Mayor criticizes Review reporting on city manager search

Mayor Ameer Ghalib

By Charles Sercombe
Mayor Ameer Ghalib has found himself on the defensive about a comment he made as to the qualifications for one to be the next city manager.
In the Aug. 19 issue of The Review, it was reported that, when the mayor and city council were about to go over the city charter qualifications for city manager, Ghalib prefaced that reading of the charter by saying:
“It doesn’t say, there, that he has to be white – for sure.”
That comment was made in the June 28 city council meeting, and it can be seen here at about the 41-minute mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIGwm5TkxNE
At last Tuesday’s council meeting, during public comment, Latrello Sephers, an African-American, took issue with comments by the mayor and also by community activist Bill Meyer who both said the next city manager does not have to be a white person.
“To flat out to say you won’t hire a white person, or say a black, or whatever, that is racist,” Sephers said.
Neither the mayor nor the city council said they won’t hire a white city manager candidate.
Sephers also admonished the council, saying that they should be “ashamed” if they agree with the statements by Ghalib and Meyer.
The mayor defended his comment, saying that The Review got the story wrong.
Ghalib said at last Tuesday’s council meeting that his comment was in regard to “Some people here suggested that to maintain diversity, we should hire a white city manager.”

That explanation came after the Aug. 19 Review article in question was published.
Also, that explanation was not given at the June 28 council meeting when he made the quote in question.
He further criticized The Review, calling it “not authentic” and “fake news” — adding that he does not read The Review.
The Review asked Ghalib to show where in the June 28 meeting he had provided that context or explanation for his comment.
He did not provide that information, but in an email response to The Review asking for clarification, he at first questioned whether he had made the comment in the center of this controversy.
Here is his full response:
“And where did I say that he cannot be white?! where did you get that from?
(Editor’s note: The Review did not report that the mayor said the next city manager “cannot be white.”)
“When Mr. Choudhury was reading the qualifications of the city manager from the charter, I believe during his report, I said to him, it didn’t say that the city manager has to be white?
“I was being sarcastic to send a message to the ones who suggested that he/she must be white? And they got my message, and I don’t want to mention no names here.
“It’s obvious that I was referring to the fact that the city manager can be anything, white, black, Arab, Bangali, as long as he/she is qualified, and that he doesn’t have to be white.
“I do believe that you owe me an apology! And it should be on the first page.
“It’s unethical to deliver the wrong message to the community for the sake of dividing and destabilizing it! There is still a chance for fixing the problem, Mayor Ghalib.”
The Review once again asked the mayor to show where he had provided context to his comment in that June 28 meeting.
He has yet to respond.
Posted Aug. 26, 2022

Update Aug. 27, 2022