Black political leaders defend Hamlet
Group says racism behind recent claims
A group of leaders from Pittsburgh’s Black community Tuesday stated their support for Anthony Hamlet amid what they called a “racist attack” and an “attempted railroading” by the media and politicians against the city schools chief.
The Western Pennsylvania Black Political Assembly’s backing of Mr. Hamlet comes about two weeks after the state Ethics Commission released a report of ethical violations by the superintendent and as some have called for his removal from office.
At a news conference outside of the district administration building in Oakland, members of the WPBPA asked the school board to hold off on making any decision on discipline for Mr. Hamlet “until there is a complete airing of the facts allowing for a full public vetting of what has transpired and who played a role in this nefarious [collaboration].”
“To ask for a vote of no confidence or removal is feeding into a broad-based political attack by privileged elements, establishment and community groups who have hidden agendas,” Rick Adams, convener of the assembly, read in a statement at the press conference. “It reminds one of similar attacks on previous Superintendent John Thompson, also an African American educator, which resulted in his departure.”
The Ethics Commission report found that Mr. Hamlet violated the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act by improperly receiving travel reimbursements, getting payments for appearances related to his job, and incorrectly filing financial documents.
The WPBPA said the report does not make the case for a vote of no confidence or rise to a level that warrants such an action. The report, the group said, “merely calls for adjustments to
the financial reports to correct which account funds should be charged for specific and appropriate expenditures.”
Mr. Adams said he does not believe Mr. Hamlet should receive serious discipline.
“My personal feeling is that it doesn’t rise to a notable level that something substantive needs to be done,” Mr. Adams said. “My final take is that it’s the board’s decision. That’s why we elect them.”
The WPBPA was one of the only groups that publicly supported renewing Mr. Hamlet’s contract when the school board announced in August 2020 that it would take action to extend the superintendent’s deal with the district.
The group compared Mr. Hamlet’s treatment to that of Mr. Thompson, who served as the Pittsburgh Public Schools superintendent from 2000 to 2005 — a time when the school board was mired in politics. A split school board decided to buy out Mr. Thompson’s contract early, a decision that some felt at the time was based on racial prejudice against the first full-time Black superintendent.
Mr. Adams said he sees a pattern across systems in Pittsburgh in which Black people are dealt with in ways that other people are not. He noted the recent controversy involving Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., who stopped giving plea deals to the clients of Black defense attorney Milton Raiford. Mr. Zappala reversed the policy after public outcry.
Mr. Adams said he planned to form a commission to track how public officials treat Black people and other vulnerable groups.
“We have a history of folks in this city ... Black men in particular, people who are not parts of favored groups, get different kinds of treatments,” he said.
The assembly blamed four people for the attacks on
Mr. Hamlet. The group said it would file complaints with the Ethics Commission seeking investigations into actions taken by City Controller Michael Lamb and Mr. Zappala, and demanded the removal of Pittsburgh Public Schools Solicitor Ira Weiss and firing of KDKATV reporter Andy Sheehan.
The WPBPA said Mr. Lamb, who filed a complaint with the Ethics Commission in 2019 that led to the inquiry, acted inappropriately and violated the commission’s rules concerning elected officials publicly calling for an ethics investigation.
Mr. Lamb said in a statement that he had an obligation to file the complaint.
“As a resident, I have a right to file a complaint, but as Pittsburgh’s city controller, I have a responsibility to act on behalf of Pittsburgh residents, including our city’s children, when I see instances of fraud and abuse,” Mr. Lamb said. “The Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission determined that Dr. Hamlet violated the public’s trust, which, unfortunately, aligned with my initial complaint.”
The assembly said it believed Mr. Zappala committed a similar infraction to
Mr. Lamb when he announced he was going to review the superintendent’s ethical violations.
The district attorney’s office said in a statement Friday that it had obtained a copy of the ethics report and asked the Ethics Commission to forward supporting documents so it could do a thorough review to decide if further action was needed. The DA’s office noted that the word “investigate” was not in the statement.
“Obviously this matter is important to the public, and every family has a right to a ‘thorough’ and ‘efficient’ public education,” the DA’s office said in a statement. “DA Zappala is looking out for those rights.”
The WPBPA said Mr. Weiss was culpable for some of the ethical violations because as district solicitor he let Mr. Hamlet’s contract go forward with language that the superintendent could receive honorariums, do consultant work and be reimbursed for travel when it was prohibited by the state. The assembly said Mr. Weiss was “derelict” in his duties for not catching the issues in Mr. Hamlet’s contract.
Mr. Weiss said he had no
comment on the WPBPA statement.
Regarding Mr. Sheehan, a KDKA investigative reporter, the group said his “unprofessional, inappropriate and unsubstantiated personal and racist attacks must be reviewed.” Mr. Sheehan broke the story about an unauthorized trip Mr. Hamlet and other district administrators took to Cuba that was central to the Ethics Commission’s investigation.
A KDKA representative was not available for comment.