Episode 4

Podsdale Episode 4: A Scottsdale for all

Published on: 20th May, 2021

Scottsdale's recently adopted anti-discrimination ordinance is now in effect. The ordinance prohibits discrimination based on actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. But what does this ordinance mean for city employees and the Scottsdale community? Host Holly Walter talks to the research team of city employees behind the ordinance to learn more.

Transcript
Holly Walter:

Welcome back to Podsdale.

Holly Walter:

I am your host, Public Affairs Supervisor Holly Walter,

Holly Walter:

and I'm ready to jump right into our fourth episode.

Holly Walter:

Today's topic is the city's recent adoption of an

Holly Walter:

anti-discrimination ordinance, which prohibits discrimination

Holly Walter:

based on actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, national

Holly Walter:

origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

Holly Walter:

But what does this mean to us as employees and to our community?

Holly Walter:

I'll be talking to the research team behind the

Holly Walter:

ordinance, Librarian Christina Brady, our city's Diversity

Holly Walter:

Manager, Sharon Cini, Communications and Public Affairs

Holly Walter:

Director Kelly Corsette, Senior City Attorney Bill

Holly Walter:

Hylen and our Assistant City Manager Brent Stockwell.

Holly Walter:

But before we get into our interview, I'm sending it

Holly Walter:

over to Stephanie Hirata for this episodes, Fast Five.

Stephanie Hirata:

Hi, I'm Public Affair

Stephanie Hirata:

Specialist, Stephanie Hirata with five fast

Stephanie Hirata:

things happening around the city you need to know.

Stephanie Hirata:

Scottsdale City Court starts to list at number five.

Stephanie Hirata:

The court now offers an online chat feature, which allows users

Stephanie Hirata:

to receive case information and have their questions answered by

Stephanie Hirata:

a live court clerk, right from their computers or mobile devices.

Stephanie Hirata:

For more than a year, court staff focused on expanding

Stephanie Hirata:

virtual services and now offer virtual civil traffic

Stephanie Hirata:

hearings, online appointment scheduling, and the

Stephanie Hirata:

ability to remotely obtain an order of protection.

Stephanie Hirata:

Scottsdale City Court also allows people to virtually

Stephanie Hirata:

file a motion, look up a case, make a payment,

Stephanie Hirata:

request defensive driving school and other services.

Stephanie Hirata:

You can find the court online at

Stephanie Hirata:

ScottsdaleAZ.gov and search 'city court'.

Stephanie Hirata:

The NCAA golf championships are at number 'fore!'.

Stephanie Hirata:

The long awaited start of a three-year run for

Stephanie Hirata:

the NCAA golf championships in Scottsdale is here.

Stephanie Hirata:

The women are up first at Grayhawk Golf Club from May 21st

Stephanie Hirata:

to the 26th followed by the men from May 28th to June 2nd,

Stephanie Hirata:

the 2022 and 2023 nationals also will be held at Grayhawk.

Stephanie Hirata:

The championships will be televised on the golf

Stephanie Hirata:

channel and spectators are allowed with free admission.

Stephanie Hirata:

Scottsdale Public Library is in our number three spot.

Stephanie Hirata:

Arizona State Library recently awarded three

Stephanie Hirata:

grants, totaling $11,000 to the library.

Stephanie Hirata:

The grants will help the library expanded

Stephanie Hirata:

citizen science program, improves staff

Stephanie Hirata:

development, and expand virtual programming.

Stephanie Hirata:

Two of the grants are funded through the Library

Stephanie Hirata:

Services and Technology act, while the third grant

Stephanie Hirata:

is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Stephanie Hirata:

And number two, our incredible police department chaplains.

Stephanie Hirata:

Scottsdale Police Department will host an international

Stephanie Hirata:

conference and training seminar for police chaplains in July.

Stephanie Hirata:

The department plans to welcome 350 police chaplains and

Stephanie Hirata:

their families for a week of training and fellowship from

Stephanie Hirata:

July 12th through the 16th at the Hyatt Regency Gainey Ranch.

Stephanie Hirata:

You can learn more at icpcforcops.org.

Stephanie Hirata:

Our number one Fast Five spot goes to Scottsdale

Stephanie Hirata:

Water Executive Director, Brian Beisemeyer.

Stephanie Hirata:

Governor Doug Ducey recently appointed Brian to serve

Stephanie Hirata:

as a commissioner on the Arizona Water Protection Fund.

Stephanie Hirata:

The fund is a competitive state grant program that provides

Stephanie Hirata:

an annual source of funding to restore, maintain, and

Stephanie Hirata:

enhance river and riparian resources throughout Arizona.

Stephanie Hirata:

The commissions investments have improved Arizona's

Stephanie Hirata:

water quality in stream flows and water supplies,

Stephanie Hirata:

biodiversity, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation,

Stephanie Hirata:

flood control, and overall watershed health.

Stephanie Hirata:

Congratulations, Brian!

Stephanie Hirata:

And that's our Fast Five for this episode of Podsdale.

Stephanie Hirata:

Got something for a future Fast Five?

Stephanie Hirata:

Tell us by emailing communications@scottsdaleaz.gov.

Stephanie Hirata:

I'll turn it back over to you, Holly.

Holly Walter:

Thanks Stephanie.

Holly Walter:

I also need to give a shout out to our most recent

Holly Walter:

trivia question winner facility, supervisor Craig Taylor.

Holly Walter:

Craig was correct in saying that Chief

Holly Walter:

Information Officer Brad Hartig is the person

Holly Walter:

retiring after 30 years of service to the city.

Holly Walter:

Craig, we have a $10 gift card with your name on it.

Holly Walter:

Watch your email.

Holly Walter:

And if you want to be our next trivia question

Holly Walter:

winner, listen closely for the question at the

Holly Walter:

end of this podcast and email your answer to

Holly Walter:

communications@ScottsdaleAZ.gov to be entered into our drawing.

Holly Walter:

Well, our episode today focuses on our newly passed

Holly Walter:

anti-discrimination ordinance and in fact, I have the entire

Holly Walter:

anti-discrimination ordinance research team with me today.

