Hunter
03/09/21
Days after the first chairperson of Iowa City’s new Truth and Reconciliation Commission stepped down as leader, the recently hired facilitator and a commission member handed in their resignations.
The Press-Citizen reports that the commission’s former chair, Royceann Porter, stepped down due to a vote of no confidence after allegations that she was openly hostile toward members of the commission and the public. Rather than having Vice Chair T’Shailyn Harrington take over, the commission elected Mohammed Traore to lead the group. That caused local labor leader Tony Currin to resign.
Currin said in a letter Sunday to the City Council that that change in leadership amounted to a breach of his expectations for the commission. He called on the Council to pause the commission and put some greater oversight in place.
On Friday afternoon, the commission’s newly hired facilitator Jesse Case, also stepped down. In his letter of resignation he said he couldn’t facilitate a commission that he felt was set up to fail. The said there are no clear guidelines for the commission to move forward and suggested that a Council member attend the group’s future meetings.
Additionally, Case offered three options to keep the commission going: reconfigure the TRC with representatives from the Indigenous community and immigrants from Central and South America; disband the commission and then recreate using new criteria, or bid out the administration of the commission to the non-profit sector.
The commission was created in December as part of a multipart resolution to address racism in Iowa City.