STATE HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION
FULL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
WILMINGTON & DOVER, DELAWARE
THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011
The March monthly meeting of the Delaware Human Relations Commission was held by video-conference at the Cannon Building, 861 Silver Lake Boulevard, Conference Room A, in Dover, Delaware; and the Carvel Building, 820 N. French Street, 4th Floor Executive Conference Room, Wilmington, Delaware. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Calvin Christopher at 7:10 p.m., followed by a period of silent meditation.
COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT
New Castle County Location: Chairperson Calvin Christopher and Commissioners Nathan Barnett, Whittona Burrell, Chok-Fun Chui, Bill Johnston, and Lorenzo Murdaugh were present. Deputy Attorney General Barbara Gadbois also attended the meeting.
Kent County Location: Vice-Chairperson Gail Launay and Commissioners Wallace Dixon, Earnest Gulab, Marian Harris, Doug James, Peter Schott, and Richard Senato were present.
COMMISSION MEMBERS NOT PRESENT
Commissioners Diaz Bonville, Bernice Edwards, Stephen Elkins, Prameela Kaza, Nancy Maihoff, Lois Myers, Olga Ramirez, Eli Ramos, Robert Watson, and Jamie Wolfe were excused.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
Chairperson Christopher asked for approval of the February minutes. Commissioner Barnett made a motion to accept the February minutes and Commissioner Dixon seconded the motion. All were in favor. None opposed. Motion carried.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC PRESENT
None.
CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT
Chairperson Christopher congratulated Commissioner Gulab on his new grandchild and thanked him for the celebratory cake, etc. that he brought to share with everyone.
SHRC Vacancies
· Currently five vacancies to fill.
· Chairperson Christopher said he has been in contact with the Governor’s office verifying expiration dates of SHRC. Has gotten a better understanding of what their process is with regard to filling positions. Chairperson Christopher said he talked to the Governor’s office for about an hour regarding the composition of the SHRC, as well as the current intake process.
· The Governor’s office is requesting more background information from the Commission. They are looking for diverse backgrounds and different interests that the Commission has, particularly the spirit in which the SHRC works towards building amicable relations among all residents of Delaware. They want to make sure, as they look at the composition of the SHRC, that the residents of Delaware are well represented.
· The Commission may want to look at 3 areas of concern when filling new positions
o Academic: currently there is a disparity in education; disparity, treatment, and expulsion of different groups, etc.
o Healthcare: healthcare reform is coming. It may be good to have someone here that is knowledgeable about those issues.
o Veterans: Veterans will be returning from war and issues may arise.
· The Governor’s office asked for applications to be filled out and faxed from any Commissioner seeking re-appointment. They would like to know more about their background, interests, and the scope of what the Commissioner represents as it relates to the State of Delaware.
· Prospective Commissioners: They would like to know why the Commission is recommending certain applicants for appointment to the Commission, or why they are not recommending them. They feel there should be a ‘selection process’ by which the decision is made.
· Director Fullman said the Governor’s office has an initiative to streamlines their Boards and Commissions. She said currently there are over 200 Boards and Commissions. As they attempt to consolidate and see if there is any overlap, she feels they want to be able to know which matters fall under the SHRC specifically and to be able to say this group is broadly represented.
18th Annual Fair Housing Conference – Chairperson Christopher encouraged everyone to participate at the Fair Housing Conference this year and to let others know about the conference. He said there are some excellent speakers this year.
Carmike Cinema Complaint
· Chairperson Christopher explained the case went to the courts for an appeal and the Commission’s decision was overturned. He said the case then went to Superior Court and they also decided in favor of the appeal.
· Chairperson Christopher said he was contacted by the media to comment on the ruling. He said he stated that he was confident that the Commissioners on the panel heard the testimony and examined any evidence in a thorough and unbiased manner, and he supported their decision; however, he also supported the decisions of both the Superior and the Supreme Courts.
· Excellent learning opportunity to look at details of the case and the appeal process. Will use some time at a future meeting to go over the case. Chairperson Christopher said that even though the case was overturned and affirmed, he still stands by the fact that those that participated in the hearing were competent, took any evidence that they heard and made the right decision based on that process.
· He asked the Commissioner to look over the Superior and Supreme Court decisions, if time allows, so the Commission can have a meaningful discussion later regarding this case. Deputy Attorney General Gadbois handed out both of these decisions but said the hearing panel’s decision is 62 pages long. If anyone would like to also review the hearing panels decision, please contact the office so they can email or mail it. Deputy Attorney General Gadbois said since the Fair Housing Conference will take the place of the April Commission meeting, she will talk more about this at the May meeting.
· DAG Gadbois said the one thing she found disconcerting in both of the courts decisions was that both Judge Vaughn, President Judge of Superior Court, and the Supreme court found that the Complainants did not, and could not, prove that they, as a protected class of people, were treated less favorably than people that were not in a protected class; because, even though the majority was overwhelmingly African American, about 5% of the theater audience were white. Both courts said everybody was treated the same and there was no disparate treatment. She said she feels it is pretty clear in the panel’s decision that the problem is that the vast majority of people were African American and that’s why the treatment of the audience as a whole was made. She said it is such a high bar to overcome if we can never show that people in a protected class have been discriminated against if there’s at least one person not from that protected class among the group.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Online Case Review
· The News Journal inquired as to how the office offers cases for public review. The Secretary of State office called to see if the decision can be placed online for the public to see.
o Director Fullman said she discussed the value in putting them online with Deputy Attorney General Gadbois and they decided that cases should be put on the website for public viewing. She said there will be three years worth of cases online by July 1, 2011.
