County on right path with recruiter

Published 1:49 pm Friday, January 18, 2008

As we celebrate the life, work and sacrifice of Martin Luther King Jr., I am grateful for the opportunity to have heard Julian Bond speak in person and hold great hope for the resurgence of our local chapter of the NAACP under Judge Eric Lucas’ able leadership, and look forward to participating in an election season that will allow each of us the opportunity to honor diversity of both color and gender.

Against this backdrop, I was encouraged to learn that our new County Council will move quickly to improve county hiring processes and expand recruitment of employees from our multicultural communities. Call the proposed position what you will — a “diversity recruiter” or an “inclusion manager” — addressing certain types of inequity, whether perceived or real, intentional or otherwise, requires not only personal education and training but also the ability to educate, train and raise the consciousness of others, all tempered by a sensitivity of perception and articulation not universally possessed. I applaud our county government’s willingness to address this need straight on and without further delay so that the prosperity we enjoy here in Snohomish County can be more widely shared and fully realized.

Could it possibly be that we are turning a corner in our society and finally coming to the realization that our success is measured not only by individual wealth, but by the success and prosperity enjoyed by each of our neighbors and the economic opportunity shared with them and all our children to come after us? If this is not true already nationwide, then let us here in Snohomish County set an excellent example and applaud our Executive and County Council for working together to effect positive change on this issue.

Charlene N. Rawson