Utah National Organization of Women president Luci Malin and Utah American Civil Liberties Union president Carol Gnade spoke against more women being appointed to a Salt Lake City board.
You read that right.The unusual twist occurred at a City Council meeting Tuesday in which the appointment of Jess Agraz, a Hispanic, to the Department of Airports board was debated and ultimately approved.
Some council members had wanted more women on the board.
"It's important that the people who represent the city represent the makeup of the city," said Councilwoman Nancy Saxton, who led the charge for gender equity.
Saxton and Council Chairman Carlton Christensen voted against Agraz's appointment on principle. They acknowledged Agraz's qualifications as former city commissioner over public works, director of the Transportation Management Association of Utah and transportation engineer, but they opposed his appointment because they believed more qualified women could have been found.
Mayor Rocky Anderson has nominated two men (one of them Agraz) and one woman to fill three board vacancies previously occupied by two women and one man. He declined to reappoint board member Gladys Gonzalez because she attended few board meetings, and he declined former board chairwoman Chieko Okasaki because she did not have the type of experience he was looking for.
"I think a lot of Chieko personally, and she was a diligent member of the board, but during this time of potential large expansion and other business matters, we need people with other expertise," Anderson said.
Anderson had invited Malin and Gnade to speak at the meeting to support his contention that he is diverse in his appointments and that trying to find more women to fill the vacancies would be "the worst kind of tokenism."
"The key word is 'qualified,' . . ." Malin said. "Not appointing (Agraz), a qualified minority, in favor of just any female is ludicrous."
For their part, Saxton and Christensen said it wasn't a question of choosing between a qualified man and an unqualified woman. They said Anderson simply had not sought out qualified women appointees.
It was, however, a losing argument. Other board members who originally sympathized with Saxton and Christensen were persuaded to vote Anderson's way.
"I am disappointed with the mayor, but I will vote for Mr. Agraz," Councilman Dave Buhler said.
The council has yet to approve Anderson's nominations of John Short and Tammy Nakamura, but it is likely to do so.