Holly Walter:

So this will be our first podcast with

Holly Walter:

an entire team of people to interview.

Holly Walter:

But I welcome you all here with us today.

Holly Walter:

And thank you for joining me.

Bill Hylen:

Glad to be here.

Sharon Cini:

Yeah.

Holly Walter:

First off, I'm going to ask Sharon,

Holly Walter:

why is the adoption of an anti-discrimination

Holly Walter:

ordinance so important to the City of Scottsdale?

Sharon Cini:

Well, first of all, good afternoon, everyone.

Sharon Cini:

How are you doing?

Sharon Cini:

Good to see all my colleagues here.

Sharon Cini:

And it's a great question because

Sharon Cini:

we did a tremendous amount of work.

Sharon Cini:

And you know, I've been here for seven years

Sharon Cini:

and over the years, we've interfaced with.

Sharon Cini:

Many people within our diverse community.

Sharon Cini:

And we discovered in our conversations and through

Sharon Cini:

citizens reporting, that there were some things

Sharon Cini:

going on out there that specifically impacted people,

Sharon Cini:

including our LGBT community, because there were things

Sharon Cini:

like, you know, no legal protections and recourse.

Sharon Cini:

And so this new local, inclusive, anti-discrimination

Sharon Cini:

ordinance is really a substantial move to establish

Sharon Cini:

that expanded legal, civil rights for all people

Sharon Cini:

working, visiting, and living in Scottsdale.

Sharon Cini:

And so that makes me super proud because

Sharon Cini:

I, I love living here in Scottsdale.

Sharon Cini:

It's a great city.

Sharon Cini:

And I also love the fact that Scottsdale is joining other

Sharon Cini:

Arizona cities like Flagstaff and Phoenix, Sedona, Tempe,

Sharon Cini:

Tucson, my hometown of Winslow and most recently Mesa.

Sharon Cini:

And so the, the ordinance is really great because it adds

Sharon Cini:

sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes.

Sharon Cini:

Right now the protected classes are things like race,

Sharon Cini:

color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability.

Sharon Cini:

But what this did is it really, you know, it, Scottsdale

Sharon Cini:

made a public commitment to fairness and equity.

Sharon Cini:

And we are golden rule city, which of course I love too, because

Sharon Cini:

it tells us to treat others how we would want to be treated

Sharon Cini:

and to serve all with equal treatment and fair treatment.

Sharon Cini:

And so you know, we hope that this,

Sharon Cini:

this ordinance will help people.

Sharon Cini:

Deter from any unlawful actions.

Sharon Cini:

And I always talk about psychological

Sharon Cini:

safety and how important that is.

Sharon Cini:

And, and we know that inclusion creates that

Sharon Cini:

sense of belonging and that's what we want in our

Sharon Cini:

beautiful city and within our own organization.

Sharon Cini:

And so I always love what one community has

Sharon Cini:

said is we are open to business for everyone,

Sharon Cini:

and that's exactly what ordinance has done.

Holly Walter:

Absolutely, and it sounds like we're in

Holly Walter:

good company with other cities having something similar.

Sharon Cini:

Yeah, we sure are.

Holly Walter:

Now this project required some

Holly Walter:

substantial preparation and work by this entire team.

Holly Walter:

Brent, can you step us through that process?

Brent Stockwell:

Yeah, definitely.

Brent Stockwell:

Holly.

Brent Stockwell:

So we actually started on this last summer in the wake

Brent Stockwell:

and the context of the national discourse on race.

Brent Stockwell:

And we also support the Human Relations Commission, which is a

Brent Stockwell:

group of residents that have been appointed by the council to

Brent Stockwell:

look at these types of issues and the commission felt it was a

Brent Stockwell:

good time to make a recommendation again, to the City Council

Brent Stockwell:

that they adopt a uh, non or anti-discrimination ordinance.

Brent Stockwell:

So they made a recommendation at their

Brent Stockwell:

meeting in August that went to the Council.

Brent Stockwell:

And as our City Manager was listening to the council

Brent Stockwell:

members he recognized that we needed to do a little

Brent Stockwell:

bit more background work to make sure that this project

Brent Stockwell:

and this ordinance was ready for council approval.

Brent Stockwell:

So he asked that we form a team and do some more research.

Brent Stockwell:

And so Sharon of course, was a core part of that team.

Brent Stockwell:

We needed legal advice, so Bill

Brent Stockwell:

Hylen was added to the team for that.

Brent Stockwell:

We needed, a crack researcher, a great researcher.

Brent Stockwell:

And we had that in Christina Brady, who was also redeployed

Brent Stockwell:

at the time as our City Managers, Executive Assistant.

Brent Stockwell:

And of course we needed to make sure or that we were

Brent Stockwell:

thinking about how to involve the public and how to

Brent Stockwell:

do community involvement throughout this process.

Brent Stockwell:

And so Kelly Corsette was part of the team.

Brent Stockwell:

So we started meeting, we started doing research into um, how

Brent Stockwell:

other cities enforce on ordinances, how they do investigations,

Brent Stockwell:

what different pieces are included in their ordinances.

Brent Stockwell:

And we would meet regularly to talk

Brent Stockwell:

about this and work and develop this.

Brent Stockwell:

And it became clear after the election in November

Brent Stockwell:

that a lot of council members and the Mayor

Brent Stockwell:

were very interested in moving this forward.

Brent Stockwell:

So we really started to work to make sure that everything was as

Brent Stockwell:

ready as possible to go by the time the new council was seated.

Holly Walter:

This sounds like a pretty big research project.

Holly Walter:

And I know Sharon mentioned earlier that other cities

Holly Walter:

have similar ordinances, Christina, through your research.

Holly Walter:

What did you learn from other communities?

Christina Brady:

Thank you so much, Holly.

Christina Brady:

This has certainly been the most important research

Christina Brady:

project I've worked on and I'm grateful for my

Christina Brady:

background to bring some of those skills to the table.

