‘Treat all people equally’: Lawsuit prompts city to abandon race requirements for commission
Wrong-color man had been turned away after applying to serve on Human Relations Commission
A lawsuit has prompted officials in Asheville, North Carolina, to abandon their race requirements for city commission appointments.
A report from the Pacific Legal Foundation said the city council has voted to eliminate “race-based membership preferences” for its Human Relations Commission.
The change is part of a settlement of a lawsuit over the disputed practice.
“Government has a constitutional duty to treat all people equally under the law,” said Andrew Quinio, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation who represents the residents. “Asheville should treat its citizens based on their character, qualifications, and achievements, not on characteristics they cannot control like race or ethnicity.”
It was John Miall, a lifelong resident of the city who spent nearly 30 years working for the city including as its director of risk management, who had applied to serve on the Human Relations Commission of Asheville in 2023.
He was passed over because he was the wrong race.
Eventually, following the filing of the lawsuit, the city did appoint him to the board, but five other qualified residents – Robyn Hite, David Shaw, Willa Grant, Danie Johnson, and David Evans – faced the same discrimination for the same reason.
The case charged that the city was in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
Under the consent decree, filed Friday, Asheville must ensure equal opportunity on the commission by administering appointments without regard to race, ethnicity, color, or national origin. The city must also publicly state that appointment to the commission is open to all qualified applicants regardless of race.
The PLF documented that Miall had retired from the city government in 2006 but continued to work as a private sector consultant. He already had been chairman of Asheville’s Civil Service Board and a candidate for city council and mayor.
The Human Relations Commission was created in 2018, and Miall “felt his decades of municipal experience and a boundless desire to serve his community would be a natural fit for the commission. Nevertheless, when John applied for one of the vacant seats in early 2023, the city council rejected his application—because of his race,” PLF reported.
The original commission board was set up with quotas for the 15 members, including specific requirements for those who are “African Americans, Latinx, LGBTQ members, ‘professionals with influence,’ youth members, a representative from each of the city’s geographical areas, public housing residents, and individuals with disabilities.”
The board later was cut to nine members, and while the city ended the “quotas,” it inserted “race-based membership preferences.”
The PLF explained in bringing the complaint, “No government commission or committee should use an individual’s race or ethnicity to determine who gets the opportunity to serve their public. Treating people according to immutable characteristics like race violates the very notion of equality before the law. People should be treated as individuals, not as members of a group they did not choose.”
