Diversity Workshop Takes Emotional Turn as Council Members Wrestle with Martinez's Past and Present

Comments by Councilman Ross about a "color blind" past draw sharp responses from Council members McKillop and Malhi, who details experiences with racism that include his time on dais

A City Council study session that focused largely on the mechanics of creating a city commission to address diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) issues turned emotional Wednesday when council members addressed contrasting personal experiences with racism in the city’s past and present.

Comments by Councilman Mark Ross near the end of the meeting in which he seemed to lionize a “color blind” past that he experienced in Martinez did not sit well with two of his colleagues, particularly Satinder Malhi, the first Sikh-American to serve on the City Council.

Ross, who took credit for advocating for a citywide commission four years ago to address racism and other equity issues following the murder of George Floyd that sparked a nationwide reckoning over issues of race, reflected on his own upbringing in Martinez, which he described as a “racially mixed town,” during his comments. Addressing a resident in the audience with whom Ross attended high school, he said, “Weren’t we kind of blessed to have a diverse community we all hung out with?”

After the resident responded with a comment on the “color blind” experiences at the school, Ross continued: “I’ve been the great beneficiary of the wonderful environment that I was part of that was color blind.”

Ross’ comments drew sharp responses from council members Debbie McKillop and Malhi, who described his own experiences with racism growing up in Martinez as well as during his short tenure on the City Council.

“With due respect to Councilmember Ross, I’m glad that you had that lived experience, but also as someone who grew up in this community, I can tell you that I did not have that lived experience at every step of the way.”

Councilman Satinder Malhi, second from right, addresses the comments made by Councilman Mark Ross, far left, about racial issues in Martinez’s past at Wednesday’s study session. Mayor Brianne Zorn is to Malhi’s left and Councilwoman Debbie McKillop to Malhi’s right.

At this point, Ross interjected, saying, “I’m very aware that I was very fortunate. And by the way, some day we’ll talk about my experiences that were directed at me.” Ross is Jewish and in the past has referenced his experiences with antisemitism in Martinez.

Malhi continued: “And I should say those lived experiences continue to this very day, since I’ve been on this dais, from some in this community who have come up to me and questioned, ‘Are you really from here? Did you really grow up here? Young man, you speak so well.’ This is just giving you a flavor of what I’ve had to endure here.”

Members of the audience in the council chamber broke into applause at this point in Malhi’s comments, with one shouting, “Finally!”

Malhi, who was appointed to a vacant council seat last year, then referred to “others who would dare question whether I belong on this dais. ‘You were selected, not elected.’ I’ve heard that. You know, I belong here; I’ve earned the right to be here, and so has each and every one of you who came here tonight, because Martinez is a welcoming community.

“People have asked me, ‘Is Martinez a racist community?’ I would say no, it’s not. But do we have within this community individuals who harbor hate within their hearts? And sadly, the answer is yes, but it does not constitute a majority. Because I can assure you that if it did, my family and I would have left a very long time ago.”

Speaking before Malhi, McKillop, also a lifelong resident of the city, was first to take issue with Ross’ comments, saying that while it was “wonderful” that he had such experiences growing up, “everyone’s had a different experience, based on who they are, who they interact with, the people that they come in contact with. It’s not always great. That’s the problem; that’s what we’re trying to deal with.”

Ross later responded to the comments from McKillop and Malhi by saying he was “painfully aware” that Martinez “has some dark history to it.”

“We know of Black men who have been killed for dating White women,” he said. “That’s the Martinez I grew up in.”

Earlier in his comments, Ross also acknowledged modern racism that persists in the community. “Part of the problem also are the people who foster ill will in our community, and they’re out there; who don’t believe in diversity in our community, who have things in their heart that we’d rather not see.”

Much of the discussion at Wednesday’s workshop focused on more technical aspects of the proposed commission and its mission, including the size and makeup of the body; the process for appointing members; and the scope of the commission’s work.

The council also heard from several members of the public who addressed shortcomings in the previous Anti-Racism & Discrimination and Pro-Inclusion & Equity (ARDPIE) Task Force that was established in 2021 and experienced multiple fits and starts; as well as ongoing efforts to promote DEI efforts within the Martinez Unified School District.

Nakenya Allen, a Black resident and community activist who ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2022, said she did not believe the results and recommendations of the ARDPIE process matched the issues that prompted its formation in the first place. She noted that the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors had declared racism a public health crisis.

“I don’t see anything in this committee makeup that addresses any of our actual issues,” she said of the new proposal.

“We have no way right now to deal with issues of policy and policing and things that actually affect communities.”

Meghan Ketsdever, a school district parent, discussed efforts with fellow parents and teachers to form a DEI committee at John Swett Elementary School, saying that “while we’ve made progress, we’ve faced really significant challenges.” She spoke of the need for “comprehensive education” around LGBTQ+ issues to make clear that “supporting students does not equate to teaching them adult concepts of sexuality.”

She said a citywide commission could form a bridge to efforts in the Martinez Unified School District to address these issues, particularly at the elementary school levels, “because there’s very, very, very staunch resistance, particularly to the term DEI. That term has been weaponized politically.”

“We need all the support we can get.”

Steeve Boulingui, a former candidate for the MUSD School Board who also served on the ARDPIE Task Force, urged the council to ensure that the makeup of the group is as diverse and as representative as possible of the different communities living in Martinez. He also advocated focusing on the qualities and experiences of potential members.