Christina Brady:

But each member of this team conducted a lot of research on

Christina Brady:

their own and they contributed to this ordinances development.

Christina Brady:

So I want to thank them all, but I

Christina Brady:

specifically focused on Arizona's comp studies.

Christina Brady:

Those include Plano, Texas, Alexandria,

Christina Brady:

Virginia, and Henderson, Nevada.

Christina Brady:

A lot of the city codes can be found online and they

Christina Brady:

really have a range of coverage that is rather extensive.

Christina Brady:

So for instance Henderson, Nevada is one of our comp

Christina Brady:

cities and it has equal opportunity policy, which prohibits

Christina Brady:

discrimination based on certain protected classes.

Christina Brady:

And they also have protections against city

Christina Brady:

employees for retaliation, when reporting instances

Christina Brady:

of discrimination or harassment, and those

Christina Brady:

are pretty common protections that you'll see.

Christina Brady:

But I thought that Alexandra, Virginia code

Christina Brady:

was the most interesting and inspiring.

Christina Brady:

And I think that it really helped guide where we went.

Christina Brady:

So if you ever feel like looking up ordinance,

Christina Brady:

you can go there and look into theirs.

Christina Brady:

But I think that, that in addition to our sheet,

Christina Brady:

which was provided to the Scottsdale city council,

Christina Brady:

which showed the differences and the similarities

Christina Brady:

between the ordinances uh, Phoenix, Tempe, Sedona,

Christina Brady:

Flagstaff, Tucson and Winslow, was very helpful.

Christina Brady:

But to answer your question more directly, we

Christina Brady:

learned that other communities were offering.

Christina Brady:

We learned what they were offering as far as their scope

Christina Brady:

of prohibited discrimination, their protected classes,

Christina Brady:

their exemptions, and their complaint procedures.

Christina Brady:

So knowing all of that information helped

Christina Brady:

guide the development of this ordinance.

Christina Brady:

In addition to the recommendations that we

Christina Brady:

got from the Human Relations Commission.

Christina Brady:

So I think like what Sharon was saying before, it really

Christina Brady:

helps strengthened Scottsdale status as a golden rule city.

Christina Brady:

But overall, I think that this ordinance moves Scottsdale

Christina Brady:

in a very positive direction where its residents and its

Christina Brady:

visitors are going to feel more welcomed and more protected.

Holly Walter:

Absolutely.

Holly Walter:

And it definitely sounds like that background research was

Holly Walter:

vital in this process as we put our ordinance together.

Holly Walter:

Now I have a question for our attorney for Bill.

Holly Walter:

Were there protections in place in our city

Holly Walter:

prior to the adoption of this ordinance?

Bill Hylen:

Yeah, Holly, there, there were there were

Bill Hylen:

really two separate categories of protections before

Bill Hylen:

we passed this ordinance one that applied through our

Bill Hylen:

human resources ordinance to city employees themselves.

Bill Hylen:

And that provides that the city is not going to discriminate

Bill Hylen:

against employees based on any of the protected categories.

Bill Hylen:

And those protected categories are the same ones

Bill Hylen:

that ended up in the newly passed ordinance.

Bill Hylen:

And then we also had we have, a housing ordinance, which more or

Bill Hylen:

less mirrored, the federal laws regarding housing discrimination.

Bill Hylen:

Those were the two areas that had the force of law, but of

Bill Hylen:

course we also have administrative regulation 333, which is

Bill Hylen:

very broad about, you know, essentially treating employees

Bill Hylen:

and citizens and customers uh, fairly, And because Scottsdale

Bill Hylen:

is obviously a values based organization, but those, those

Bill Hylen:

far reaching protections don't have the force of law because

Bill Hylen:

they're in administrative regulation rather than the code.

Bill Hylen:

So that's what existed prior to this.

Holly Walter:

Now, Sharon is, is

Holly Walter:

discrimination a problem in Scottsdale?

Sharon Cini:

You know, that's such a great question.

Sharon Cini:

I think it's, it's important that we're very

Sharon Cini:

real about discrimination, harassment, and

Sharon Cini:

retaliation because, yes, it does exist.

Sharon Cini:

And you know, my, my, my office is a community service and we

Sharon Cini:

also housed our LGBT liaisons, both, the past and the present.

Sharon Cini:

So one of them of course, was David Simmons who

Sharon Cini:

worked so hard over the years and committed his time.

Sharon Cini:

The same thing is Stanna Slater who is our LGBT liaison.

Sharon Cini:

And then Hugh Lockerby in our Scottsdale Police Department.

Sharon Cini:

All of us are, have been an open door for anyone to discuss

Sharon Cini:

these situations as we described here with regards to it.

Sharon Cini:

And the one that comes to mind is that we

Sharon Cini:

know that there have been employment cases.

Sharon Cini:

One that had happened prior to my time here in

Sharon Cini:

Scottsdale, and it was a popular local wine bar.

Sharon Cini:

And unfortunately had to close his doors because of the actual

Sharon Cini:

and perceived prejudice that involved a male employee's, sexual

Sharon Cini:

orientation, and a male coworker who was perceived to be gay.

Sharon Cini:

And he began, being harassed and being teased and all

Sharon Cini:

these things because he was standing up for his coworker.

Sharon Cini:

Then we also know that public comments, that

Sharon Cini:

we've had since the ordinance has been proposed.

Sharon Cini:

It unveiled some further incidences in our

Sharon Cini:

community that we actually weren't aware of.

Sharon Cini:

Some that included threats of harm.

Sharon Cini:

Some had unfair employment practices in the past, and

Sharon Cini:

you know, a lot of the prejudice attitudes are supported

Sharon Cini:

by misinformation and , and sometimes, even worse, we

Sharon Cini:

can't really, if someone can't prove discrimination,

Sharon Cini:

it takes its toll on a person because it's, that person

Sharon Cini:

has the responsibility to bring in that proof right?

Sharon Cini:

And sometimes they're microaggressions and

Sharon Cini:

microaggressions, are those everyday subtle,

Sharon Cini:

intentional, and sometimes non-intentional, interactions

Sharon Cini:

or behaviors that communicate some sort of bias.

