Tensions emerge in Sonora group

A member of a Sonora advisory committee on social equity accused a city councilwoman of racism last week, spurring a renewed debate as to whether the committee can continue to move forward in its current form.

“I think it certainly has cracked it,” said Councilwoman Colette Such, who was accused by social equity committee member Darren Duez of racism due to comments she made about being raped when she was 15 years old. “I really would like the city to take the high road here to model civility in its response … I think it would be too early to answer that question.”

The social equity committee has met a total of five times since the end of September. At a meeting in mid-december, the committee discussed public workshops on social equity that likely would take place after February.

The committee has faced criticism in its formation as unnecessary for Sonora. Since the meetings have gone on, appointees and council members have pressed the committee to work at a faster pace to produce a resolution they can review for a vote.

Such said the allegations made at the Sonora City Council meeting last Monday jeopardized the future of the committee, though

“The purpose of the social equity committee is to formalize the city of Sonora’s active commitment to belonging, fairness, justice and equity for all, to listen to diverse and marginalized voices, to provide a safe space for conversation, reflection and understanding, to recognize and acknowledge implicit bias, to explore systems and identify areas of opportunity to ensure that they work on behalf of the common good for all. We intentionally invite everyone to build common ground and civility in our community.” — Social Equity Committee purpose statement

she hopes “it can recover from this somehow.”

She referred to the allegations as “orchestrated and despicable,” and said the entire council should discuss in public the best possible way to move forward.

Duez said he also feels the committee can still move forward, but insisted that he still feels marginalized on it, and that Such is an insufficient leader.

“I’m the white elephant now. I’m going to stand out like a sore thumb,” Duez said. “I got shut down every time I wanted to start asking questions.”

The committee is composed of five appointed members and two council members, Such and Jim Garaventa. The five members of the committee, who were selected by each member of the council out of 12 who applied, are Duez, Nikki Coleman, Nathan Morales, Sylvia Roberts and Mercedes Tune.

During the meeting, a public commenter who identified himself on the Zoom call as “The Black Guy” said he was disappointed because he felt he was barred from participation in the committee because he was a Black man. He said he had a better perspective on racism in Sonora as a younger Black man than Roberts, a Black woman appointed to the committee.

He then questioned whether Such was “sexist or racist” and played a brief video clip from a previous meeting where Such disclosed to the committee that she was raped when she was 15. She said at the time of the comments that her rapist was a white man, but adults in her life all asked her if the rapist was a Black man.

However, the video clip shown by the commenter didn’t contextualize her comments at the time that she developed implicit bias as a result of being asked repeatedly if the rapist was Black.

Duez followed next in the comments, accusing Such of having “no tolerance for people with other views” and forcing a political agenda on the committee.

“There is no inclusiveness in the social equity committee,” he said.

Duez referenced her comments from the previous video to suggest she had a “deep fear of Black men.”

“I have a lack of confidence in Colette,” he said. “I feel she is a liability sitting on the city council. She should resign immediately.”

During the meeting, members of the advisory committee and the council expressed disbelief, shock and discomfort with the allegations.

“I’m on the verge of speechless about that part of it. I think that was unfair and out of context,” said Garaventa, echoing Tune, who pointed out that each council member chose a participant in the committee.

Such called the comment “egregious” and said she was unsure of how to respond to allegations she considered baseless.

Duez said on Monday to The Union Democrat he felt he had a right to question Such’s motivations and biases as a result of her story, though he recognizes she was “traumatized” and a “human being.”

“You can’t have that incident happen to you at 15 and continue to hold that racial bias,” Duez said.

But his criticism of Such and the committee compounded beyond just his allegations against Such. He said the committee is moving into “crazier topics” and going beyond its initial mandate. He also said the plan to hire a workshop facilitator from the East Coast conveyed Such’s undue control over the direction of the committee with “backwoods dealings.”

“We don’t need to be dividing our country,” he said. “We need to be coming together and denouncing racism.”

Mayor Matt Hawkins said he had not participated in any of the social equity meetings because he wanted to remain unbiased for a potential upcoming review on the proposed resolution. He said he was “stunned” by the allegations from Duez, his choice for the committee, though he said he was protected by the First Amendment to ask those questions.

“I hold Councilmember Such in high regard,” Hawkins said. “In the past, we have worked on things together, and I hope that continues. Darren is his own person. I’m not his babysitter. He doesn’t do what I tell him to do … I would have presented things a little bit differently because I’m a different person.”

Hawkins said he selected Duez for the committee because “he is someone I consider disenfranchised.” Duez self-identified as growing up as “white trash” from Big Hill before starting a small business during the introductory meetings. Hawkins said he remembered Duez standing up for a Black friend “years ago” and that “always left a positive mark on me.”

Hawkins said the greatest obstacle facing the committee is maintaining public interest and picking up waning participation from other members. During the committee’s last meeting, three of the seven members were absent.

During the council meeting, other speakers spoke both for and against the committee.

Oscar Martinez said he was “appalled” at what he saw as an effort to divide the community.

“I just don’t agree with the whole thing you have going on right now,” he said.

Megan Mills said she supports the goals of the committee and, if they don’t actively combat racism, they will be part of a larger institutional problem.

“If racism doesn’t affect you personally, and you don’t see instances of it yourself, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist,” she said.

At the end of the discussion, the council approved the following purpose statement for the committee:

“The purpose of the social equity committee is to formalize the city of Sonora’s active commitment to belonging, fairness, justice and equity for all, to listen to diverse and marginalized voices, to provide a safe space for conversation, reflection and understanding, to recognize and acknowledge implicit bias, to explore systems and identify areas of opportunity to ensure that they work on behalf of the common good for all. We intentionally invite everyone to build common ground and civility in our community.”

The council approved the purpose statement by a 4-1 vote with opposition from Mayor Pro-tem Mark Plummer, who said he disagreed with the idea of implicit bias.

Such said during the meeting that it was too soon for the committee to write a resolution that could be considered by the council.

“There’s a lot of work to be done,” she said.