Member of Civil Rights Panel Quits, Says It Should Be Closed

Conservative Cites Partisan Agendas

Gerald A. Reynolds, the Republican head of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, disagrees with the criticism. (Rich Sugg -- Kansas City Star Via AP)

The longest-serving member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights abruptly resigned yesterday, saying that the agency spends money irresponsibly in pursuit of partisan agendas -- liberal and conservative -- and should be shut down.

Russell G. Redenbaugh, a conservative unaffiliated with either major party, said he decided to end his 15-year tenure on the commission because his colleagues have resisted calls for more than a decade to appoint an independent agent to manage the commission's funds and an independent auditor to review its operations. The commission has not had a financial audit in 12 years; board and staff members believe it is deeply in the red.

The commission will likely be forced to reduce staff and close offices, Redenbaugh said. A House subcommittee is preparing to review the commission's finances at a hearing Thursday.

Redenbaugh's resignation came only months after the commission moved from a liberal to a conservative majority, and followed years of conflict under the leadership of Mary Frances Berry. Berry and liberal co-chairman Cruz Reynoso were ousted in December by President Bush, who appointed conservative Republican Gerald A. Reynolds to succeed Berry.

The commission is poised to press what some civil rights advocates, some academics and the two remaining liberal board members call a Republican agenda. On Friday, the board is scheduled to consider launching studies on whether Social Security shortchanges African Americans and whether minorities and women deserve advantages in the awarding of federal contracts. Both issues are part of Bush's agenda.

The commission's staff relied on research by the conservative Heritage Foundation and the libertarian Cato Institute to shape the proposal for the study.

Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, an umbrella group, predicted that "in each of these studies, I can assure you that they are going to reflect the right's ideology. It confirms our worst fears that the commission is little more than a handmaiden for the far right."

Reynolds said the Social Security study has nothing to do with partisan politics. "I want to see if the current [Social Security] system has a disparate impact on racial minorities," he said. "I don't know where the truth is, and that's the whole point of the exercise."

The commission was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957 to investigate denials of civil rights, but in recent years it has become a forum for partisan wrangling.

In 1980, Chairman Clarence Pendleton used his position to condemn affirmative action for African Americans and Hispanics, as well as equal rights for women. President Ronald Reagan unsuccessfully sought to remove several liberal commissioners who criticized Pendleton, including Berry, who in turn agitated against conservatives when she became chairman under President Bill Clinton.

Reynolds said leaders of traditional civil rights organizations, such as Henderson, "would have a negative reaction to whatever we do, no matter the subject." He said Berry's departure has solidified opposition to the new, more conservative commission.

"It comes down to a matter of trust," Reynolds said. "They don't trust us, but they trusted anything Mary Frances Berry did. My prediction is, whatever we do, there would be concern expressed."

But Redenbaugh's criticism is another matter. "It's a loss to the commission," Reynolds said. "I had the highest regard for him. I understand his frustration. But, at the same time, we've been at this for four months. It took decades for us to get where we are, and it will take more than four months to get out of it."

Commissioner Peter N. Kirsanow, another conservative who last month co-authored with Redenbaugh a request for financial reform at the commission, said he was sad to learn about his colleague's departure.