Ogden Diversity Commission facing change due to Utah law targeting diversity programming

KSL At Night host Leah Murray👇  discussed the changes at Ogden’s Diversity Commission 

 

OGDEN — Ogden’s Diversity Commission, an advisory body tasked with representing the city’s “diverse communities,” faces change to comply with the law approved earlier this year by Utah lawmakers that targets diversity, equity and inclusion programming.

The proposed changes per HB261 include tweaks in wording — elimination of the word “diversity” in the program’s title, for instance — and removal of a provision calling for consideration of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and other identifiers in picking members for the body. The Ogden City Council briefly discussed the proposal during a work session Tuesday, with some members expressing concern over the possible changes.

“The concerns that I’m hearing is that this affects probably the marginalized people in our community more than anyone else and underserved people in our communities. So to me this is kind of a big issue,” said City Councilman Shaun Myers.

Councilwoman Angela Choberka echoed the worries.

Janene Eller-Smith, who heads up the City Council support staff, tried to allay the concerns. The city’s legal team proposed the adjustments to the Diversity Commission ordinance to avoid running afoul of HB261, which applies to Utah’s public universities as well as public schools, cities and other public entities.

Yes, references to personal identifiers are removed as factors to consider in picking board members, Eller-Smith said, “but that doesn’t mean that representatives from those types of communities still can’t be included in the discussion.” She said Mayor Ben Nadolski shares the concerns of Myers and Choberka.

Please read Tim Vandenack’s complete story at KSL.com.