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Chandler Council makes non-discrimination ordinance law

NDO given final approval at Dec. 5 meeting

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CHANDLER —   A vote Monday on the non-discrimination ordinance advanced by the Chandler City Council at its Nov. 10 meeting made the proposal law.

By a unanimous vote, the Council advanced Ordinance 5039 past its first reading.  When it showed up on the  a consent agenda at the Dec. 5 meeting, Vice Mayor Terry Roe voted against passage of the NDO, though it still was given final approval by a 6-1 vote.

The ordinance makes Chandler one of the last municipalities in the East Valley to pass such an ordinance.

“Every time we make a decision that’s going to affect people’s lives, we should sleep on it,” Councilwoman Christine Ellis said just prior to voting at the Nov. 10 meeting. “It should take time. I’m very humbled that Councilman (O.D.) Harris and I had to go far, in between, and back around. We believe all the hard work we’ve put into this, have created an ordinance that will help preserve a better way of life in Chandler.”

Ordinance 5039 amends the city code, adding a chapter specifically on non-discrimination, and adopting provisions codifying diversity, equity, and inclusion in the provision of public accommodations, employment, and housing in the city.

Ellis and Harris put in a great deal of work into the process, at times slowing the conversation down among the council to address important details, and at times moving each other or the council to move more efficiently toward passing the ordinance.

Ellis said it was important to go beyond a proclamation or making any type of simple non-discrimination statement.

“I wanted us to do the work,” Ellis said. “It would have been very easy to just give you (the public) a piece of paper. But I stood my ground. I wanted a survey that shows where we are at as a city, to see our health in this area. And when we saw yes, (the majority of) people (surveyed) approve of how we do things, what about the (few) who don’t?”

Ellis was referring to the survey results included in a consulting firm’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Feedback Technical Report, submitted in September.

Harris thanked Ellis and Councilman Matt Orlando, who was re-elected in August, for “rallying this thing over the finish line.” He also thanked all the city staff who put hours of work and thought into processing data and other cities’ experiences to help craft the ordinance.

“Discrimination does happen,” he said. “But there are so many lines we must draw in the sand so that we can protect our freedoms. We have to do that every single day. And now we will have a law as that standard.”

Harris, Ellis and Orlando all acknowledged there are imperfections in the ordinance and are open to discussing amendments to it as evidence presents itself.

None who spoke during public input at the meeting encouraged the council to halt or to not pass the ordinance. The only negative statement made about 5039 was by Eduarda Schroeder, who said she didn’t like to see nonprofit organizations on a list of exemptions and that current enforcement measures don’t support the policy in a meaningful way.

Two women who spoke said their adult transgender children won’t return to Arizona for fear of discrimination, especially in attempts to find employment.

Ellis told Independent Newsmedia the exemptions come from federal legislation.

“Also, I can’t legislate what’s in people’s hearts,” Ellis said. “I don’t know any religious entity (in Chandler) that will let that happen.”