New Castle Looks to Attract More Members Race and Equity Committee

New Castle officials are considering changing the name of its Committee on Race and Equity and potentially expanding the scope of the group in hopes of attracting more residents to serve.

Last week Supervisor Lisa Katz pitched the idea to the Town Board to include topics impacting gender, people with disabilities, age and residents from other populations to encourage participation. Katz proposed changing the name to the Inclusion Advisory Committee as part of that effort.

“Part of that, I feel like we may end up getting more people applying to be on this committee because they’re interested in a certain aspect of the diversity and inclusion that is not currently in the mandate of that committee,” Katz said.

Last year, the Town Board approved establishing the committee as permanent after its forerunner, the Council on Race and Equity, was formed in June 2020 in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd and several racial incidents within New Castle at about that time. The town is in the midst of filling vacant board and committees.

Councilwoman Victoria Tipp, who will be the board liaison to the committee, said she would support expanding its mission to include ethnicity, gender and LGBTQ issues. She anticipated that there would be different subgroups that would form as well as coordination with other town committees, such as the Holocaust and Human Rights Committee and the Every Person is Connected Committee (EPIC), which focuses on concerns surrounding residents with disabilities.

“I would definitely be in favor of having a more encompassing mandate to this committee and there would be different subgroups to it,” Tipp said.

Councilman Jeremy Saland said he felt conflicted because the biggest catalyst for forming the original Council on Race and Equity was a result of the racial injustices that galvanized protestors through the nation, and doesn’t want that diminished. Conversely, if expanding the issues gets more people involved it would be to the town’s benefit, Saland said.

He said he was puzzled why people who were so enthusiastic about participating are hard to come by now. In 2020, eight working groups consisting of more than 100 residents provided the town with roughly 300 pages of recommendations.

“I just don’t want to take away from what we had such community involvement in and I want to know why, why can’t we get people involved,” Saland said. “There’s got to be something. We had all of these people. Where’d they go?”

Tipp said whatever form the committee takes will be focused on race but wants the group’s work to be effective and meaningful.

“Ultimately, it’s the work that gets done, not the structure you put it in,” Tipp said.

Katz mentioned that it is her hope that there can be one umbrella committee that can make all groups feel welcomed and valued.

The board made no decision on the committee’s structure but will address the matter again.

Martin Wilbur

Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/