Reply #4: Hopefully -- but not guaranteed

[CornField]

The members are appointed, but they also require Council approval. Just changing the mayor does not guarantee a big shake-up in the appointed boards and commissions. From experience I can tell you that trying to find citizens who are willing to serve on such boards without compensation is a difficult task.

In CR, the Commission members can serve for three consecutive three-year terms. What usually happens is you have the same people serving over and over and over again. For instance, Jane Doe will be appointed and serve for her three terms. Then Wilma Doe will be appointed and begin her service. In the interim, John Doe uses up his three terms. Since Jane is no longer considered 'consecutive,' she is once again re-appointed to the Commission. John is re-appointed when Wilma has used up her time... Wilma is re-appointed when Jane's time is up... and on and on.

Barring someone moving from the community or flat-out refusing to serve again, you'll end up with a pool of about 15 people who continually serve the same board/commission.

Some corporations will insist that their upper management or higher-ranking employees serve on various civic boards/commissions and/or join local service clubs or non-profits. In most cases, this is done with the best of intentions. A person who places roots in many areas of a community is much less likely to leave that community (and the employer maintains its investment in the individual). A company which has individuals who are active in the community has a much better understanding of that community (and is in a much better position if it ever needs permits, waivers or code changes).

In the case of the Civil Rights Commission, however, the practice is cause for some concern.

Hypothetical: You are an employee at Planes-R-Us and have a discrimination complaint. How likely are you to take that complaint to the Civil Rights Commission if you know that the VP of the company sits on the board (along with his corporate cronies)? You could file it with the State Commission, but you still have the risk of it being deferred back to the local one.

Civil Rights Commissions are in place to help the little guy. I wonder about the potential conflict of interest when the person sitting on the commission is an employee of the big guy in question. It wouldn't even have to be a direct complaint against the employer the person represents. It could be a case against a certain non-profit in town that the employer supports or a case which is expected to cause bad press for the community (thus affecting the employer).

The article in the Register pointed to decreased budgets and fewer staff as the root cause of the huge back-log in Des Moines. The former journalist in me really wants to get a look at the complaints that have been sitting for so long and compare them to the current members of the Commission. My guess is there will be lots of connections to be made between the employers of the individuals on the Commission and the cases.