Hines Hammers Henry
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 9/9/08 @ 11:47 pm - Filed Under City Council, Featured
As promised here’s the video of councilman Glynn Hines’ comments leading up to his vote overriding the mayor’s veto on the fire merit ordinance. Hines lambastes Mayor Henry for the lack of African-Americans in his administration, specifically stating that Republican mayors have had more diversity in their administrations than Henry currently does.
I just don’t trust that this administration will do the right thing based on their record in the nine months that they have been in office. They’ve let down the African-American community in not having a single African-American at a department head and there’s been empty promises and I don’t see any commitment like I seen with the Lebamoff administration, even the Helmke administration, Win Moses’ administration, even Graham Richard’s administration. So with that in mind I’m voting yes.
You will never watch a more emotional speech given during city council than the one Hines gave tonight. It is quite obvious that he feels betrayed and rightfully so. I have a feeling that Clifford Clarke’s resignation was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Seriously, watch this:
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29 Responses to “Hines Hammers Henry”
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Jeff, I will let the words printed above to rest my case on. His vote was against the Mayor.
JQ,
My disagreement stems from the fact that you said it his vote was based on a “non-related” issue. I would argue that trust is very related to this issue. However, I can see it both ways and I suppose it doesn’t matter anyways…
Jeff, we agree on that the motivation does not change the numbers.
The “non-related” issue was with the Mayor. Not the content of the papers laying before him.
With that I end my posting on this subject. It passed, even with its flaws. I will a few more days.
standing ovation
You gotta love it - a person who isn’t afraid to call bullshit when they perceive that they see it. And then, they follow through with their perception with action. You don’t see a lot of that in politics anymore. Most politicians are lots of lip service. Hines was walkin’ the talk.
Also, this morning’s Journal Gazette article had me crackin’ up.
It’s nice to know that they read this blog because I am positive that they didn’t find this out on their own…
And then this quote from HR who is clueless about the job being open, again, cracks me up…
this is a recording….beep Sounds like a very programmed response.
Maybe I’m missing the (bigger) picture here, but to me, it would seem that given the choice between being “PC” and having some “rainbow coalition” running things for the mere sake of “diversity”…OR…having the BEST QUALIFIED PEOPLE that fully understand the nuances and underpinnings of the office or job they hold…I’d opt for the experienced people. whatever color, age, sex they are…hands down.
Tell ‘ya what Glynn…you find THOSE people, bring ‘em downtown, and get ‘em all hired.
In the meantime, turn the race card face down.
Fair enough?
B.G.
I for one, am disapointed with councilmen Hines, who untill this point has always been a voice of reason. I see no correlation between the cities hiring practice and the firemen merit board, This was a unfortunate display of frustationat the wrong time.
If Mayor Henry indeed made promises to the firemen before the election to support there own merit board in return for there endorsement and support, then councilmen Hines, on behalf of the firemen, would have every right to accuse Mayor Henry of mistrust and change his vote.
With the rumors of chief Yorks possible departure, should we expect councilwomen Brown and Goldner to stop supporting the Mayor unless he promises the next chief to be a female?
Councilmen Hines, concerns seem to be over three positions, Chief Davie, retired, if you look at the pecking order within the F.D. the next closest minority is a hispanic quite aways down the list, current Chief Kelly has served the city long and well and deserved the promotion.
Mr Clarke, the I.T. director, after the controversy sourounding the new I. T. contract, and his unfortunate performance before council, seemed to me, he sealed his own fate. This is where the water gets muddy, because of the uncertainy surounding the status of this position, could it be the administation is trying to protect itself from a unfair labor charge or a discrimination suit? this might be why this job remains in limbo.
The third position was the Mayors own ad assistant, which to me, he could have filled with a minority candidate as a show of good faith, if indeed made promises.
If councilmen Hines has real concerns of discrimination,sorry, a council vote is not the right forumn
I don’t care what color Cliff Clarke is. The way his departure was handled was irresponsible and disrespectful.
And the fact that HR is playing dumb duhhhh we don’t know the status of the job we won’t even acknowledge that we posted it on a public website suggests to me that either the HR people need to be fired or perhaps the Mayor.
So I see the bigger picture here as the Mayor…
1) Not following through on his commitments re: election promises.
2) Allowing his own people to act in ways that are not appropriate.
3) Acting randomnly in dishing out ‘punishment’
Sounds like the mayor has both leadership AND management skills deficiencies.
Sorry - I just call it like I see it. He may be a nice guy - a great guy - but these three, circumstantial pieces of data are staring me (us) straight in the face.
