Athens mayoral candidate Kelly Girtz has unveiled a plan to enhance inclusion and diversity in local government. The four-part plan he would bring before the commission is to create a Citizen’s Inclusion and Diversity Committee, establish an Ombudsman position, develop a program to identify and assist minority businesses and contractors and consider expanding the recently launched Citizen’s Academy.
Full Plan:
As Mayor, Girtz said he would ask the Athens-Clarke Commission to:
- Create a robust citizens Inclusion and Diversity Commission that would be tasked with asking how can Athens-Clarke County, as a local government and as a community, be made to be welcoming to and supportive of all residents and visitors. This commission would make regular recommendations to the Mayor and Commission on how to better enforce civil rights and create other programs and policies designed to accomplish the goal of making Athens a truly welcoming community for all.
- Establish an ombudsman position or role in the Mayor’s office dedicated to identifying, recruiting, preparing and supporting African Americans, women, people from the Latinx community and others to serve on ACC boards, authorities and commissions.
- Develop a program to identify and assist minority businesses and contractors in seeking to apply for contracts from local and state government contracts for public works projects.
- Consider expanding, with special attention to seeking participation from underrepresented residents, the recently launched Citizen's Academy--a program designed to educate local residents about how local government--and all its departments--function.
"A huge strength of the Athens community is its diversity," Girtz said, explaining why Athens needs to focus on doing a better job with inclusion and diversity. "We have people here from hundreds of countries around the world, and we have a population that has been here a long time that's in enormous need as well. The community is always changing, and we need to reflect responsiveness to those changes--whether that's people aging in place, whether that's better understanding about the long-term population here, or whether that's supporting people who are coming into town for the first time."