Sharon Cini:

And when citizens or employees tell us their

Sharon Cini:

stories, they are sharing their instinct

Sharon Cini:

feelings they get because of the interaction.

Sharon Cini:

Sometimes they've been in bars where they've been

Sharon Cini:

called a name, or they've been feel like being uh,

Sharon Cini:

unfairly treated because of their sexual orientation

Sharon Cini:

or the color of their skin, or what have you.

Sharon Cini:

But that instinctual feeling is telling them that

Sharon Cini:

someone is communicating hostile or disrespectful

Sharon Cini:

or negative racial or other insults towards them.

Sharon Cini:

And those behaviors, I think that both for staff and

Sharon Cini:

for the community, we need to be aware of what those

Sharon Cini:

look like, because some of them are really different.

Sharon Cini:

Sometimes they're microassaults, that are when people behave in

Sharon Cini:

a discriminatory manner, but not, but aren't explicitly intending

Sharon Cini:

to offend someone or sometimes they can be micro-insults.

Sharon Cini:

Which are when people unintentionally communicate

Sharon Cini:

discriminatory messages to members of targeted groups.

Sharon Cini:

And most importantly the micro-invalidations, which deny the

Sharon Cini:

realities of what members of targeted populations experience.

Sharon Cini:

And so we have to keep in mind that when we're we all have

Sharon Cini:

a right to work free from discrimination, harassment, and

Sharon Cini:

retaliation, because we have to work, we have to live, we have

Sharon Cini:

to pay our bills, we have to feed our families, to pay off debt.

Sharon Cini:

And that includes everyone, right?

Sharon Cini:

Regardless of, of sexual orientation or gender identity, or race,

Sharon Cini:

or national origin, or your religious beliefs, or what have you.

Sharon Cini:

And so discrimination and other

Sharon Cini:

behaviors, that occurred do exist.

Sharon Cini:

So let's do our part to prevent it from happening

Sharon Cini:

in the first place and continue to be growth minded.

Sharon Cini:

Using our diversity competencies, we have them, our staff are

Sharon Cini:

skilled, they're competent, and we have to use that to positively

Sharon Cini:

create a safe, healthy workplace and inclusive community.

Holly Walter:

Absolutely.

Holly Walter:

As you said, sometimes it is an uncomfortable

Holly Walter:

topic for people to discuss, but sadly, there are

Holly Walter:

some instances of discrimination that do exist.

Holly Walter:

Thinking about that, what does this ordinance mean?

Holly Walter:

Bill?

Holly Walter:

Can you talk more about what protections

Holly Walter:

the ordinance provides and who's protected?

Bill Hylen:

Sure Holly, to take the second question.

Bill Hylen:

First, the ordinance generally prohibits discrimination based on

Bill Hylen:

these categories, which are race, color, religion, sex, national

Bill Hylen:

origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.

Bill Hylen:

And that includes both, uh, If you actually fall into that

Bill Hylen:

category and the, I would imagine, somewhat less likely

Bill Hylen:

situation where someone perceives you as falling into that

Bill Hylen:

category and discriminates against you, but is actually

Bill Hylen:

incorrect about whether you belong to that category.

Bill Hylen:

So that's where the perceived language comes in.

Bill Hylen:

So You know, I've been asked this before, when, when

Bill Hylen:

people say who's covered and I say everybody's covered.

Bill Hylen:

Because I mean, in fact, that's, that's true.

Bill Hylen:

Everybody has a race.

Bill Hylen:

Everybody has a sexual orientation,

Bill Hylen:

gender identity, a national origin.

Bill Hylen:

So everyone is covered by this ordinance.

Bill Hylen:

And it also includes again, probably, the rather

Bill Hylen:

rare circumstance of what's called by the shorthand

Bill Hylen:

reverse discrimination, it would apply both the

Bill Hylen:

discrimination against someone who is, for example,

Bill Hylen:

black, but also discrimination against someone who

Bill Hylen:

is white you know, same thing with male and female.

Bill Hylen:

So everybody's covered the way it's

Bill Hylen:

structured is really in two separate parts.

Bill Hylen:

The first part covers city services.

Bill Hylen:

And that provides that the city, it's contractors, it's

Bill Hylen:

employees, it's volunteers, are not going to discriminate

Bill Hylen:

in any way in, in providing city services based on

Bill Hylen:

those protected categories that I just talked about.

Bill Hylen:

And then the second area is covers public

Bill Hylen:

accommodations, employment, and housing.

Bill Hylen:

So any employer, in the city is prohibited by this ordinance

Bill Hylen:

from discriminating against its employees or applicants

Bill Hylen:

for employment based on those categories, any place of

Bill Hylen:

public accommodation which is, is, is relatively broad.

Bill Hylen:

So.

Bill Hylen:

Certainly includes restaurants.

Bill Hylen:

You know, basically any business that is offering services

Bill Hylen:

to the public are also prohibited from discriminating

Bill Hylen:

based on those categories to its to its customers.

Bill Hylen:

And then the final area is housing.

Bill Hylen:

And again, the same categories are protected.

Bill Hylen:

So anyone offering for sale or rental, any kind of housing

Bill Hylen:

can't discriminate based on those protected categories.

Bill Hylen:

So in a nutshell, that's what the ordinance does.

Holly Walter:

Protection for all, I like that answer.

Holly Walter:

Now, Sharon, we've talked about the ordinance, how the

Holly Walter:

ordinance prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

Holly Walter:

What, what do those terms mean?

Sharon Cini:

So first of all, the ordinance

Sharon Cini:

says that discrimination, harassment

Sharon Cini:

and retaliation is strictly prohibited.

Sharon Cini:

And so let's start with discrimination.

Sharon Cini:

Discrimination is based on any protected class.

Sharon Cini:

And under this policy, it means engaging in or making

Sharon Cini:

directly or indirectly any act, policy, or practice that

Sharon Cini:

unfavorably subjects any person to different or separate

Sharon Cini:

treatment on the basis of actual or perceived classes.