So if you’re upset about Hines making this a race issue - be upset. But read between his lines - he doesn’t trust the mayor for the reasons I’ve outlined above. And in the bigger picture - that has little to do with race IMHO.
It would benefit the mayor to address these issues himself, by speaking about them himself rather than through the city PIO. Tom is well aware of what Councilman Hines is referring to. The PIO’s he has surrounded himself with have no clue about the history behind the merit ordinace and apparently the employees that were asked to stay last January and those that were not.
Tom should figue out very soon how to mend fences with the firefighter’s and not punish them because of the veto overide.
Tom has a real problem here, politically speaking. I do not know who he has been taking advice from, but perhaps they should be the people looking for a job today.
R.D.
A far as diversity itself, it certainly is an important issue. But at the same time, Bob’s point that somone’s qualifications should be considered more than their race/gender should be the most important issue. That being said, it does seem difficult to imagine that at least one African-American can not be found who is qualified to hold a respectably high position with the City. I would say the chief burden for ensuring diversity here falls upon Mayor Henry. But as Bob points out, Hines could have a real positive impact here by making some specific suggestions to the Mayor rather than just blasting him for what he’s not doing.
With that in mind, I will go on to say that I noticed something interesting about Hines’ demeanor during his speach. He looked like one of those citizens who goes before Council to speak some nights. They often seem angry and frustrated, as if they have already anticipated that what they are saying will fall on deaf ears. I have no way of knowing this, but from what I have observed of Hines’ behavior in the past, I do not think he would have chosen to publicly rebuke any Mayor (even of the opposite party) if he felt that private communication between them would have gotten his message accross better. The bottom line is either Mayor Henry is not listening, or Hines just thinks he’s not listening.
On the communication issue, I think back to when I installed several obnoxiously bright outdoor lights on my home several years ago. The first thing I did was went to each of my neighbors and explained my reasons for taking this unusual step. Then I asked if they thought this would bother them in any way. If any of them had registered minor complaints (ie: “Could you move that one light five feet away so it’s not shining right in my window?”), then I would have went out of my way to accommodate them.
On the other hand, if they had just said flat out that these lights were unacceptably intrusive to them, then we would have had a serious problem. As it turned out though, not a single neighbor had any complaints. I can’t help but think a lot of this had to do with the mere fact that I was decent enough to invite their opinions. Of course, this was not required. I could have just figured if they didn’t like it they could come and tell me about it. There’s not necessarily a right or wrong here, but one way does seem to work better.
Regarding the communication between Hines and Henry I would start by saying this. Given that so many high profile African-Americans have recently departed ways with the City, and given that there are hardly any such persons left with the City at this time, Mayor Henry should have been astute enough to predict that there would be some scrutinization of this. If Henry was on the ball, Councilman Hines is THE person who he should have sought out to provide cover for this. Instead, it appears to me he either ignored Hines or simply took it for granted that he would blindly support his Partisan instincts.
“it would seem that given the choice between being “PC” and having some “rainbow coalition” running things for the mere sake of “diversity”…OR…having the BEST QUALIFIED PEOPLE that fully understand the nuances and underpinnings of the office or job they hold…I’d opt for the experienced people. whatever color, age, sex they are…hands down.”
Thank you Bob G.
Glynn Hines works for the State government. His job is paid via federal funds. Who wants to open the Hatch Act cans of worms?
Who wants to open the Hatch Act cans of worms? - Probably not any Republicans, since their Councilma Bender is most likely in violation of this as well.
glynn,
Encore,Encore,now that’s some acting job,you get my vote for the ‘oscar’. After you and tom path things up, you two can get the horse and buggy again and ride out of town.Your mad because he broke some promises, come on glynn, you and tom have done this for years. You can’t have it both ways, you supported him for mayor and I know you will again an 3 years. Don’t forget the golf clubs!
P.S. Take kevin k. with you!
Dan….
Is that a proper comment for a self-proclaimed “life long Democrat”?
I am beginning to think you lied when you said you were a “life long Democrat” when you wrote that letter in support of Matt Kelty……
Jeff Pruitt’s posts have made me think about the Henry Administration quite a bit. I have been trying to give the Mayor the benefit of the doubt; however, it is looking a little more like a “train wreck” as time goes on.
That being said I think Glynn Hines statements certainly come from his heart and his frustration with the Henry Administration certainly boiled to the surface.
I have no problem with hiring minorities of any kind: women, hispanics, lesbians, gays, white men, hispanics, American Indians, etc.
That being said I strongly feel that the Mayor should hire those people he feels are best qualified to do the job. This should NEVER be based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or similar criteria.
