Jonathan Hoffman: Keep “Critical Racial Theory” away from the Tucson government Local editorials and opinions

The following is the writer’s opinion and analysis:

For some reason, the City of Tucson is in the process of establishing an Office of Equity with an annual budget of $ 500.00 and three employees.

Strange because the fact is that Tucson already has the equality and justice matter covered by the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs (OEOP). According to the City of Tucson website, “The Office of Equal Opportunities Programs (OEOP) is responsible for the implementation and enforcement of equity policies for the City of Tucson and is a branch of the City Administrator’s Office.”

Why does the city of Tucson need a new Office of Equity?

That’s an excellent question. I think the key to the answer lies in the particular use of the term “justice”. It does not have the same meaning in this context as it does when discussing your financial holdings, for example. It clearly does not mean the same thing as the described purpose of the OEOP. Otherwise why should we need a new office?

When we think of equal opportunities and justice in the city administration, we think of a level playing field in which all internal personnel issues – employment, compensation, promotion – are race and ethnically neutral, which means that there is no discrimination on the basis of these aspects.

Externally, we are thinking of providing services on the same basis. This includes monitoring compliance with internal, state, and federal regulations.

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