Sharon Cini:

So there's the action there, there you're making

Sharon Cini:

indirect or directly, unfavorable statements to someone.

Sharon Cini:

And most importantly, that discrimination also includes

Sharon Cini:

unfavorable, different or separate treatment of a person based

Sharon Cini:

on a person's association with someone of a protected class.

Sharon Cini:

And then harassment is verbal, written, physical conduct

Sharon Cini:

that denigrates or shows hostility towards an individual

Sharon Cini:

because of actual or perceived protected class.

Sharon Cini:

So harassment looks like name

Sharon Cini:

calling, slurs, negative stereotyping.

Sharon Cini:

It could involve threatening, intimidating, or hostile

Sharon Cini:

events, denigrating jokes, and written or graphic

Sharon Cini:

material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion

Sharon Cini:

towards an individual or group that is placed on things

Sharon Cini:

like walls or elsewhere on the employer's premises.

Sharon Cini:

Circulated, posted in the workplace, via

Sharon Cini:

email phone, including voice messages, text

Sharon Cini:

messages, social work sites, and other means.

Sharon Cini:

And then of course, harassment is for example,

Sharon Cini:

if someone reports discrimination or harassment

Sharon Cini:

and participates in the investigation.

Sharon Cini:

And you know, we don't want to have people who are

Sharon Cini:

involved with, you know, these types of things.

Sharon Cini:

And that means supervisors.

Sharon Cini:

You know, directors all the way up.

Sharon Cini:

We don't, we want to make sure that retaliation and we have

Sharon Cini:

a responsibility to make sure retaliation doesn't happen.

Sharon Cini:

And so under the policy, it means any act policy

Sharon Cini:

or practice that unfavorably again, subjects,

Sharon Cini:

a person to different or separate treatments.

Sharon Cini:

Because they're recording or they're opposing

Sharon Cini:

any practice prohibited under this article.

Sharon Cini:

So of course the city strongly encourages reporting of

Sharon Cini:

any perceived incidences of discrimination and harassment.

Sharon Cini:

And we have our own internal processes and

Sharon Cini:

AR333 that helps employees guide us through that.

Sharon Cini:

And we also have an open door policy.

Sharon Cini:

My office is one of them, but really any manager is

Sharon Cini:

there as open door avenue to help staff either, you

Sharon Cini:

know, through consultation or questions that they

Sharon Cini:

may have resources or just to be able to be an ally.

Sharon Cini:

So I hope that answers your question, Holly.

Holly Walter:

That's great.

Holly Walter:

I appreciate that.

Holly Walter:

You explain those terms further.

Holly Walter:

I think that's important for our listeners and

Holly Walter:

our employees to understand what those terms mean.

Holly Walter:

Now Bill mentioned the ordinance covers two separate areas.

Holly Walter:

Brent, can you add anything to that?

Holly Walter:

And what will the impact be to Scottsdale employees?

Brent Stockwell:

Yeah, Holly, I think the thing

Brent Stockwell:

that is going to be most important and to, employees

Brent Stockwell:

to understand is what's the impact to them.

Brent Stockwell:

And as, as Bill said earlier and, and even explained in

Brent Stockwell:

the beginning about the protections that were already in

Brent Stockwell:

place, I think for the most part things are going to be very

Brent Stockwell:

similar to the way they were we'll update AR333 to include

Brent Stockwell:

the new anti-discrimination ordinance referenced in that.

Brent Stockwell:

But employees are still expected to follow AR333 discriminating

Brent Stockwell:

against others, including all the protected classes listed

Brent Stockwell:

here in the new ordinance was already included in the

Brent Stockwell:

types of things that employees could be, you know, aren't

Brent Stockwell:

supposed to do and could be disciplined or terminated for.

Brent Stockwell:

I think the big thing to focus on here from the employee

Brent Stockwell:

standpoint is, is that, the elected leadership of this

Brent Stockwell:

community, the Mayor and City Council, made a strong policy

Brent Stockwell:

statement to say that it's the city's policy, that we're

Brent Stockwell:

not going to discriminate, and we're going to provide

Brent Stockwell:

equal opportunity to all persons, whether you're actual or

Brent Stockwell:

perceived any of those protected classes, all of those things.

Brent Stockwell:

And they've made that statement as a policy statement.

Brent Stockwell:

And that's, that's the thing that's kind

Brent Stockwell:

of the first thing to make that so broad.

Brent Stockwell:

And that includes all city services,

Brent Stockwell:

all programs, all activities.

Brent Stockwell:

They went further too, in the policy statement and

Brent Stockwell:

said that all persons that get served by the city have

Brent Stockwell:

a right to be treated with respect and dignity and,

Brent Stockwell:

and kind of lay out what respect and dignity means.

Brent Stockwell:

And then the other thing is, is that people have

Brent Stockwell:

a right to receive service from the city in a

Brent Stockwell:

manner that promotes equality under the law.

Brent Stockwell:

So all people should be treated similarly.

Brent Stockwell:

And prohibits unlawful discrimination, including the things

Brent Stockwell:

that Sharon was talking about, harassment and retaliation.

Brent Stockwell:

So Scottsdale has always been for a very long

Brent Stockwell:

time, a organization that valued diversity.

Brent Stockwell:

You know, we have respect the individual and show caring

Brent Stockwell:

and compassion toward others in our employee values.

Brent Stockwell:

But this is a policy statement from the top of

Brent Stockwell:

the organization, our elected leadership that

Brent Stockwell:

says very clearly, how we're supposed to behave.

Brent Stockwell:

And it extends not just to employees and

Brent Stockwell:

volunteers who have always been covered under

Brent Stockwell:

the human resources ordinance and the AR333.

Brent Stockwell:

The council also applied this to themselves and

Brent Stockwell:

all of the appointed officials, all the board and

Brent Stockwell:

commission members, and they also apply this to all

Brent Stockwell:

of the contractors, vendors and consultants that do

Brent Stockwell:

work on behalf of the City of Scottsdale as well.

Brent Stockwell:

So that's a pretty broad, strong policy statement.

