The Metro Human Relations Commission will see an overhaul this month when 10 new members are appointed by Mayor John Cooper, and six current commissioners are not reappointed. Current commission chair Maryam Abolfazli is one of the commissioners who sought but will not see reappointment, and she expresses “incredible shock” about the news.
Says Abolfazli in an email: “MHRC is the one agency in Metro dedicated to equity, inclusion, diversity and that’s been a driver of important conversations throughout the city — often conversations the Mayor’s Office is reluctant to have or prioritize.”
At least five commissioners hoped to be reappointed — three of whom serve on the executive committee, which hired the commission’s former chair Davie Tucker to the executive director position in May. “By removing these committed commissioners,” says Abolfazli, “the mayor is making the commission impotent and tying the hands of the newly appointed executive director.”
Abolfazli says that this news is a particular disappointment because just last week, the Metro Council approved a budget that would add 1.5 positions to the MHRC staff specifically to address the need for closer Title VI compliance controls and oversight. She fears that overhauling the commission will stall their progress as new members scramble to learn the ropes. She says the commission has struggled to hold a quorum in recent months because “the only people who attend and are deeply committed are the executive committee members and a few others, some of whom are also not being reappointed.”
“The institutional knowledge that is required to have any effectiveness as a commissioner is substantial,” she says. “As an example, once we understood our role to create accountability on issues of equity and justice, we began inviting councilmembers, community leaders and public leaders to discuss pressing issues in the city. It took a powerful chair — Davie Tucker at the time — and members that had been serving for a couple of years to really put that momentum into effect.”
Tucker says he hoped to partner with the mayor’s office to fill those vacancies and had conversations with the office in that effort, also communicating that some commissioners sought a second term. He was not aware that the mayor was actively engaging new people to serve, and he was surprised when he received notice from the Metro Clerk’s Office that Cooper appointed 10 new commissioners to the body of 17.
TJ Ducklo, spokesperson for Mayor Cooper, sent the following comment:
There are seven commissioners whose terms are coming to an end, and the Mayor is incredibly appreciative of their hard work and dedication to the Human Relations Commission’s work protecting people’s rights and achieving a more equitable Nashville. Additionally, there are three vacant slots on the commission. While there typically aren’t so many vacancies at once, the timing happened to line up as it has, and the Mayor is excited that so many Nashvillians are interested in serving their community on the Commission. These 10 new appointments are one of the most diverse slates ever proposed for the commission, and are being driven by the strong interest we’ve had from residents in serving Nashville — and certainly not a reflection on the very admirable work of any of the previous commissioners, who we hope will continue to serve the city in different capacities.
“I can't help but think that even the little that we were able to accomplish, which is nothing compared to what we'd like to do with our mission, isn't something he is super happy about,” Abolfazli tells the Scene. “And let's put it this way, if he was excited about this new, incredible ED with a lot of good experience and street credentials, an executive committee that is finally raring to go … if he's got that and he believes in this mission, then, one, he would be in partnership with us about who he places on there next, and two, he wouldn't replace us.
“We just got our wings clipped completely,” she says.
