth Weed mentioned she went to an event at Seattle Town Hall and the event was opened by
a Native American land acknowledgement.
Public Comment Statement from Ed Dorame — read by Mindy Woods: In Ed's statement,
written specifically as a citizen and not on behalf of the Commission or as a Commissioner, he
expressed concern about a statement made by Brian Potter at the 8/7/19 Diversity Commission
meeting. Ed's statement is attached to these minutes.
5. Al Comuaan, City Police Chief: Gave an update on what is happening in law enforcement in
the City. Recruitment has been challenging. Official contacts over the year up to 30,000
incidents. Contacts are increasing in positive incidents. Can always do better and accountability
is critical. Must police themselves for confidence by the community. Improvements have been
made in women in policing over the last 10 years. White males were predominant prior to that.
Presently have very assertive recruiting program. He provided statistics that demonstrate the
advances in diverse recruitment over the last 10 years. Diversity in Puget Sound area is difficult
to determine as most jurisdictions don't provide diversity information. Provided some
percentages for other surrounding areas. Edmonds is as good or better than most surrounding
jurisdictions in increasing their employment diversity. Questions: public interactions and what
about body cams? There are some problems with public disclosure and privacy concerns, costs
and storage space are a challenge. Probably will have within 5 years.
Translation questions regarding any particular groups that have more difficulties than others?
And would translated pieces be helpful to alleviate problems for particular groups? Hispanic
groups are most common where English is a second language; many of the officers are fluent in
other languages which has helped. Always an issue but not insurmountable in Edmonds. Not
really seeing a value in a printed pieces. Information for victims of domestic violence could
benefit having information translated.
Has PD thought about creating some guidelines for merchant assistance to help someone in a
situation of intimidation and some assistance if a citizen reaches out to a merchant to help this
person? How to handle the situation as a bystander guidance? Program in libraries for training.
Collaborative message with PD and Commission to get out to the community.
Harvey's Tavern incident — has there been any progress on prosecution? Chief Compaan does
not know the answer nor what the prosecutor's office position is on that. Recommends sending
letter to Snohomish County Prosecutor's office and ask the question.
Citizens with Ring security systems and video recordings are being asked to sign up with the
local PD's to provide recordings on crimes. Crime stats are also on line: crime rate down 2018
compared to 2017. Report available on PD website.
6. Undate from the Ci
1. Patrick: Updated on DeafThrive Day, 2019 draft proclamation distributed. Request to
include Diversity Commission on the proclamation approved by consensus. Land
acknowledgement statement was approved by Council last week and Council requires if
boards and commissions are going to use a statement they should use this one. Patrick
DRAFT Meeting Summary
Diversity Commission
September 4, 2019
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DRAFT
discussed the budget review. Approximately $809.07 is unencumbered at this time.
Addressing scripted statements and attaching said statements to meeting summaries was
discussed. Commissioners have a privileged relationship to the City's resources,
including the website where meeting summaries are posted. Summaries can certainly
summarize such statements, but should a copy of the actual comment scripot be
attached to the minutes? Concern about freedom of speech because they are on the
commission and should a commissioner be allowed to state their opinions and have
statement attached? Policy committee will take this issue up and make a
recommendation at a future meeting.
2. Adrienne: Read thank you from Filipino community regarding recent Barrio Fiesta for
attending and how the festival attendance has increased over 2018. Also would like to
engage the Diversity Commission and Edmonds community regarding this event.
3. Giovanne: No report
7. Old Business
a. "I Am Edmonds" Project update/progress: Patrick updated and advised submittal deadline
is September 20. Have about a dozen responses and has sent out a FB post today.
November 2 is placeholder for capstone event. Need to convene the committee to determine
what the event will be but need more money allocated for this event. Sarah, Pat, and Dean
are on the committee. Committee will meet.
b. Unexpended Funds Policy discussion: Sarah had submitted an idea to purchase flash cards
regarding African American History to provide to Edmonds schools. Ideas will be
accumulated and if there are unexpended funds in late November a decision will be made
on how to spend the funds at that time.
8. Subgroup Reports:
a. Policy:
Patrick updated progress on captioning recommendations. Identified categories of
businesses. Now must go thru 3,000 businesses to determine which exact businesses should
be sent one. Giovanne and Patrick will be working on the process. Maria suggested the
policy group research on how to get more public works projects into needed areas.
b. Partnership:
Dean provided update on decal project and advised that Ed! will not be partnering. Two
ideas on slogans "All Are Welcome" or "Edmonds, All Are Welcome" or "All are
Welcome - Edmonds". Originally idea for business community downtown and Hwy 99.
There has been interest by citizens to have the decals for private spaces along with
businesses. Costs for 300 decals are $340. After discussion it was decided committee will
work on photo -type with Branding Iron and bring back to next meeting. Agree by
consensus to expend up to $50 for design and prototype of decal.
DRAFT Meeting Summary
Diversity Commission
September 4, 2019
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c. Events:
2019/2020 Film Series update: Patrick provided update on movie series line-up. Proposed
line-up was approved by consensus. Will pick hosts for movies at October meeting for 3'
Saturday of every month.