Brent Stockwell:

That's saying that equal opportunity is what we're

Brent Stockwell:

expected and anti-discrimination is what we're for.

Brent Stockwell:

No discrimination in any of the city's

Brent Stockwell:

services, policies, or activities or programs.

Brent Stockwell:

And the other thing I just want to mention really

Brent Stockwell:

quickly is I think this has been great to listen

Brent Stockwell:

to Sharon and Christina, and, and Bill all talk.

Brent Stockwell:

This was absolutely a team effort, really consistent

Brent Stockwell:

with our employee value of collaborate as a team.

Brent Stockwell:

And I think it's great to hear from some of these voices that

Brent Stockwell:

we're not, you know, the employees aren't always used to hearing

Brent Stockwell:

from, but are really important part of any of these kinds

Brent Stockwell:

of significant policy, uh, and teamwork efforts that we do.

Holly Walter:

I think it's great that a

Holly Walter:

team worked on this to put this together.

Holly Walter:

And it's definitely an important policy

Holly Walter:

statement that applies to us all.

Holly Walter:

Bill, there are some exemptions who's exempt from this ordinance.

Holly Walter:

And what does it mean exactly to be exempt?

Bill Hylen:

So exemption essentially means that a certain

Bill Hylen:

conduct or certain organizations are just beyond the

Bill Hylen:

scope of the ordinance that we're not gonna enforce the

Bill Hylen:

ordinance against, those entities in certain situations.

Bill Hylen:

Most of the exemptions are, are situational as opposed to.

Bill Hylen:

Completely excluding you know, a

Bill Hylen:

certain organization from the scope.

Bill Hylen:

So one of the big exemptions has to

Bill Hylen:

do with, with the first amendment.

Bill Hylen:

And this would be an exemption regardless of whether

Bill Hylen:

we stated in the ordinance or not because it's the

Bill Hylen:

law, but we did take the trouble of stating it in the

Bill Hylen:

ordinance because we wanted to be very clear about that.

Bill Hylen:

But the first amendment does provide a certain freedoms,

Bill Hylen:

obviously with regard to expression and we made clear to, to

Bill Hylen:

state that nothing in this ordinance is going to be interpreted

Bill Hylen:

in a way too, to infringe on people's first amendment rights.

Bill Hylen:

And that includes freedom of speech, freedom

Bill Hylen:

of religion and freedom of association.

Bill Hylen:

So there's a relatively major case that came down from

Bill Hylen:

the Arizona Supreme Court about Uh, wedding invitations

Bill Hylen:

sort of handmade wedding invitations, and the Supreme

Bill Hylen:

Court said, you know, that's, that's expressive

Bill Hylen:

activity that, that's covered by the first amendment.

Bill Hylen:

And you have the rights to determine who you're

Bill Hylen:

going to undertake that expressive activity on

Bill Hylen:

behalf of even though it's a commercial transaction.

Bill Hylen:

So they're also more limited exemptions.

Bill Hylen:

So some of them apply to for example, religious organizations.

Bill Hylen:

But religious organizations are not

Bill Hylen:

completely exempt from the ordinance there.

Bill Hylen:

Their exempt to the extent that they're employing someone to

Bill Hylen:

perform sort of religious, functions as an employee a bonafide,

Bill Hylen:

private membership clubs are also exempt both in employment

Bill Hylen:

and in, in housing, if they're providing them to to members.

Bill Hylen:

Okay.

Bill Hylen:

So the exemptions are there, they're there are somewhat limited.

Bill Hylen:

And like I said, they're situational.

Bill Hylen:

And another one I should add is that if you're actually living

Bill Hylen:

in a, in a house or a dwelling, and you want to rent out, part

Bill Hylen:

of that dwelling you're exempt in, in that respect, because that

Bill Hylen:

also implicates the first amendment right of free association,

Bill Hylen:

because you're actually choosing someone who you want to live

Bill Hylen:

with as opposed to you know, just, you know, owning a house and

Bill Hylen:

not living in it and saying, we're going to rent out this house.

Bill Hylen:

So that that's another exemption.

Holly Walter:

Okay, well that, that makes sense.

Holly Walter:

Thank you for providing those examples.

Holly Walter:

I now have a communication-based questions.

Holly Walter:

So I'm going to ask this of Kelly.

Holly Walter:

What were some of the questions or concerns

Holly Walter:

from the public about this ordinance?

Kelly Corsette:

Thanks, Holly.

Kelly Corsette:

You know, I think with something like this,

Kelly Corsette:

the council primarily heard from the public

Kelly Corsette:

through emails and, and direct contacts and yeah.

Kelly Corsette:

There's a lot of misinformation out

Kelly Corsette:

there, on this topic in particular.

Kelly Corsette:

So people raising concerns about essentially a business

Kelly Corsette:

owner having to choose between their faith and following

Kelly Corsette:

the law and staying open, which is really an, a, an extreme

Kelly Corsette:

extrapolation of, of how this ordinance might affect someone

Kelly Corsette:

as, as Bill just described, there are, there are legitimate

Kelly Corsette:

exemptions that, that acknowledge people's individual face and

Kelly Corsette:

how they might come up against some of these sorts of things.

Kelly Corsette:

So I think those were the things that people were bringing

Kelly Corsette:

up and some of the public input was legitimately wanting

Kelly Corsette:

to learn you know, people who heard this sort of thing

Kelly Corsette:

and seeking real answers to a concern that they had.

Kelly Corsette:

And Brent, I know in particular did an excellent

Kelly Corsette:

job communicating with a lot of residents who'd

Kelly Corsette:

reached out to the city wanting more information.

Kelly Corsette:

And and, and so those people came away with with

Kelly Corsette:

a better understanding of what this ordinance

Kelly Corsette:

is and of equal importance, what it is not.

Kelly Corsette:

There are others that just choose extreme examples as,

Kelly Corsette:

as the reason they do not want to extend protection

Kelly Corsette:

to people in the community who as, as Sharon described

Kelly Corsette:

are authentically, suffering from from different forms

Kelly Corsette:

of discrimination based simply upon who they are.

