Today, Dane County Executive Parisi released to following statement about the Human Services Director confirmation process:
“The words directed at Supervisor Kigeya by a member of the public at the recent HHN committee hearing were unacceptable and wrong. She is owed an apology. Supervisor Kigeya is a public servant and a parent. She should not be subjected to this, nor should her family.
“I am also deeply concerned by the language employed by Chair Miles last week when he used words like ‘dangerous’ when referring to Representative Stubbs—a statement witnessed by her 12-year-old daughter on the evening news.
“At a time when our nation’s political discourse has degraded to unprecedented lows, and civility seemingly thrown out the window, we must do better here in Dane County.
“We may not always agree with one another, but we must conduct ourselves with civility and respect. We are all human beings, and it’s time we started treating each other as such.
“Tonight, the Personnel and Finance Committee will take up the confirmation of Representative Stubbs.
“In order to clear up some of the questions regarding whether Representatives Stubbs’ nomination has been treated differently than others, I have attached a memo from Department of Administration Director Greg Brockmeyer, which outlines the processes and information requested for the past seven department head nominees, as well as that for Representative Stubbs.
“An objective analysis of the process provides that the past seven department head nominees were ‘confirmed to the position without the Board requesting any information on the other finalists or other documents related to the recruitment process.’ That was not the case with Representative Stubbs. These questions were not asked in at least the last seven times the County hired department heads—including when this same position was hired four years ago.
“It is my sincerest hope that this process can move forward from this moment in a respectful and objective manner.”