9. New Business:
a. Arts and Youth Commission Partnerships: Pat updated that she has been in touch with
support staff at City. Youth Commission has expressed interest in a World Caf6 event.
Their next meeting is 9/18 and Pat will attend at Frances Anderson Center at 6 p.m. Pat is
also in touch with Arts Commissioner chair and will meet to discuss partnering
possibilities.
10. Commissioner's Corner (comments by individual commissioners):
Sarah mentioned her neighborhood cul-de-sac had block party a couple of weeks ago with a
diverse attendance.
ECA has Jeremy Dutcher, a Canadian indigenous performer on October 26. The Diversity
Commission has awarded the ECA a grant for this performance. Naturally 7, an acapella group
will be performing on September 26.
Giovanne wanted to know if there was interest in joining the racial justice committee that
provided a presentation in August. Group membership fee for GARE is $1,000. It was felt this
too much of an expense at this time.
Donnie mentioned that there will be a 2" d tribute to MLK and he is working on involving
Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood as partners for sponsorship and participation.
Adiourn: Pat adjourned the meeting at 8:10 PM— Next meeting: October 2, 2019, 6 p.m.
Brackett Room, City Hall.
DRAFT Meeting Summary
Diversity Commission
September 4, 2019
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DRAFT
Dear Diversity Commission and Edmonds City Council.
This is a personal statement, my views only.
It's about equity and inclusion for everyone.
A statement was recently read at our August 7t" Diversity Commission meeting and at the City Council
meeting held on August 20t". The statement was that the LGBTQ community was being used as a
weapon towards one of our candidates. I do not believe this to be true, and friends and allies of the
LGBTQ community in Edmonds that I have spoken to, do not believe this either. This statement, I
understand was made because of a question that was asked of one of our candidates at a recent debate
about his view on same sex marriage, whether or not he would marry his son if he were gay as an
ordained minister. I appreciated and respected the candidate's honesty saying that he and his faith
believes marriage should be between a man and a woman, and he would direct his son to be married by
someone else. He also stated that he supports marriage equality.
As a member of the LGBTQ community, married to a person of the same sex, and an Edmonds citizen, I
do feel that it is vitally important to know what our mayoral candidate's positions are regarding the
LGBTQ community. Not only for the LGBTQ adults in our community but also for our LGBTQyouth, who
happen to have one of the highest rates of suicide. This is not about whether the mayor will marry
someone of the same sex, this is about something much greater. EQUALITY. The Mayor holds great
influence and power over the direction of the city. The Mayor is in the executive branch of government
and is responsible for hiring the people who will administer, develop, and implement city policies, and
hire individuals who will protect our citizens, especially members of our minority communities like
LGBTQ and our communities of color. I believe it's important that our future mayor embraces equality,
equity and inclusion for all Edmonds citizens in every aspect of life.
I have spent the last few weeks since that debate talking to friends and citizens of Edmonds trying to
understand how someone can support marriage equality and believe that marriage should be between a
man and a woman. The messaging conflicts with the belief. I have also reached out to leadership at the
GSBA (Greater Seattle Business Association), the largest LGBTQ chamber of commerce in the United
States, which I'm a member of, and is based here in Seattle. There are over 1400 member businesses
here locally. I asked their opinion on this issue. It became clear, I believe the candidate says he supports
marriage equality because of the obligation to uphold the law. The question that should be asked at
debates is, "What if marriage equality was not the law of the land, would you vote for it to become
law?" Would a person who believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman vote for
marriage equality to become law? I personally don't believe so, because then it would conflict with his
religious beliefs. I then thought, okay the candidate supports marriage equality, what action has he
taken in our community in support of the LGBTQ community. I am not aware of any.
I have been disheartened by some who don't see that the statement made by one of our mayoral
candidates that marriage should be between a "man and a woman" is a concern to our LGBTQ
community. The LGBTQ community's struggle for equality has been long and difficult. Our current
struggle has never been greater, the gains for equality we've made over the past 50 years are being
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Diversity Commission
September 4, 2019
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DRAFT
threatened every day. That's why it's so important to evaluate each candidate's positions with regard to
the LGBTQ community. My work and passion on the diversity commission over the past 4 years has
been to ensure that Edmonds is viewed as a welcoming community for everyone. If the perception of
Edmonds moving forward is that not everyone is viewed equally by our leadership, I believe it could
have a possible economic impact to our community as well.
For the LGBTQ allies in Edmonds out there, I ask those who are married to the opposite sex to look at
your spouse, think about all the things that you love about them, think about the hard times, the good
times you've been through, the joy they bring to your life. Now imagine going to a public debate and
one of your mayoral candidates announces publicly that because of their beliefs that you should not be
married, but in their second breath say they support marriage equality, all the while knowing the
support is because it's the law of the land. Would you vote for that person? That is what is being asked
of our LGBTQ community and allies in Edmonds. Does the definition of "equality for all" come with an
exemption for one's personal beliefs? Hopefully not it Edmonds. I believe the LGBTQ community of
Edmonds and their allies know better.
Sincerely,
Ed
Dorame
DRAFT Meeting Summary
Diversity Commission
September 4, 2019
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