AUBURN - The Mayor's Social Justice Task Force will continue - but only if members can get along with each other when taking on the issues of diversity and racism.
Mayor Tim Lattimore decided the social justice task force won't be disbanded after members met for about an hour Tuesday. About 20 people, including roughly 10 non-members, attended the meeting.
Last week, Lattimore said he might break up the task force if he thought the group was becoming too disruptive and was dividing the community.
"If it's good give-and-take and everyone gets along, it'll stay, but if nothing comes of it, we'll do away with it," Lattimore said afterward.
The hour-long meeting was contentious at times, but not as fiery as the one held two months ago when two new members argued about their views on diversity. Former task force co-chairman Ken Mochel decided to resign three weeks ago, questioning whether the group could be effective.
On Tuesday, members and task force chairman Abdur-Rahim Muhammad and Billy Kufs, the group's only self-described "conservative," argued about how Harriet Tubman should be recognized, the rights of gays, whether Kufs is disruptive, and what the group's mission should be.
At the beginning of the meeting, Muhammad read from a letter he wrote that responded to a nine-page letter Kufs sent to the task force that described it as a group of liberals appointed by former Mayor Melina Carnicelli because they were her friends in the city school district.
"As the token Conservative, I'm still going to make noise, even if you call it juvenile," Kufs said.
Yet member Miguelina Cuevas-Post said that members can disagree on fundamental issues over diversity and racism, but they should never lose respect for each other or their opinions.
Post, the principal at the Owasco elementary school, and Kufs, a local bartender and chairman of the city's Conservative party, learned to respect each other as participants in a task force initiative, the community-wide dialogue circles, she said.
In January, Lattimore said he would support the task force if members agreed that there should be people with differing political philosophies.
Three months ago, he appointed Kufs as the task force's conservative voice. The volunteer task force was formed to educate and create more awareness about issues involving diversity and racism in the community.
For the past several months, the group has had a number of vacancies go unfilled.
Kufs suggested that the new members should not be "liberal educators."
Even before knowing whether the task force would continue, Muhammad proposed organizing a diversity forum.
The idea will be discussed at the group's next meeting on May 18.
He also said participants of the community-wide dialogue circles have planned a potluck dinner from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 15, at the Salvation Army to get more people involved.
The community-wide dialogue groups include people from divergent backgrounds talking about their feelings on race, diversity and equality.
Staff writer Craig Fox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or craig.fox@lee.net
Last week, Lattimore said he might break up the task force if he thought the group was becoming too disruptive and was dividing the community.
"If it's good give-and-take and everyone gets along, it'll stay, but if nothing comes of it, we'll do away with it," Lattimore said afterward.
The hour-long meeting was contentious at times, but not as fiery as the one held two months ago when two new members argued about their views on diversity. Former task force co-chairman Ken Mochel decided to resign three weeks ago, questioning whether the group could be effective.
On Tuesday, members and task force chairman Abdur-Rahim Muhammad and Billy Kufs, the group's only self-described "conservative," argued about how Harriet Tubman should be recognized, the rights of gays, whether Kufs is disruptive, and what the group's mission should be.
At the beginning of the meeting, Muhammad read from a letter he wrote that responded to a nine-page letter Kufs sent to the task force that described it as a group of liberals appointed by former Mayor Melina Carnicelli because they were her friends in the city school district.
"As the token Conservative, I'm still going to make noise, even if you call it juvenile," Kufs said.
Yet member Miguelina Cuevas-Post said that members can disagree on fundamental issues over diversity and racism, but they should never lose respect for each other or their opinions.
Post, the principal at the Owasco elementary school, and Kufs, a local bartender and chairman of the city's Conservative party, learned to respect each other as participants in a task force initiative, the community-wide dialogue circles, she said.
In January, Lattimore said he would support the task force if members agreed that there should be people with differing political philosophies.
Three months ago, he appointed Kufs as the task force's conservative voice. The volunteer task force was formed to educate and create more awareness about issues involving diversity and racism in the community.
For the past several months, the group has had a number of vacancies go unfilled.
Kufs suggested that the new members should not be "liberal educators."
Even before knowing whether the task force would continue, Muhammad proposed organizing a diversity forum.
The idea will be discussed at the group's next meeting on May 18.
He also said participants of the community-wide dialogue circles have planned a potluck dinner from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 15, at the Salvation Army to get more people involved.
The community-wide dialogue groups include people from divergent backgrounds talking about their feelings on race, diversity and equality.
Staff writer Craig Fox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or craig.fox@lee.net
The Citizens' Say
There are No comments posted.