“I see this group as a strong liaison between the city and the community,” he said, also noting the importance of picking members who can engage in community outreach and data collection. “We can’t really have policies if we don’t know where the issues are, and we don’t know what the issues are if we don’t have data.”

A resident identified as Molly, who spoke via Zoom, echoed Allen’s call for such a commission to provide advice on structural policy issues as “probably the most important role for a potential commission like this because it’s really how people are able to thrive here and not thrive here, and, as (Allen) said, sometimes it’s life and death.”

Andrea Crider, also speaking via Zoom, recalled criticisms that the makeup of the initial ARDPIE Task Force lacked sufficient representation of people of color, emphasizing the need to represent “voices from the community that are most impacted by these issues.” She also referenced an ongoing effort to fly the Pride flag in support of the LGBTQ+ community at John Muir Elementary School, an issue that is scheduled to come before the Martinez Unified School District Board of Trustees on Monday night when it discusses whether to expand a resolution it approved last year to fly the flag at the district office during June (Pride month) to also include individual school sites.

“These things are not going away,” she said.

At an emotional school board meeting last year in which LGBTQ+ students described discrimination and harassment that they had faced, the board unanimously agreed to fly the flag at the district office on an annual basis during June, but did not address the question of flying it at school sites because school year had ended by the beginning of month. This year, however, school will remain in session during the first week of June.

Wednesday’s public comments seemed to influence council members and the city’s DEI consultant, Tracey Elizabeth Webb, who largely agreed on the need for the commission to be sufficiently diverse and representative and to tackle policy recommendations in addition to topics such as cultural events.

“We all say this, but representation matters; it really matters,” Webb said. “It’s absolutely critical. Otherwise, you have what I call a false positive. You don’t really have the data that’s based on the reality of the lived experience.”

She also suggested dropping from the proposal a staff recommendation that the commission automatically include representatives from the Planning Commission and Parks, Recreation, Marina and Cultural Commission, saying that qualifications to sit on those commissions were different from the qualifications that should be evaluated for this one.

“I would suggest strongly developing a set of behavioral interview questions based not only on community leadership but on one’s propensity to be open to introspection about matters related to DEI and advocacy work,” she said.

In his comments, City Manager Michael Chandler said he agreed with ditching the idea, though “well-intentioned,” of including liaison members from the two other city commissions. He proposed a commission model that would consist of five members and two alternates. Ross said he thought five members would be too few and favored a commission size of seven members.

Council members also generally agreed with the idea of including on the commission residents who live both within city limits and in unincorporated areas of Martinez, and of including policy-recommendation work in the commission’s mission.

Mayor Brianne Zorn praised the public input and discussion, noting that there were still “clear gaps in the plan so far.” In particular, she said that the feedback relating to the makeup of the commission and selection process was heard “loud and clear.”

City staff is expected to bring back a former proposal for the creation of the commission at the June 5 council meeting.

Malhi, who was formerly chair of the ARDPIE Task Force before being appointed to the council, said, “I believe now more than ever we need to double down on these efforts, especially at a time when, quite frankly, we are witnessing, very sadly, significant pushback, rollback in many parts of our country, within pockets of our state and sadly amongst some individuals within this very very community.”

Zorn said she was eager to move forward with the process of creating a standing commission to address diversity and equity issues in the city. “We’ve been talking about this since the ARDPIE Task Force dissolved awhile ago,” she said. “The question I’ve been asking every couple of months is ‘When are we going to get this finalized? When are we going to make this commission formal?’ I know it’s been awhile, but we’re here now, and I’m really excited to be moving forward.’ ”

It was noted during the presentation and discussion that few local cities have formed such DEI commissions; one that has is Pleasant Hill.

Wednesday’s study session can be viewed at the following link: https://martinez.granicus.com/player/clip/2180?view_id=9&redirect=true

City Council meeting highlights

Some highlights from Wednesday’s regular council meeting:

• The council received the city’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the 2023 fiscal year. Among the highlights from the city’s staff report, property tax revenues were up 5% last year from 2022 and sales taxes were down 3.5%, mirroring a statewide trend. License, permit and fee revenues were up a whopping 52.9%, driven by increased activity in building permit activity. Overall general fund revenues were up 1.9% for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, while expenditures were up 12.5%, driven by labor, insurance and unfunded retirement liability costs. The City Council will hold a budget workshop on the upcoming fiscal year on Wednesday starting at 6:30 p.m.

• The council heard a proposal from police Chief Andrew White on creating an ordinance “prohibiting encampments at and near critical infrastructure locations and regulating conduct at the Martinez Intermodal Facility.” Part of the motivation is to address safety concerns at the transit facility that have arisen from time to time. The council generally indicated its support for moving forward with crafting such an ordinance. The council discussion and presentation on the matter can be heard at the following link starting around the 1 hour, 34-minute mark of the meeting: https://martinez.granicus.com/player/clip/2181?view_id=9&redirect=true

• City Manager Michael Chandler announced that the bait store at the Marina is being closed indefinitely for “health and safety reasons.” He said the city’s chief building officer had determined a number of problems with the aging facility, including drainage, electrical and other problems. This is the latest setback in the city’s efforts to sustain the store and support the contractor operating it; the store had already reduced days of operations from six to three days a week. Look for a larger story on this topic in the next week or two.

  Follow Martinez News and Reviews on Facebook and Instagram