Unfortunately the Government has a quote system that forces some units of Government to hire people based on racial quotas and this is WRONG and should be stopped at all levels of Government.
I do not care if every one of the Mayor’s department heads are african american, I do not care if they are all white men; I just want him to hire those most qualified to do the job.
Quotas that force racial diversity are wrong and should be abolished.
Hire the most qualified person each and every time.
Mike Sylvester
Government should be representative of the people it serves. It has nothing to do with a quota and everything to do with cultural realities. I simply do not know the issues facing African-Americans like Rick Stevenson and Glynn Hines do.
It’s not about being PC, it’s about providing an effective service to those in your community. And let’s also boil this down to its brutal reality. When a block of voters (African-Americans, firefighters, etc) support you it’s because they believe in your message and what you will do for them. There’s always a quid pro quo at some level.
If you then turn your back on that block of voters you can expect them to lash out at you - publicly or in the election booth. And I think many of you are missing the point of Hines’ speech. He’s pissed because he feels like there are qualified African-American candidates that are being passed over and/or given the boot.
It’s curious that many commenters automatically assume that Henry is hiring the most qualified people now - what’s the basis for that argument? They certainly aren’t advising him well if that’s the case.
I don’t think Hines is saying that unqualified African-Americans should be automatically put into positions of power. He’s merely suggesting that previous administrations found qualified candidates and this one isn’t.
Let’s take the plight of Clifford Clarke. I don’t know the details about why he’s gone but I do know that Clarke was a competent administrator who took his job seriously and was making good progress on a lot of fronts. I’m sure people will come on here and say this or that about him but nobody’s perfect and based on my interactions with him I thought he was a stand-up guy who was qualified for the position he was in.
If you want a competent administration and effective local government then you have to bring a variety of perspectives (cultural included) to the table. There should be Democrats, Republicans, young, old, white, black, male, female. Put simply, government should represent the voters that allow it to serve them…
Jeff,
We will have to agree to disagree on this issue.
I do not feel there is a significant cultural difference between myself and an African American who grew up in the exact same neighborhood I did and had parents of a similar education and background as mine. We went to the same schools, we had the same friends, etc.
I feel there are socio-economic differences; however, they are not due to race; they are due to poverty.
I understand the “brutal reality” of appealing to the voting blocks who support you; however, I still believe in hiring the most qualified person for the job in all cases.
I certainly did NOT say that Henry was hiring the most qualified people, I said that Henry SHOULD hire the most qualified people.
Mike
Since the can of worms is open, why is the City of Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department allowed to discriminate? If you are white or hispanic, you are not allowed to be employed at Jennings Center, Cooper Center or Weisser Park Youth Center. And, when did I see an African-American working out at the Salomon Farm Park?
Tutor,
You bring up a good point. Then again I wonder why I do not see the same with people who work for Obama and are on television. There are dozzens of them but nearly zero. I think it is two way street.
Tutor - those are some very strong allegations.
If you know of specifics where qualified individuals have applied to the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department AND there were active openings AND those openings were filled with folks based upon their race - then you need to bring the specifics forward and those folks need to be filing a lawsuit against the City of Fort Wayne asap.
To allow any entity to get away with blatant discrimination is wrong. To make accusations with no proof is also wrong so I hope you can back up your words.
Mr. Tutor its called libel. Be careful out there.
Kristina:
I wrote this letter and sent it several times to powers that be in the Richards’ administration. I have not yet sent Henry’s team.
I write to you as a concerned citizen, with the request to make changes the City of Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Administration, in particular Cooper Teen Center, Jennings Recreations Center and Weisser Park Youth Center.
Cooper Teen Center, Jennings Center and Weisser Park Youth Center are community-based centers operated by the City of Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation. Although each organization is maintained by the larger entity, each site has a director who hires staff, operates programs and raises funding support. Each center caters out to the large African-American population coming from the surrounding neighborhoods. However, each site draws a small percentage of youth who are Caucasian, Hispanic and Asian. Although the sites provide programs to youth of several diverse cultures, they lack a multi-ethic staff. In fact, the centers only employ minorities, in reference African-Americans. As determined by the recent Kansas City legal cases such practices are illegal and jeopardizes the well-being of all those involved. In this lawsuit, “David Smith, the Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kansas City, retaliated against a vice president after she claimed that his hiring practices were racist. Both Smith and the former vice president, Tameka Bryant, are black. Bryant claimed that Smith told her not to hire a white female or a Hispanic male for jobs with the Boys & Girls Clubs because he wanted black people to fill those positions (Kansas City News, 2006).” In this case, the jurors sided with Bryant awarding her $375,000 for lost wages, back pay, and emotional distress, an additional $60,000 in punitive damages against Smith, and $175,000 in punitive damages against the Boys & Girls Clubs. As for Kansas City, Fort Wayne must realize that discrimination in any form, against any person regardless of race, is prohibited and can lead to large verdicts.
