| Ariel Ford (L) was recently named the division head of the Equal Opportunities Commission and Norman Davis (R) was named the division head of Affirmative Action. In 2005, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz proposed a plan to merge the city's Affirmative Action Department and Equal Opportunities Commission under the umbrella of one department: The Department of Civil Rights (DCR). His proposal spurred a passionate, and often embittered, debate on how the city can more efficiently reduce discrimination and ensure that everyone shares in equal opportunities. While many supported the mayor in his endeavor to revamp these departments, many others did not. In 2005, the Department of Civil Rights Ad Hoc Committee had this to say in a Capital Times Editorial: "The mayor's proposal shows leadership and a willingness to do what is right despite its political implications. The proposed Department of Civil Rights creates an opportunity for the city to address civil rights issues in a more effective and high-profile manner." Vicky Selkowe and Bert Zipperer, speaking on behalf of Progressive Dane, disagreed in their 2005 editorial: "While we thank Mayor Dave Cieslewicz for sparking a long overdue conversation about civil rights in our community, the proposal that's on the table falls far short of addressing these issues and may actually move us backward in the struggle for equality, racial justice and opportunity for all Madisonians. Sadly, we concluded that the proposal represents neither strong actions nor decisive improvements." The proposal drew much more support and criticism from a plethora of citizens, government officials, and community leaders. Some accused the mayor of introducing the proposal as a political scheme, while still others touted it as necessary step forward to "more efficiently" fight discrimination in the 21st century. In the end, DCR was created in a 17-3 vote by the Madison City Council on June 22, 2005. The debate was over and the work was to begin. In February 2006, Lucia Nunez was hired as the city's first Civil Rights Director. Nunez earlier led the Department of Workforce Development's Equal Rights Division and served as deputy secretary. From 1999 to 2003, she served as Centro Hispano's executive director. Nunez recently took a major step forward in the further development of DCR by naming two new division heads. Ariel Ford, Investigations Supervisor for the Equal Opportunities Division since 2000 and interim director for over a year, will now head up the Equal Opportunities Division (EOD). Norman Davis, Contract Compliance Officer for the Affirmative Action Division since 2001, will now head up the Affirmative Action Division. "Ariel Ford and Norman Davis are highly qualified individuals who have served the citizens of Madison and the City very well in their previous positions," Mayor David Cieslewicz said. "I have every confidence that they will be important contributors as managers in the Department of Civil Rights." Ford has a Bachelor's degree in Education and spent 30 years as an employee with IBM where she held numerous positions, including Equal Opportunities Compliance Program manager. After returning to Madison, she was appointed director of programs for the Urban League of Greater Madison. In 2000, she became the investigations supervisor for the Equal Opportunities Division where she conducted mediations, investigations, and conciliations of discrimination complaints in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, access to government, granting of credit, and minimum wage. As head of EOD, the city agency responsible for remedying discrimination complaints, Ford said she hopes to enable all citizens to have a voice. As a dreamer, she hopes to do away with discrimination. As a realist, she says she wants citizens who are discriminated against to have a fair and just process through which to deal with that discrimination. "We want to provide the best customer service possible," Ford said. "We want those people who use our agency to feel we have really listened." Each year, EOD deals with approximately 250 discrimination complaints. Ford said in the end, it is about recognizing that appearance, race, sexual orientation, age and other differences are only skin deep. "While we might be different on the outside, we all have the same red blood on the inside." Norman Davis has worked for the City of Madison since 2001where he has served as interim director and contract compliance officer for the Affirmative Action Division. Prior to that, he worked for Wisconsin's Department of Transportation's Office of Disadvantaged Business Programs. He says he "looks forward to being on the leadership team of the Department of Civil Rights." The Affirmative Action Division works to ensure that all employees and citizens can access employment opportunities with no regard to their race, religion, color, age, disability, sex, or national origin. Any employer or contractor of a certain size working within or for the City of Madison must develop an Affirmative Action plan. The Affirmative Action Division monitors compliance with this plan. The idea is to create a level playing field between underutilized populations and their majority counterparts. Davis says that it is the responsibility of the city to spend its tax dollars wisely and this means using employers with equitable hiring and promotion processes. The larger impact this has, he said, is creating a better city. "It creates more of a diverse, more of a progressive city," Davis said. "We are more of an attractive city if we can increase our diversity." Davis said he is highly supportive of the new structure resulting from the creation of DCR. "It is very beneficial and effective to us to have one department head over our divisions," he said. He praised Nunez's leadership skills and said he is excited to move forward with new goals for his division in 2007. These goals include creating more visibility of the Affirmative Action Division within the Madison community. "I want to reach out more to the community and get more community input," Davis said. "I really want to elevate our visibility and find out what the specific needs of the community are and how we can meet those needs." Davis said while his division continues to monitor compliance with Madison's Affirmative Action ordinance, he is looking forward to further developing and improving the Affirmative Action Division. |
| DCR division heads By Laura Salinger |
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