Kelly Corsette:

And so what we saw through all that was was

Kelly Corsette:

a community hearing about something, learning

Kelly Corsette:

about something and then and then weighing in.

Kelly Corsette:

And I think the whole thing is really a great

Kelly Corsette:

example of, of how local government works

Kelly Corsette:

really and how government in general can work.

Kelly Corsette:

Which is bringing up a topic that, that we

Kelly Corsette:

are exploring per City Council direction.

Kelly Corsette:

And, and actually, let me back up with that quickly

Kelly Corsette:

before we earlier in the podcasts, we've mentioned the

Kelly Corsette:

Human Relations Commission, and this is something, this

Kelly Corsette:

is a group of residents appointed by the City Council

Kelly Corsette:

to, to advise the council on, on topics in this area.

Kelly Corsette:

And that group had had really, since last summer, and

Kelly Corsette:

probably previous iterations of the group as well, had

Kelly Corsette:

been recommending that the council act in this area.

Kelly Corsette:

And, and those, those are individual residents.

Kelly Corsette:

Who've been hearing from there who, who have their own beliefs

Kelly Corsette:

and opinions, but also have been hearing from friends and

Kelly Corsette:

neighbors and family and businesses with whom they're associates.

Kelly Corsette:

So that really public process comes through and

Kelly Corsette:

that's how our local government process works.

Kelly Corsette:

So those are residents they're hearing from other residents.

Kelly Corsette:

They're advising the City Council,

Kelly Corsette:

the City Council's saying, yes.

Kelly Corsette:

We agree.

Kelly Corsette:

We want to pursue this City Manager then activates his

Kelly Corsette:

staff, which is this team that we're talking to today.

Kelly Corsette:

We continue creating drafts, talking with the different

Kelly Corsette:

commissions, talking with the community and then

Kelly Corsette:

bringing something back in, in public meetings to the

Kelly Corsette:

City Council where they weigh in and ultimately act.

Kelly Corsette:

So there's a lot of touch points for the public here.

Kelly Corsette:

And I think it's just a perfect example of how the,

Kelly Corsette:

the residents can have a voice, how the boards and

Kelly Corsette:

commissions are involved and ultimately how the,

Kelly Corsette:

the city council considers and hears something.

Kelly Corsette:

So I, I really love it as, as an example of how

Kelly Corsette:

local government works on behalf of the people.

Holly Walter:

Thanks, Kelly.

Holly Walter:

It is a great example.

Holly Walter:

And I, and I know we will continue to have

Holly Walter:

conversations about the ordinance and continue

Holly Walter:

answering questions and educating the public.

Holly Walter:

I think that's an important piece that goes along with this.

Holly Walter:

Now Kelly offered a good segue to this next question that I

Holly Walter:

have for Sharon, the Human Relations Commission recently hosted

Holly Walter:

a town hall that placed a lot of focus on this ordinance.

Holly Walter:

What did we learn from the town hall, Sharon?

Sharon Cini:

Yeah, this is another great question.

Sharon Cini:

And I really am thankful that we work with

Sharon Cini:

the Human Relations Commission and I've been

Sharon Cini:

working with several groups over the years.

Sharon Cini:

And every time they are just dynamic,

Sharon Cini:

incredible, compassionate people.

Sharon Cini:

And so we came up with the virtual town

Sharon Cini:

halls as part of the response from last year.

Sharon Cini:

And I, I, I really like to say that what we learned in

Sharon Cini:

each of them and in particularly last night or this past

Sharon Cini:

week, we it was called, Riots, Racism and Reconciliation.

Sharon Cini:

And we really didn't know how that was going to be

Sharon Cini:

how that was, , how it was going to be received.

Sharon Cini:

And what we learned from it is that there are many people

Sharon Cini:

out there who were able to identify not only their feelings

Sharon Cini:

about what had happened here in Scottsdale, but also recognize

Sharon Cini:

that, you know, the very good at Scottsdale has done.

Sharon Cini:

So for example, when we, when we played the videos of the riots

Sharon Cini:

and we had people talk about that and process it and, and share

Sharon Cini:

their experience of what they were feeling at that time, we also

Sharon Cini:

needed to recognize really that the next day, the next morning

Sharon Cini:

they were residents out there, cleaning up the glass and helping

Sharon Cini:

the businesses to basically find that reconciliation, right?

Sharon Cini:

Which is the last R and the reconciliation I think is, is

Sharon Cini:

something that's going to be very powerful because people are

Sharon Cini:

still in action mode and some people are still in learning mode.

Sharon Cini:

Some people are still, you know questioning whether or not

Sharon Cini:

it's, something different than what we're talking about.

Sharon Cini:

And, and so we still definitely have all those barriers

Sharon Cini:

out there, but town halls you know, provide the mechanism

Sharon Cini:

to, for our residents to be able to tell us their truth.

Sharon Cini:

And I think a lot of that truth was said in in Wednesday's,

Sharon Cini:

virtual town hall, but we got to hear some incredible

Sharon Cini:

stories of resiliency and but also a frustration

Sharon Cini:

that, you know, why is this continuing to happen?

Sharon Cini:

And, and what, what can we do as a community to stand together

Sharon Cini:

as a front to make sure that people are, are, are respected?

Sharon Cini:

You know, again, regardless of how old they are, how big they

Sharon Cini:

are, what if they have a disability or, you know, or the color

Sharon Cini:

of their skin, or if they're a gen Z or what have you, right?

Sharon Cini:

People want to be respected.

Sharon Cini:

And for the most part, I was really glad to hear

Sharon Cini:

this too, is that we, 90% of the population gets it.

Sharon Cini:

Right?

Sharon Cini:

And speaking of data, I think it's also really important

Sharon Cini:

that when we bring up things like 80% of Scottsdale is

Sharon Cini:

in the white category, I think a commissioner wrote in

Sharon Cini:

did a really nice job to the audience of saying, you

Sharon Cini:

know, that doesn't mean it's just, you know, this race.

Sharon Cini:

It means that there's lots of diversity even within these races.

