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Tolerance task force taking shape

Battle Ground, Vancouver mayors aim to combat bias

By Marissa Harshman, Columbian Health Reporter
Published: March 23, 2011, 12:00am
2 Photos
Battle Ground Mayor Mike Ciraulo says he doesn't want incidents of discrimination &quot;swept under the rug.&quot;
Battle Ground Mayor Mike Ciraulo says he doesn't want incidents of discrimination "swept under the rug." Photo Gallery

Death threats scrawled on a high-schooler’s car. Urine thrown on a 15-year-old walking down the street. A lesbian business owner leaving town to move to a kinder, more accepting community. A Jewish girl being taunted because of her faith.

Battle Ground Mayor Mike Ciraulo has heard the firsthand accounts from people in his community.

People stop Ciraulo as he visits local businesses and share their personal experiences of discrimination, perhaps because it’s a small city or maybe because he’s a visible community leader.

Whatever the reason, Ciraulo said he’s heard enough.

“We have an issue,” he said. “I will not sweep it under the rug or ignore this as long as I’m in office.”

Those stories prompted Ciraulo to join forces with Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt to launch a countywide grass-roots project. The mayors’ goal is to create a group aimed at promoting tolerance and understanding of all people, regardless of skin color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or ethnicity.

Each of the cities has its own groups with similar missions — the Battle Ground Cultural Diversity Task Force and in Vancouver, an internal diversity committee and police department advisory group. But Leavitt wants to take those efforts countywide.

“This is our community coming together,” Leavitt said. “The whole of our community coming together in an effort to ensure that we continue to be a safe and accepting and culturally competent community.”

The mayors held initial meetings of the group, which does not yet have a name, and they are working to get the organization off and running. Then, Leavitt said, the officials plan to step back and let community members take the reins.

The first meeting, held a couple of months ago, attracted more than 40 people. More than a dozen people attended the group’s second meeting, which was held Friday morning.

The group plans to hire a part-time staff person to facilitate meetings and provide administrative services. The estimated cost is $10,000.

Clark County officials have indicated they will contribute $3,000; Vancouver officials have pledged another $3,000. Ciraulo approached the Battle Ground City Council about contributing $1,000 to $2,000 and received general support for the idea.

As the group solidifies its mission and goals, Leavitt said he and Ciraulo will reach out to other municipalities for funding. The goal is for the group to find alternative funding sources after the first year.

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Leavitt wants to see people who share a vision for a better community take the lead on the project.

“My hope is as we continue to grow and progress as a community, we also continue to engage in our diverse community and … are more comfortable in embracing our diversity and celebrating our diversity,” he said.

For Ciraulo, taking action is, above everything else, just the right thing to do.

“I feel that moral obligation as the quasi-leader to take a stand,” Ciraulo said.

“In my heart, I feel this needs to be done,” he added.

Ciraulo said he doesn’t have a hidden agenda or political motivations for speaking up; he’s not up for re-election until 2013.

While Ciraulo is keenly aware of incidents that have occurred in Battle Ground, he and other elected officials acknowledge the issue doesn’t go away at the city limits.

“To me, the absolute worst thing to happen is for this to be swept under the rug,” he said.

Marissa Harshman: 360-735-4546 or marissa.harshman@columbian.com.

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Columbian Health Reporter