|Mary Beth Johnson|
The Ad Hoc DEI Committee met on June 9 to: 1) finish reviewing the town’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Covid 19 Policies, a process they began at their May 24th meeting; 2) review Lewiston’s DEI Vision and Mission Statement; and 3) review the town’s Tobacco Policy and the Bylaws for Boards and Committees.
Though a number of motions in this meeting were passed, from the outset there were controversies, mostly around what constitute DEI principles. Whereas Chair Julie Tajonera wanted to eliminate discussion before a motion, Greta Atchinson and Cam Dufty felt like this would not be a valuable approach.
With regard to the EMS policy, the group agreed to ask staff to review an attachment to make it more concise, and to add information on the application about a contact agency that can assist applicants complete the forms.
In reviewing the Covid 19 Policy, Beth Ellingson moved to strike the World Health Organization (WHO) from the list of agencies to which the town look to for guidance with regard to Covid 19 policies. She stated that the WHO threatens our national sovereignty and that it violates the rights of US citizens. She also stated that she would like to strike the Center for Disease Control (CDC) but wouldn’t do that in her motion since the CDC is “ours.” The motion passed with 4 in favor, Ellingson, Tajonera, Lee, and Carll; and 2 opposed, Atchinson and Dufty. (Joanna Caouette had let the Chair know she would be arriving late.) Further discussion of the Covid 19 policy resulted in several motions passing unopposed, including referring to current CDC policies rather than trying to keep the local policy up to date with changing guidance.
Tajonera then suggested that the members spend 20 minutes reviewing Lewiston’s DEI Vision and Mission Statement as an example.
DEI VISION STATEMENT (adopted 10/19/21)
Lewiston is committed to being a community of excellence. We value the belief that every person, by virtue of being human, is entitled to a life of dignity, equality, and respect – free from discrimination and harassment.
DEI MISSION STATEMENT (adopted 10/19/21)
Lewiston is dedicated to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all its residents. To achieve a community of excellence, our goal is to engage and empower all the diverse voices of our community so that as a collective, we can remove barriers that perpetuate inequity, injustice and exclusivity. We work to create a safe place where all our residents – of any race; creed; culture; socio-economic status; sexual orientation; residency; gender and/or disability – can live freely, play happily, thrive successfully, and learn and grow together.
Adam Lee stated that he liked the Lewiston Vision Statement, and he clarified his understanding of the difference between a vision and mission statement. Tajonera asked if anyone disagreed with anything in the Vision Statement. Ellingson expressed worries with the word entitled, and Lee said that now he, too, worried about the word entitled and that he is repulsed by all that we think we’re entitled to. Rachel Carll expressed worry about the word harassment and commented that you have to be careful about who decides what about DEI. Tajonera liked the wording free from discrimination and harassment.
As the discussion continued, Lee stated that racism exists in people’s hearts, not in institutions. Atchinson and Caouette gave examples of systemic racism and the need to remove barriers that contribute to “inequity, injustice and exclusivity.” Caouette’s example from her own experience was so startling that it rendered silence from all. Atchinson, in attempting to educate, explained that systemic racism exists “in segregation, erosion of voting rights, in the criminal justice system and in the mental health system.” Again, the committee was silent. The chair then recommended a pause and that more thought be given to barriers.
At the beginning of the discussion of the Bylaws for Boards and Committees, Dufty emphasized that it needs to be stated in the final DEI report how a motion applies to the DEI Vision. She volunteered to set a format for a monthly report of such.
Atchinson made several motions: 1) Clear information will be given about how appointments and selections to committees and boards are made. 2) Lengths of terms will be defined and clarified; 3) There will be procedures for how a person can be removed from a board or committee; 4) There will be clarification of what constitutes a notice and what are the time guidelines for such notice. All of these motions passed with the Tajonera abstaining from #3, without explanation.
A discussion ensued about the length of time allowed for public comment as seen with regard “to inequity”. Dufty made a motion for clarification about the time limits to be included in the Bylaws. The motion passed by a vote of 6 to 1 with Ellingson opposed.
One of the most controversial discussions of the evening began after Atchinson moved that all his/her and any other gender pronouns in the Bylaws be replaced with their and other non- gendered pronouns. Lee opposed this on the ground that gender pronouns are not exclusive because everyone is either male or female. Dufty explained that nonbinary gender is a protected class by the Maine Human Rights Act. In the May 24 meeting, she had clarified the difference between biological sex and gender. Caouette added that universal pronouns make the Bylaws more grammatically correct and inclusive. Carll disagreed saying that we are losing our society and that “we need to hold the line.” The controversial discussion continued, and Atchinson’s motion failed to pass by 3 for (Atchinson, Caouette, Dufty) and by 4 against (Carll, Ellingson, Lee, Tajonera).
The meeting scheduled for June 13 was cancelled. Remaining dates for the summer are July 28, August 18, and August 29.
Please see the recording of the meeting for details.
