I think I’m starting to realize now what Phillipe Simon’s biggest challenge will be as the new chairman of Greenfield’s Human Rights Commission.
It became apparent both at this week’s commission meeting and in recent conversation’s with him that one of Simon’s early goals is to defuse any residual bad blood that exists between the commission and the Greenfield Police Department over this past winter’s incident, where a Confederate flag was seen inside the garage of a house owned by Greenfield police Detective Sgt. Dan McCarthy, the department’s liaison to the commission.
But it will be police Chief Robbie Haigh, not McCarthy, who will be attending meetings for now. “I feel at this time, the relationship we want to grow and nurture would start best with me right now,” Haigh said, adding, “It doesn’t mean I’ve removed anybody or eliminated that position.”
While Haigh’s decision to step forward may be met with some approval, not removing McCarthy as liaison may not sit well with others, particularly certain members of that body who seem unwilling to let this issue drop.
Former Commission Chairman Lew Metaxas made it clear that he believes there is more discussion that needs to happen, arguing that letting the matter die has the potential to damage the “credibility” of the commission.
Metaxas also thinks that the police have not provided the commission, or the public, with a full accounting of exactly how the flag ended up in McCarthy’s g
This is where it gets a bit murky, politically speaking. I’ve followed this story with great interest since it broke, and I’m not sure what information remains missing. There was a flag inside McCarthy’s garage, a neighborhood kid saw it and the Human Rights Commission and the department were made aware of it.
The police chief looked into it and determined that, though the incident seemed to violate the spirit of the department’s code of conduct, no disciplinary action was warranted and McCarthy would remain on full duty, which included serving as the HRC liaison.
Seems pretty straightforward, though clearly not satisfactory to Metaxas and others, which is where the politics comes into play. In that context, there is a big difference between information received and the information certain people wish to receive.
Had McCarthy at some point apologized for displaying the flag and publicly recognized how offensive that symbol is to people of color, this whole thing might have gone away. At the very least, it would have given his critics nowhere else to go. For whatever reason, he chose not to do that, which is his right — but going that route has only added more fuel to a fire that should have been doused months ago.
Metaxas also brought up the fact that it is McCarthy who is handling the investigation of the Penny Ricketts racist email case, as well as now the homophobic email sent to At-Large Town Councilor Karen Renaud. Without launching a direct attack, Metaxas made it clear that he has serious misgivings about having McCarthy handle those cases while this Confederate flag thing is hanging over him — a criticism that doesn’t seem warranted, but is out there nonetheless.
In the middle of it all stands Chairman Simon, who has already charted an ambitious agenda to take the Human Rights Commission from the meeting room to the streets in an effort to be more proactive about changing the conversation in Greenfield.
But before that happens, it would appear he has some healing to do with his own people, which doesn’t look like it’s going to be a “take-it-easy” proposition.
Jeff Mourneau’s fledgling bid for Governor’s Council got a big boost of air this week.
Northwestern District Attorney Dave Sullivan cited Morneau’s long record of “fighting for the rights of workers, elderly, women, minorities and the economically disadvantaged” as reasons for endorsing him rather than his primary opponent, former Springfield mayor and retired judge Mary Hurley.
“As a progressive Democrat, Jeff Morneau is precisely the person we need as our next governor’s councilor,” Sullivan said, “No one will fight harder for equal justice, pay equity for all workers, women’s rights and diversity on the bench.”
Mourneau is also trying to turn up the heat on Hurley, demanding that she release her personnel file and performance evaluations from her time as a Chicopee District Court judge.
“The public deserves to know how my opponent was evaluated as a judge by attorneys, court employees and jurors,” Mourneau said. “Full disclosure will allow the voters to have a better understanding of her performance as a judge.”
Not a bad issue to bring up late in the game but not nearly as effective as a couple of equal-time debates, which I believe Mourneau desperately needs if he wants to grab the big prize on Sept. 8.
Chris Collins, who worked in local radio in a number of capacities, has observed political life in Franklin County for years. He also is a former staff reporter for The Recorder and a Greenfield native.