Herr Looks to Commissioners to Retain Human Relations Commission

Press Release

Lois Herr, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District, said tonight that the Lancaster County Commissioners now have "all the input they need" to make a decision not to eliminate the county's Human Relations Commission (HRC).

Herr attended tonight's passionate public hearing on the issue, but did not speak because she had spoken at last Saturday's Unity Rally, and had addressed the County Commissioners at their last regular meeting. Instead, she listened intently to the testimony favoring and opposing the proposal to do away with the HRC, ostensibly on budget grounds.

"I was particularly struck tonight by the statement of Stephen Glassman, who said, 'By our research, ...a staffed, budgeted human relations commission in the United States - there has never been one where the civil rights laws have been actively overturned, leaving the impression, whether it's intended or not, that minorities who [have] been formally protected by civil rights laws are no longer valued or respected or acknowledged for their contributions to their communities.'"

The candidate for Congress was also moved by the support of religious leaders at the meeting. "I would like to acknowledge all the clergy who are present and speaking in favor of keeping the Human Relations Commission."

Herr made her own views known at the Unity Rally on Saturday, saying, "We cannot turn back the clock on civil rights. We must treat others as we would like to be treated -- and that's a Lancaster County value."

Herr saluted the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry's statement of support for the Human Rights Commission, which said in part, "We believe Lancaster County residents and businesses are most effectively and expeditiously served with a local body investigating complaints". She pointed to the Lancaster City Council's unanimous vote on Tuesday to urge city residents to oppose elimination of the HRC. And she noted with pleasure the Lancaster Newspapers' People Poll, which showed 63 percent of respondents in favor of keeping the Commission.

Now, said Herr, "The County Commissioners have all the input they need to do the right thing, which is to retain this asset to our community. They have already identified other areas in which to make budget cuts. I look to the County Commissioners to discard this ill-conceived proposal to scrap the HRC. It has important work to do and should not be threatened with abolition."

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