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MC Human Rights agency eliminating “friends” of the commission

The long-time office of the Mason City Human Rights agency.  Personnel from the Blue Zones project are slowly moving into the office as funding for Human Rights was dramatically slashed by Alex Kuhn, Jean Marinos, Scott Tornquist, Travis Hickey, John Lee and Janet Solberg.
The long-time office of the Mason City Human Rights agency. Personnel from the Blue Zones project have slowly moved into the office as funding for Human Rights was dramatically slashed by Alex Kuhn, Jean Marinos, Scott Tornquist, Travis Hickey, John Lee and Janet Solberg, led by Mayor Eric Bookmeyer.

MASON CITY – NIT has received word that the Human Rights commission in Mason City is eliminating a long-standing volunteer component, called “friends” of the commission.

Friends of the commission have, for years, volunteered their time, expense and expertise in assisting the Human Rights Commission and Department (agency as a whole) in investigating human rights complaints involving landlords, employers, and others in positions of power to impose violations of human decency on citizens of Mason City.  Untold numbers of citizens have been helped, assisted, and directed as a result of their efforts over the years, and many cases would never have been investigated or brought to a conclusion without their involvement.

According to a strong source, a letter was mailed in recent days to remaining friends of the commission, telling them that the friends will be cutoff from the agency and that their services will no longer be needed.

The complete or near-complete elimination of the Human Rights agency – through various methods, including de-funding, elimination of office space, stocking the commission with people who allegedly do not believe in enforcing human rights, not investigating cases locally, and using the Globe Gazette to rail against the agency – has long been a goal of Mayor Eric Bookmeyer, council members Scott Tornquist, and others, who have seen the agency as bad for business in Mason City.

Since Bookmeyer’s election in 2009, Human Rights in Mason City has crumbled into chaos, shed its volunteers, had its funding slashed, and has been stocked with Bookmeyer appointments – approved by the city council – that have themselves fought the agency. Matt Dodge, for example – who recently resigned from the commission – fought the local agency in Kansas City at the federal level when he disagreed with a finding of the commission, before he himself sought to be on the board and was appointed by Bookmeyer.

A quick check of the MasonCity.net, the city’s official website, shows that the page for the Human Rights agency has been stripped of all information, and says “The Human Rights Commission site is under construction. For inquiries, contact Deputy City Clerk Diana Black at (641) 421-3600.” The phone number, 641-421-3600 is simply a generic phone number that is answered by a recording.

More on this developing story to follow.

Eric Bookmeyer, elected in 2009 on the premise of destroying the Mason City Human Rights Agency
Eric Bookmeyer, first elected in 2009 on the premise of destroying the Mason City Human Rights Agency, now seeing the agency crumble into chaos, shedding volunteers, and a commission stocked with his appointments
Web page for Mason City Human Rights agency, totally stripped of information, with only a generic phone number to city hall.
Web page for Mason City Human Rights agency, totally stripped of information, with only a generic phone number to city hall.
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