Opinion: Racial & Social Justice Commission should set the agenda, not Prince William government staffers

By Charles Haddow
Coles District Representative
Prince William County Racial & Social Justice Commission

A fellow commissioner asked me following the aborted March 31 meeting of the Racial and Social Justice Commission (RSJC) the following question: “What do you [Mac Haddow] want to allow the Commission to make progress?”

I understand the frustration because I share it – albeit for vastly different reasons.

I am happy to answer that blunt question with an equally blunt response, but hopefully to allow the entire commission a perspective on what steps could be taken to restore civility and respect for every member.

Hopefully, this will inform the new RSJC Chairman and Vice-Chairman, whomever they may be for the coming year, on some approaches that could improve both the process to allow robust discussion of issues by the commission and achieving the purpose for which the RSJC was formed to identify and provide recommendations on needed actions in our community:

1. The Chairman must build consensus and lead without bias. Respect for differing views is essential to any discussion and requires a good and effective leader. The use of the power of the Chairman to block dissent, limit minority views, or ram through decisions that an individual personally favors is counterproductive. An effective leader has to set aside personal views and any bias they have on issues before the commission. An effective Chairman serves the commission, not their personal agenda.

2. Regular “Committee Leads” meetings should be abolished. A Committee Lead is appointed by the Chairman, pursuant to the bylaws, to lead that Committee they are selected to lead. There is no provision for a sub-group of the commission to become a “cabinet” for the Chairman to make any decisions or to develop strategies to influence outcomes that are properly decided upon by the entire commission – and the discussions that took place in these meetings planning for actions by the entire commission or pursuing the personal agenda of the Chairman were fatally tainted by the fact the Chairman chose these Committee Leads based on their past community activism on political issues.

3. The RSJC must be run by the commission, not by the county staff. Setting aside the basis for the complaint formally submitted against the actions of specific members of the county staff originally assigned to support the RSJC – some of whom were removed by Acting County Executive Johnson from those roles – the staff cannot be setting the agenda or allowed to limit the discussion of the issues legitimately allowed by the BOCS Resolution. It is my opinion that the 2021 agenda for the RSJC was improperly dominated by staff input. In my opinion, the staff should support the commission, not direct its actions or dominate its agenda. Having the Prince William County Director of the Equity and Inclusion Office as the principal staff support arguably makes the RSJC a tool for that office’s agenda rather than an independent oversight entity that should be examining all sides of an issue.

4. The monthly agenda must focus on the charge given to the RSJC by the BOCS Resolution, not training and/or inappropriate guidance or interference from county staffers to promote the agenda of their own offices. There should be agreement at each meeting for the matters on the agenda for the following meeting, and respect for recommendations made for subject matter presenters and presentations. Any objective observer should not be able to tell from the selection of presenters what the bias of the RSJC leadership is or is not. It is about serving the entire community, not the personal or political agenda of the Commission leaders.

5. The Chairman must respect the minority viewpoints of the commissioners who disagree with their philosophy or approach. When issues are raised, the Chairman should look for ways to accommodate discussions, not rely on an obstructionist and biased staff to block discussions – particularly making improper parliamentary decisions that are subsequently revealed to be uninformed or deliberately misstated.

6. Committee leads should be selected based on their experience in community engagement in non-partisan activities, not community activism on political issues. I believe that committee leads should not be appointed in their area of employment but rather for their ability to gather information and build consensus effectively.

7. The Chairman should not act outside of the authority granted by the governing documents in “speaking for the Commission.” That should limit the Chairman to speaking only about official actions taken by the commission and not reflecting the personal bias or views of the Chairman, or the collective views of a few Commissioners whom the Chairman relies on for advice and counsel. Expressing personal views, or the views the Chairman thinks the majority of the commission may have are inappropriate and outside of the authority of the Chairman.

8. The Chairman should not limit distribution of media releases and other official documents of the RSJC to news outlets that have reported favorably on the Chairman’s activities or to advocacy groups that align with the personal or political views of the Chairman. Such actions abuse the authority granted to the Chairman by the governing documents.

9. The RSJC should allow public comment at all meetings. The bar on public comments during the review of the draft report, its amendment process, and at the meeting where the final report was voted on by the commission was, in my opinion, antithetical to the mission and purpose of the commission.

10. The commission should respect minority viewpoints and not try to suppress them for political purposes or to align with the views of a few members.

11. The Commission presentations to the BOCS should be professional, well documented, and representative of the commission’s work. Planning for such presentations should not allow for gaps in presenting recommendations and supporting data that, when absent from the presentation, make the commission look ineffective, unprepared, and fails to reflect the actual work of the commission.

I have been a strong voice to be heard. Still, those actions were precipitated by actions of the current leadership to suppress any dissent and, in my opinion, to drive a personal and political agenda that was inconsistent with the mission of the RSJC. In the same way that the BOCS reflects the diversity of our community, so should the RSJC.