My overall concern is the fact that youth today are expected to be able to relate to a multi-ethic world. Michigan State University (2006) indicates that in order for “youth to respect differences among groups and individuals of diverse backgrounds, they must develop skills and competencies that help them foster social justice in their communities and their world.” Therefore, organizations must employ the following three elements of effective practice:
1. Youth explore and value their own diverse abilities, skills, interests and cultural backgrounds.
2. Youth explore diverse people, places and ideas.
3. Youth, staff and volunteers from diverse backgrounds and with diverse abilities are included in decision-making, leadership and planning.
Adults can best model these values and behaviors as they work together to plan and execute programs. While I do that recognize that African-Americans elders can teach their young cultural counterparts a number of lessons, particullary African-American history better than a non-minority there are several programs that race should not be an issue. As all three sites provide youth instruction in a variety of programs, including creative arts, physical fitness and computer instruction, can be facilitated by individuals of different ethnicities.
As reported by several researchers youth and adults that participate in multi-ethnic recreational programs benefit in a variety of ways, including:
§ Youth matched with a mentor of a different race reported liking their mentor more than those matched with a mentor of the same race. (Education Commission of the States, 1998).
§ In cross-race mentoring relationships, there were no differences in gains that were made by the youth. Caring adults, whether Caucasian or African-American, mentoring a youth of another race had a positive impact. (The National Mentoring Center, 2005)
§ Relationships between young people and adults from diverse backgrounds were more rewarding and lasted longer than those between youth and adults from the same background. (Walker, J. and White, L., 1998. Caring Adults Support the Healthy Development of Youth. University of Minnesota.)
Additionally, these centers prove an excellent training ground for future educators, youth pastors, police officers and social workers who often go onto work with a broad range of youth and families from a wide variety ethnic backgrounds.
If Fort Wayne is to build a true world-class, multi-cultural city, this issue must be addressed. I urge you to investigate this matter and make the City a place where equality is at the forefront, and local government is a true equal employer.
Signed,
Concerned Citizen
Any person that worked with/for the former HR director knew that person was not qualified.
Just because you look good on paper doesn’t make you the best person for the job.
Qualifications:
Degree in Youth Ministries and Elementary Education.
Masters in Youth Development.
Job Applied For:
Youth Director.
I was very qualified. I have worked with a number of youth in all races, religion and ages! Simply, I did not get the job due to race. But I did not complain, who can I complain to the city department, and be blacklisted from any other chances of employment.
“I was very qualified. I have worked with a number of youth in all races, religion and ages! Simply, I did not get the job due to race. But I did not complain, who can I complain to the city department, and be blacklisted from any other chances of employment.”
How do you know you did not get the job due to race? Were you told that? Did you even get an interview?
I am so tired of hearing …I didn’t get the job because I’m a woman or because of my race or because of my weight, etc. etc.
Why would a person want a job if the employer discriminates?
I wanted the job to make a difference in kids life. I wanted to know children on an everyday basis 365 days a year, not just the 180 school day year.
I wanted to break the mold; I wanted to work with minorities in their neighborhoods, in an environment that can be the precursory to school, jail and social work, so each youth knows that someone really cares for them, that is a different color than them. And besides, the last time I researched this topic, 35% of the southeast quadrant is white.
Volunteering is good if you really want to make a difference…..or do you want to make a difference as long as you are getting paid?
And you still haven’t answered the questions:
How do you know you did not get the job due to race? Were you told that? Did you even get an interview?
Sort of a low blow there - don’t you think “worked with unqualified”? Unless you are independently wealthy, you have to work (or of course, mooch off of the people who pay taxes).
And in the field tutor is in - there is absolutely a limited number of positions, given his/her education and desire - that are “paying” and “available” in Fort Wayne.
So while we don’t know for sure whether discrimination occurred in this situation, I can absolutely identify with tutor’s reasoning for not giving up.
Crazy - ain’t it?!
How do you know you did not get the job due to race? Were you told that? Did you even get an interview?
I had a contract with the city, under a crime prevention grant, and visited the site. The woman that had the position had worked in fast food, I believe, prior to her parks position.
I did not get the interview! You can easily weed out my name; it is very white sounding!