Broken Process for Minority- and Women- Owned Business in South Bend

An excerpt from a June 26, 2019 Op-Ed in The Michigan Chronicle.

“[The City of South Bend has] an institution chartered by ordinance called the Minority and Women Business Enterprise Diversity Board…

What has happened with this Board during Mayor Buttigieg’s tenure, which began in 2012? In 2014 the Board met nine times. Following the September 29th, 2014 session, the Board’s archives do not record a meeting until March 27th, 2018 — a discontinuance of three-and-a-half years. During this time, I made repeated requests to the Mayor’s Office, asking why this Board with mayoral appointees was not meeting. There was no reply. I contacted four South Bend Tribune reporters about it. There was no response.

What was happening with city spending and diversity? According to the 2015 City of South Bend Diversity Purchasing Report (DPR), out of over $90 million dollars spent by the City of South Bend, none went to a certified African-American Owned Minority Business…”

The full column is published at The Michigan Chronicle, accessible here.