Dear Members of the Sullivan County Legislature,
My Name is Margaret Gans, I am Co-Chair of the Human Rights Commission along with Bill Liblick who unfortunately could not be here today. With me today are other Commissioners of The Human Rights Commission.
Commission Member Amanda Ward knows we are appearing here today, but we did not include her in this statement because we did not want to put her in a conflicting position as she is also a legislator.
As Human Rights Commissioners we take our role very seriously in fostering better relations amongst our diverse population.
The present board of the Human Rights Commission consists of nine dedicated people striving to protect the Human Rights of all Sullivan County residents.
In the past, The Human Rights Commission consisted of two active committees, one servicing people with confidential personal issues and complaints, and the other an Outreach Committee.
Under the Human Rights Commission's current structure, the Executive Director manages all complaints and is solely responsible for investigating and resolving them.
Because of the large number of complaints filed, the Executive Director has requested investigative assistance from the legislature. This assistance does not involve criminal investigations, which fall under the authority of the District Attorney and law enforcement.
We would like to take exception to the derogatory and uncalled for remarks that two legislators made against the Human Rights Commission and our Executive Director at a recent meeting.
One claim that the Human Rights Office has been used in an inappropriate way, that there have been leaks, people are being targeted, and that the Commission is being weaponized in a "misogynistic" way against woman is not only outrageous, inaccurate, but a complete lie.
We wish the legislator had contacted and reached out to us before making such offensive remarks.
We want to make it clear that Human Rights Commissioners do not see complai...
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