Blacks Call On Charles To Diversify Leadership

Majority of Top Positions Are Held by White Males

"They need to search hard for an African American," Charles NAACP President William Braxton said. (By Mark Gail -- The Washington Post)

Charles County's surging black population flexed its political muscle this year by helping to elect Democrats to every contested office in the county. Now, some black leaders plan to press newly elected and reelected Charles officials to diversify the top level of county government, which is overwhelmingly white and male.

All the county's department heads, including the interim county administrator, are white. Ten of these 11 top officials are men. Second-tier management is not much more diverse, according to the county's statistics. Of the county's 63 supervisory positions, nine, or 14 percent, are filled by nonwhites. Men serve in nearly four out of five of these positions as just 14 are held by women. No African Americans serve as department chiefs, and only six blacks hold second-tier management roles.

Meanwhile, the county's black population has been booming and has almost single-handedly driven Charles's rapid growth in recent years. The black population increased by more than 50 percent between 2000 and 2005, according to census estimates, and now makes up about 34 percent of the county's roughly 139,000 residents.

Charles NAACP President William Braxton said he plans to address the lack of diversity in top positions with county commissioners in the coming days.

"With no question, this is one of the things that's on our agenda," Braxton said. "There's no reason they shouldn't select an African American [for key positions]. We know they're out there."

Braxton said diversifying the face of county government is an important step in combating racial tensions that flared this year amid a rash of graffiti incidents that were classified as hate crimes.

County spokeswoman Nina Voehl said the county seeks diversity in its hiring practices.

"The county has been very diligent about making sure there is diversity," Voehl said. "The face of county government is changing along with the demographics of the county."

Voters this year elected by large margins Charles's first two black commissioners, Edith J. Patterson (D-Pomfret) and Reuben B. Collins II (D-Waldorf).

Calling the overwhelmingly white makeup of county staff "disconcerting on every level," Collins said the presence of African Americans on the board will help the county recruit top minority candidates to fill senior positions.

"Obviously, the people that represent the county on the government level will be qualified for the position, but I think having myself on the board as well as Dr. Patterson, it just opens the door to exposure from a totally different pool of potential employees," Collins said.

In January, the Board of Commissioners is likely to make permanent appointments to three prominent positions: county administrator, director of fiscal services and director of planning and growth management. Currently, those positions are held by longtime county employees -- Roy E. Hancock, David M. Eicholtz and Melvin C. Beall Jr., respectively -- who were promoted in recent months on an interim basis.

The three acting chiefs serve at the will of the commissioners, and it is unclear whether they will remain on a permanent basis, board President Wayne Cooper (D-At Large) said.

In the event that Hancock does not remain as county administrator and returns to his previous job as director of planning and growth management, the commissioners say they will seek African American applicants for the top county job.

"We will try to seek a minority person in that position. Sure, the door is open," Cooper said. "An effort will be made to do that, but at the same time you've got to have a qualified person to put in that position."

The lack of minorities in top positions appears to exist because of historical patterns rather than intentionally racist hiring practices. Historically, county agencies have promoted from within to fill vacancies at the senior level, and the bench of minorities with supervisory or management experience within county government is light.

"When I first got there, I noticed there was hardly any diversity in the management positions," Cooper said of his first election as a commissioner in 2002. "They basically just said that's how it works. But I think now an emphasis needs to be put on trying to . . . bring minority participation into the management positions."

Braxton said placing minorities in a few top leadership positions is necessary to attract other qualified minorities to work for the county.

"Regardless of the status quo, they need to search hard for an African American," Braxton said.

Patterson said she hopes black leaders work in partnership with commissioners to find ways to increase diversity.

"We want that diversity in key decision-making roles," Patterson said. "We have a lot of skilled, talented citizens who are leaving the county and going elsewhere [for work]. We want them to use those talents right here in Charles County."

The county's Sheriff's Office also has come under scrutiny for the racial makeup of its top ranks. Newly elected Sheriff Rex Coffey (D) recently announced his command staff of 14 top officials: 11 white men, two white women and one African American man.

Braxton said he placed a call to Coffey several weeks ago to ask the new sheriff to ensure that his command staff would not be entirely white.

"We don't want to chew him up yet," Braxton said. "We want to give him a fair chance to see what he's going to do."