I went to the Binghamton City Council meeting last night. I spoke during the public comment section on the recent proposal by Mayor Rich David that would effectively erase the Binghamton Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission was an independent body in the Binghamton City Government which investigated instances in which human rights were violated in the city of Binghamton. I say “was,” because that has changed. The Mayor and his ardent supporters on the City Council voted 6-1 to pass a resolution which would first remove all of the current commissioners and give the Mayor the ability and authority to appoint his own choices to the Commission. This action now negates everything which allowed the Human Rights Commission to act as a body outside of partisan or administrative politics.
The newly revised city code allows the mayor to now appoint and remove members of the commission at will. The Human Rights Commission is now at the mercy of the mayor. If the mayor disagrees with anything that comes from the Commission going forward, he has reserved himself the right to remove the members and put new ones in. This is a dangerous precedent which will force the members of the Commission to decide in the way which would protect their jobs rather than civil liberties, as Mayor David proposed this legislation as a vindictive response to the now previous Commission’s decisions. The Human Rights Commission now is an extension of the office of the mayor. The Human Rights Commission of Binghamton is effectively defunct, as it cannot conceivably act in the interests of human rights when its members cannot investigate abuses of citizens’ rights without fear of being removed from their posts.
That legislation was voted upon by seven people: four Republicans and three Democrats. One member of City Council voted against the proposition, which destroyed the Human Rights Commission. Conrad Taylor of the Fourth District voted with his conscience. The other two Democrats failed at representing their constituency or advocating for what’s best for Binghamton. Dani Cronce of the Third District spoke on the legislation, stating that she would always vote for what’s good for the people she represents. She failed to do that, and to me, appeared weak and unwilling to fight for what is right. Bill Berg silently consented to this overreach of power by the mayor.
Giovonni Scaringi made an utter fool of himself last night, shouting at a man about the meaning of the word “diversity” without truly understanding what the word means when considering human rights. He then said “facts are stubborn little things,” and proceeded to give his opinion on the legislation destroying the Human Rights Commission and perpetuated untruths peddled by Ed Hickey. Ed Hickey is a former member of the Human Rights Commission whose term ended and he was not reappointed by the mayor, while he stated that he was “forced off” of the Commission and that he had to FOIL the communications of the other members. The other members of the Human Rights Commission simply stated that he could have asked for the records.
I’ll repeat what I said to the members of the City Council before they voted on this legislation: If you vote for this legislation to pass, then you do not deserve your positions or titles as public servants. Shame on the six members of the City Council who voted to pass this legislation and shame on Mayor Rich David for actively attempting to prevent advocacy for human rights in Binghamton. You can believe me when I say that I will be at the next City Council meeting to express my disgust at this abhorrent action.
While the other six members of the City Council demonstrated their lack of concern for human rights and deference to the mayor, Conrad Taylor stood up to this institutional disgrace. He is not only a new voice in Binghamton City Government, but he’s a strong voice unwilling to bend to dirty politics and an outspoken advocate for his community. The city of Binghamton needs fewer representatives like the cowards who voted to pass this legislation and more leaders like Conrad.
Steven Lazickas is a junior double-majoring in political science and history.