After acknowledging last week the need to overhaul the Human Relations Commission in the wake of public outcry, some county supervisors are calling on the body to “take a break” and for an outside assessment to help it get back to its mission of promoting positive human relations.
The commission — which has been struggling to carry out that goal amid months of internal strife — responded by immediately canceling its upcoming meeting scheduled for next Tuesday.
In a statement released Wednesday, county Board of Supervisors Chair Nora Vargas acknowledged the importance of the commission’s role “as a bridge between our communities and government, providing opportunities for different viewpoints to come together for critical conversations that promote positive human relations.”
“However, it is clear that there is a need to strengthen the commission’s structure for it to meet its mission,” Vargas said.
She said she would ask supervisors to vote later this month to pause the commission until key membership changes can be made, including creating a training process to better prepare current and future commissioners.
Last month, the commission unanimously approved some of those very changes with updates to its bylaws that would strengthen the vetting of new members and require anti-bias and cultural awareness training.
Those changes were set to go before county supervisors next month for approval, but Andrew Strong, director of the county’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice, said Thursday that may also be postponed, depending on the outcome of Vargas’ proposal.
At last week’s board meeting, supervisors appeared surprised by public objections to their approval of a commissioner’s reappointment.
Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, who had already called for a “serious rethink” to the commission, was among the first to speak out afterward, saying the following day that she regretted her vote.
She said in a statement Thursday she, too, wanted to “temporarily cease HRC meetings and activities until the systemic issues that have plagued the volunteer commission since its reinstatement in 2020 are thoroughly addressed.”
“Unfortunately, the HRC in its current form is not fulfilling (its) mission,” Lawson-Remer said. “The commission was not put in a position to succeed from the get-go. The intent was well-meaning, but without significant reforms, this group will not be able to overcome the systemic challenges that are contributing to contentious disagreements and infighting, very troubling behavior and statements by some HRC members, and resignations and the inability to reach a quorum.”
Both Lawson-Remer and Vargas have said they will work with the commission and Office of Equity and Racial Justice to ensure the proposed revisions to the commission’s bylaws are incorporated.
Vargas is also proposing the office work with a third-party consultant to assess the current structure and role of the commission and provide recommendations to the board for review.
The county has already hired two separate consultants to work with the body since it was revived in 2020.
The first, Nonprofit Solutions, was awarded a $50,000 contract in 2021 to serve as an “as-needed facilitator for diversity and inclusion, conflict resolution and strategic planning” during meetings.
The second, Essential Partners, got a $74,200 contract in 2022 — months after a commissioner’s anti-transgender remarks — to help it build a more constructive culture.
The firm was tasked with developing interventions, focus groups and community listening sessions and providing training to help the panel “be an example of promoting positive human relations,” according to the contract. That contract was set to sunset in November but was extended through the end of May.
“I firmly believe in the commission’s mission and its pivotal role in our community, and I do not doubt that through collaborative efforts, we will build a stronger and more inclusive San Diego County,” Vargas said.
Ellen Nash, the commission’s chair, told The San Diego Union-Tribune on Thursday she had spoken with Vargas and agreed with her decision.
“I stand with her wholeheartedly on it,” Nash said. “Let’s let the process play itself out.”
Supervisors will have the chance to vote on Vargas’ proposal for the commission at their next meeting Feb. 27.