Sharon Cini:

And from my perspective, we have a great opportunity here

Sharon Cini:

to engage that 80% because it is the largest population.

Sharon Cini:

And I've said this over and over, over the years and, and I've

Sharon Cini:

heard people really appreciate that, we aren't just focusing

Sharon Cini:

in on just the the traditional demographics, but really being

Sharon Cini:

inclusive because there are, as mentioned, there's many allies.

Sharon Cini:

That are out there working with us and, and doing their best

Sharon Cini:

to bring light to where they can within their workplaces,

Sharon Cini:

across our city, within our departments, where have you.

Sharon Cini:

You know, lots of different places.

Sharon Cini:

And so what we're learning is is that we are going in the

Sharon Cini:

right direction and our citizens and our employees are looking

Sharon Cini:

for leadership to, to provide that for them because when

Sharon Cini:

they do that, Everything else begins to grow from there.

Sharon Cini:

And I think we have a great direction now.

Sharon Cini:

We have a stronger policy statement.

Sharon Cini:

I think citizens are in action mode and I just

Sharon Cini:

look forward to, what's gonna be happening in

Sharon Cini:

the next few years as we evolve this process.

Holly Walter:

Right.

Holly Walter:

And I have to say personally, I had the opportunity to

Holly Walter:

attend the town hall and I thought it was really insightful.

Holly Walter:

So anyone who didn't have the opportunity to listen

Holly Walter:

in, we do have a recording of the town hall available

Holly Walter:

on the city's YouTube channel for anyone else who

Holly Walter:

would like to listen and learn from that experience.

Holly Walter:

So now we have the ordinance in place.

Holly Walter:

I'll ask Kelly, what are our next steps as a city?

Holly Walter:

And where can we learn more?

Kelly Corsette:

Well, we've, we've got information online.

Kelly Corsette:

Related to the, the ordinance itself.

Kelly Corsette:

People can read it.

Kelly Corsette:

They can look at the, the council presentation on the topic.

Kelly Corsette:

We are developing some communication, specific

Kelly Corsette:

communications, just to help people understand it more.

Kelly Corsette:

And this podcast is one of those ideas.

Kelly Corsette:

So part of our effort, as with a lot of things that

Kelly Corsette:

we do as a city, part of our effort is to inform our

Kelly Corsette:

employees and help our workforce become more knowledgeable.

Kelly Corsette:

And so it's great that we're having this discussion

Kelly Corsette:

here on Podsdale, and we will also look at some

Kelly Corsette:

other opportunities inside the organization.

Kelly Corsette:

And, and of course I think it was mentioned earlier, we've got

Kelly Corsette:

some of our admin regs that that may need adjustment based on

Kelly Corsette:

the fact that we have this in place now and things have changed.

Kelly Corsette:

So all those sorts of things will be happening.

Kelly Corsette:

Through, uh, through the different ways that

Kelly Corsette:

we connect with the Scottsdale employees to,

Kelly Corsette:

to help folks understand what's going on.

Kelly Corsette:

At the same time, we're looking outside and thinking about

Kelly Corsette:

things that we can do to help the community understand.

Kelly Corsette:

And since a lot of this is, is potentially impactful

Kelly Corsette:

to small businesses, hopefully not because Uh,

Kelly Corsette:

because if it impacts small businesses, it means

Kelly Corsette:

they may be involved in some form of discrimination.

Kelly Corsette:

So it's potentially impactful in that area.

Kelly Corsette:

So we're going to be working with the chamber to see

Kelly Corsette:

how we might be able to connect with, with the small

Kelly Corsette:

business community and, and give them the information

Kelly Corsette:

that they need so that they understand what the rules are.

Kelly Corsette:

And that could take the form of a webinar or something like that,

Kelly Corsette:

which I think is an interesting idea in, and the nice thing is

Kelly Corsette:

over the past year, a lot of people have become used to attending

Kelly Corsette:

webinars, listening to podcasts,you know, gathering information

Kelly Corsette:

maybe a little bit differently than than they had in the past.

Kelly Corsette:

So it gives us some new tools in the toolbox.

Kelly Corsette:

So we're definitely looking at that form

Kelly Corsette:

of external facing communication as well.

Kelly Corsette:

And.

Kelly Corsette:

And we'll roll in information into other city publications.

Kelly Corsette:

In fact, it's in our resident

Kelly Corsette:

newsletter, that's going out as we speak.

Kelly Corsette:

There's a, there's an item in that newsletter that

Kelly Corsette:

talks about the new anti-discrimination ordinance.

Kelly Corsette:

So really just trying to continue the momentum to help

Kelly Corsette:

people understand what the, what the city council has

Kelly Corsette:

adopted and how it impacts them and the community.

Kelly Corsette:

And then of course, through efforts like this inside our

Kelly Corsette:

organization to help our employees understand as well.

Holly Walter:

So stay tuned more to come on this more to learn

Holly Walter:

though Kelly, Christina, Sharon, Bill, Brent, I appreciate your

Holly Walter:

time and thank you for what you've done to work on this ordinance

Holly Walter:

and, and get this out to the organization, out to our community.

Holly Walter:

And I appreciate your time today.

Holly Walter:

Thank you for being with me.

Brent Stockwell:

Thank you so much.

Kelly Corsette:

Thanks Holly.

Kelly Corsette:

We love Podsdale.

Kelly Corsette:

Keep up the great work here.

Holly Walter:

Thanks everyone.

Holly Walter:

Before we go, I'm going to wrap it

Holly Walter:

up with today's trivia question.

Holly Walter:

Scottsdale Police Department is serving as

Holly Walter:

host agency for what international conference?

Holly Walter:

Email your answer to communications@ScottsdaleAZ.gov.

Holly Walter:

And we will put you in our drawing for a gift card.

Holly Walter:

And that's it for this episode of Podsdale.

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Podsdale
A City of Scottsdale Podcast
Podsdale celebrates the City of Scottsdale and helps people stay up to date on the latest news from the city. Subscribe to be "in the know" about the West's Most Western Town!