Flanked by legislators Joe Maloney and Laura Petit, three members of the Ulster County Human Rights Commission (HRC), Carl Brown, Martin Dunkley and Bruce Ginsberg gathered outside the county office building in uptown Kingston on Friday, July 7 to announce their resignation from the commission.
The announcement is intended to draw attention in support of county health department employee Bethany Daley, whom they allege has been the victim of a years-long pattern of workplace discrimination and abuse. Daley, who is white, says she received the abuse on account of her two sons, who are black. Frustrated with the county response, she filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission.
The resignation of the commissioners is also meant as a formal protest to highlight the actions of the current interim leader of the commission, Esi Lewis.
“Since she [Lewis] began her tenure, in the beginning of May,” charged Ginsberg, “it’s been marred by meetings cancelled for no reason, lying on a continual basis to the human-rights commissioners, including the three of us, and mishandling of cases.”
The commissioners alleged that Daley has been further injured by the violation of her confidentiality by Lewis, who they say has inappropriately communicated Daley’s complaint with deputy executive Johanna Contreras who has oversight of the department in which the violation is said to have occurred.
“It’s a violation of her trust, confidentiality and state law,” said Ginsberg. “She has whistleblower protections.”
The ex-commissioners charge what amounts to a hostile takeover which they say is currently underway to replace commissioners viewed as problematic by the county administration.
“The Ulster County Human Rights Commission has been hijacked by the county executive,” said Ginsberg.
Brown said Lewis had called him earlier in the week to let him know he was no longer chair of the board.”
“How often does Esi Lewis,” asked Maloney, “tell you what you can and can’t work on?”
“Every meeting,” they each responded.
Ulster County executive Jen Metzger has pushed back on allegations lobbed at Lewis. Calling them “fundamentally dishonest” in a statement released Sunday, July 10, she contended that the letter released by the trio contained falsehoods that were easily disproved.
Metzger asserted that she believed that their contention former commissioner Tyrone Wilson had been dismissed from the post he had held since 2020 for “trivial comments” was the crux of the matter. She maintained that the offensive comments which got Wilson dismissed were anything but trivial. Their offensiveness to “Asians, Jews, LGBTQIA+ people, single mothers, and other groups” was a matter of public record, Metzger said.
She also objected to the characterization that the county Human Rights Commission was being padded with those loyal to her, pointing out that she had so far made no appointments to the board.
Lewis, a member of the town board in New Paltz, was appointed by Metzger as the county chief diversity officer in February. She is serving as an interim commissioner on the HRC.
Metzger does not deny that she appointed commissioner Gary Fuller, a board member for six months, to be chair of the board. The charter, she says, clearly grants the county executive the prerogative of appointing whomever she wishes. She cites Fuller’s past experience as a member of the Mount Vernon ethics board. Fuller was appointed to the board by county executive Pat Ryan after the term of the previous commissioner, Alice Cook, had expired.
The three commissioners alleged that Cook had been forced out.
The county executive expressed outrage at the thought that anyone would accuse Lewis of lacking qualifications or passion for human rights. Among other roles, Metzger touted Lewis’ near decade-long tenure as an assistant district attorney in Kings County and her service as a staff attorney on behalf of domestic-violence survivors at Legal Services of the Hudson Valley. Lewis also founded the Dr. Margaret Wade-Lewis Black History and Cultural Center in New Paltz.
“I urge the citizens of Ulster County not to be deterred by the baseless accusations of these individuals,” said Metzger. “The Human Rights Commission stands ready to help members of the public address discrimination and promote a more just and inclusive Ulster County.”
“This isn’t the first time I’ve received complaints from county employees who filed formal complaints with the personnel department,” observed legislator Petit. “The finance department. UCAT. Now it’s the Department of Health.”
With the resignation of Brown and Dunkley, only one person of color remains on the commission.
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