Anti-gay controversy follows Jackson’s new HR director

A decision by the city and county of Jackson to hire a former University of Toledo administrator as the new director of human resources for both government bodies is coming under fire.

On Tuesday, the two government entities announced that Crystal Dixon of Maumee, OH had been hired to administer the combined human resources programming for the city and county. Dixon was fired from the University of Toledo in 2008 after she published an editorial letter in the Toledo Free Press that was seen as bigoted.

In the letter, Dixon opined that as a “black Christian woman,” she was offended by the comparison to gays to African American “civil rights victims.” She argued that homosexuals chose to be gay, and therefore are not eligible for civil rights protections.

As proof of her arguments, she cited controversial ex-gay groups like Exodus International and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX). Both groups advocate controversial programs which purport to turn homosexuals into heterosexuals. The programs have been condemned by most official psychology and psychiatry professional organizations as harmful to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.

In a December interview with the Toledo Free Press, Dixon said she would publish the editorial again if given the opportunity to do everything over again. Lawyers from the conservative Thomas Moore Law Center took her case and sued the University of Toledo.

In a video interview with Dixon on the Thomas Moore Law Center, she says she wrote the editorial because she “woke up with a divine mandate, if you will.” In that interview, Brian Rooney, a former Republican candidate for the 7th Congressional District, which includes Jackson, is identified as an attorney assisting her in her lawsuit against U of T. He has since been hired by the Michigan Department of Human Services.

The outcome of the federal lawsuit is unclear.

Reached by email, Dixon declined to be interviewed, instead referring inquiries to Adam Brown, the interim Jackson County Administrator.

In response to a series of questions sent by e-mail, Brown would say only, “I have read your questions and I have no comment other than that I have confidence in Ms. Dixon’s ability to accomplish the things we need her to do.”

But others in Jackson had much to say about Dixon’s hiring.

“The hiring of someone with such uneducated and bigoted views toward LGBT people is bad enough. To hire Ms. Dixon as joint Director of Human Resources boggles the mind. Sadly the steady decline in the City of Jackson population will continue as long as the city continues to nurture its image as a backward, discriminatory town (no longer a city!),” says Julie Nemecek who made national headlines in 2007 when she was fired by the conservative Christian college Spring Arbor for being a transgender woman.

“This hiring underscores the need for a civil rights ordinance for the City of Jackson that will protect city employees and Jackson citizens from the likes of Ms. Dixon,” Nemecek continued. “Like many gay, lesbian, and transgender people in Jackson, I know that I am genetically and biologically the way I am and, like Ms. Dixon, ‘very pleased to be so as my Creator intended.’”

Nemecek was not alone. Lorraine Hampton, president of the Jackson area Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), released the following statement on behalf of the group:

“We at PFLAG Jackson are dismayed by Ms. Dixon’s apparent woefully-misinformed attitude about what it is to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. However, if she truly believes that LGBT people suffer no discrimination, then we will hope that she will follow that in her hiring and retaining of city and county personnel, and will herself show no discrimination toward any qualified applicants. We also hope to serve as a resource to help her increase in her knowledge and awareness, as we try to bring all aspects of our diverse community together. After all, our LGBT friends and families want only what everyone else does: a chance for meaningful employment, a way to feed our families and provide a safe home for them and ourselves. We are in dire economic straits here in Jackson; it’s time to pull together and help everyone, and we hope Ms. Dixon will bring that spirit of working together instead of divisiveness.”

Equality Michigan, a statewide LGBT rights organization based in Detroit, also weighed in on the Dixon hiring.

“The residents of Jackson County and the City of Jackson deserve more than just somebody with the appropriate skills to serve as their human resources director,” said Emily Dievendorf, policy director for the group. “The job in question places Crystal Dixon as lead negotiator for contract agreements and will make her an influential voice in searches for department heads. She needs to be capable of providing equal opportunity and advocating for the interests of all Jackson residents. Her job history, a component on a resume easily as important as required skills, does not support her being qualified to serve the entire Jackson community.”

Former Jackson City Councilmember and retired President of Comerica Bank in Jackson Rick Davies called on county and city leaders to rescind the hiring decision in an e-mail sent Wednesday morning.

“I strongly urge you to rescind your offer of employment to Ms. Dixon and search further for an individual who, in this critical position, can better represent the rights of all of our citizens,” Davies wrote, after noting he was “flabbergasted” by the hiring decision.

“It seems like a terrible hire. The county is sending the wrong message to attract people to move to the area,”says Wayne Besen, executive director of Truth Wins Out, a national organization which challenges the ex-gay movement in the U.S. “No one wants to live in an area that is perceived as intolerant and she is the epitome of such intolerance.”

“I don’t think anybody– particularly LGBT people — can be comfortable walking into her office and trying to get a job,” Besen said. “She might as well have a big sign that says “I discriminate: Go home.” To put people in such a position is grossly irresponsible on behalf of the county.”