Joint Finance Hearing
· Director Fullman thanked Commissioner Launay for attending this meeting and for showing her support of the work that is being done.
· It is important to be more visible, so it is not just through hearings and cases of public accommodations and housing that people know the Commission.
Black History Month Forum
· Director Fullman said participants from the forum were very grateful for the dialog; however, most of them said they were not aware of the Commission. There is a lot of fear as people hear political conversations, that the rights of people are being pushed back because of the economy and other interests. The Commission needs to publicly affirm their commitment.
· Director Fullman said she will see if she can get a link to see the video that was produced from this forum. If not, she’ll get copies of the DVD.
· One of the things that came from this forum was that young people need to be more involved, because they do not know about the 50’s and 60’s and the realities of what discrimination can cause. We need to remind them of what can happen and keep them informed.
Social Media
· It was suggested the Commission use more social media (i.e., Twitter®, Facebook®, etc.) as a way of getting more awareness out about the Commission.
· James Collins supports using social media as a means of communication and getting the word out.
· SHRC needs to be engaged in more than just panel hearings, so there will be more information to put out through social media; especially with the 50th anniversary this year.
Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Study for the State of Delaware
· The Delaware State Housing Authority, New Castle County, the City of Dover, and the City of Wilmington partnered to do an Analysis of Impediments.
· The report will show the state of Fair Housing in Delaware. If there are patterns that show different areas with Housing problems, the Commission can initiate a complaint. Citizens will know the Commission is looking after their best interests.
· This report will make recommendations of things that can be done by the Commission.
Fair Housing Conference
· Director Fullman said she is very excited about the upcoming conference. She said HUD Assistant Secretary John Trasviña will be speaking, as well as Regional Administrator Jane Vincent. Michael Allen, Esquire, will be the lunchtime speaker. He practices fair housing and civil rights law and his firm currently has a case against West Chester.
· Would like to have over 200 people attend the conference.
· Many participation roles for the Commission.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Legislative Committee: (Stephen Elkins, Chairperson)
Chairperson Johnston gave this report in Commissioner Elkins absence. He said the committee has not met recently; however, he gave an update on the Civil Union Bill.
· Civil-Union Bill
o Will be introduced to the General Assembly around March 22nd. This bill is already supported by co-sponsors on both sides (House & Senate). There was a deliberate decision made not to file the legislation as legislation that is directed to marriage, but actually civil unions. The bill is expected to rectify the absence of benefits of persons in committed relationships outside the context of marriage.
o Commissioner Schott asked if it was appropriate to ask for the Commission’s approval tonight. Chairperson Christopher said the Commission should actually review the legislation first once it is introduced. Commissioner Johnston said members of Quality Delaware could even be invited to speak about the legislation.
o Commissioner Barnett asked if Delaware has ‘common law’ legislation. Deputy Attorney General Gadbois answered that it doesn’t. Director Fullman said if the Commission was to hold a public conversation or forum that it may be a way to address these issues such as this and inform the public. She said it might offer the opportunity for the Commission to get more visibility and hear what the public has to say. Director Fullman asked Commissioner Schott if he knew of any opportunity or public learning forum planned that the Commission could co-sponsor or be a part of in some way. Commissioner Schott said there had been 3 events that the Commission had been notified about; one in Wilmington, and two in Rehoboth in February. He said he wasn’t aware of any others coming up, but it may be something Quality Delaware may want to consider. Commissioner Johnston said those meetings were more informational, pre-introduction types of meetings before the legislation came out to respond to any questions that might be asked. He agreed it might be a good idea to hold future forums.
· Legislative Session (per Director Fullman)
o Legislative Session ends in June, so the agency will soon be asked if there are any legislative priorities.
o Director Fullman said the administrative fund, which fines and penalties are administered to, is currently being used to pay attorney’s fees. She said there is a current case that is about to exhaust this fund.
o Good time now to put forth bills that won’t require money, but will help the Commission/Division do their work efficiently. There is an opportunity to make some changes to the laws that the Commission currently has and put them before the Legislative Committee. Director Fullman suggested it may be a good idea to have a special meeting about this; however, it could be briefly talked about now.
§ Deputy Attorney General Gadbois said according to the Fair Housing Act right now, when a Complainant files a complaint it goes before the Commission for a hearing, unless one of the parties (Complainant or Respondent) wants to litigate the matter in court. She said what’s been happening is that Respondent’s, who sometimes have more funds, want to litigate which takes the case out of the Commission’s hands and it becomes extremely expensive. She said unfortunately the Attorney General’s office doesn’t have the people power to try these cases; therefore, the Commission sometimes has to hire an attorney for the case.
§ Deputy Attorney General Gadbois said she mentioned to Commissioner Johnston that the Commission might want to think about having the same requirement as is under the Equal Accommodations Act, which is, “that all matters go before the Commission.” Under the Fair Housing Act right now the Complainant has what they call a ‘private call to action’ so if they don’t want to come to the Commission they don’t have to, they can go right to court themselves. That wouldn’t change; however, it would help those Complainants who don’t have the funds to litigate in court, and it would help the Commission with limited funds to provide another half so that Complainants can have their cases heard and decided quickly.