Snohomish County won’t hire a full-time community inclusion manager to tackle diversity issues in the county, a majority on the County Council decided Wednesday.
The position was killed in a 3-2 vote Wednesday, with Democrat Kirke Sievers joining Republicans John Koster and Gary Nelson.
The decision came despite heavy lobbying from diversity advocates and County Executive Aaron Reardon, who argued for hiring someone to promote a “diverse and competitive work force” for the county and county government.
The $61,000-a-year job was created in this year’s budget but wasn’t filled. The position was intended to track minority hiring and contracts in county government, among other things.
The final vote surprised Dem- ocratic County Council chairman Dave Gossett.
“I really think it would have been a positive step forward for the county,” he said. “The votes weren’t there. I think this position is dead for this year.”
Sievers was the swing vote. He said some of the outreach to minority-owned businesses is already done by the county Economic Development Council. Also, Reardon might be able to assign one of his current staff to the role, Sievers said.
Koster called filling the position “premature” and said more discussion is needed.
A compromise to make the position temporary also failed. Sievers said he would have supported such a move, but he said he demurred because diversity advocates took a hard line that the person must be full-time.
“I’m disappointed they decided to not move forward with the position,” Reardon said. “Inclusion is still a priority for my administration.”
The proposal was first approved last fall as part of the 2007 budget, but the money was frozen pending a job description and work plan. That information was provided in January.
Reardon said he doesn’t know whether he’ll try again in next year’s budget. “I think this County Council has made it clear it’s not a priority for them,” he said.
Bill Reed, a black businessman from Mill Creek, said he marveled at the attention given to a mid-level position in the executive branch.
“Snohomish County must be more inclusive. It has to be,” he said.
After the vote, he said: “The system is broken.”
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
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