Mason panel dismisses ethics complaint against councilwoman

MASON — An effort to censure and possibly remove a councilwoman who proposed the city formally recognize Malcolm X ended abruptly Tuesday evening.

Members of the city's Board of Ethics voted unanimously Tuesday to dismiss a complaint against councilwoman Rita Vogel brought by Mason residents Vicki and Tom Whipple earlier this year.

Board of Ethics Chair Marc Jordan said he and co-chair Matt Wood, who was absent Tuesday, reviewed the complaint and determined Vogel didn't violate any ethics codes.

"No action is warranted regarding the complaint," Jordan told the crowd gathered for the meeting. He noted Vogel had not violated any city rule, and he added the Whipples had not responded to requests from the board to amend their complaint.

The Whipples filed a formal complaint on Feb. 12 seeking to remove Vogel. Vicki Whipple claims Vogel described the city as racist and white supremacist. Vogel denies using the word racist and said her use of the phrase white supremacist was taken out of context. She said regardless, she has a First Amendment right to say what she wishes without retribution.

Vogel is a person of color. The Whipples are white.

"To even think a government entity would even investigate a freedom of speech situation is wildly ridiculous to me," Vogel told the State Journal this week before the meeting was held.

She said she was frustrated because the investigation and complaint took away from other duties, such as reviewing the proposed 2024 budget.

The dispute arose after Vogel asked the City Council to approve a "Malcolm X Day" in honor of the slain civil rights leader, who once attended high school in Mason and has strong ties to the Lansing area.

The council voted down the proposal 5-2 on Feb. 6. Councilwoman Elaine Ferris voted with Vogel. Council members Leon Clark, Jon Droscha, Scott Preadmore, Jerry Schaffer and Russ Whipple voted no.

After the Board of Ethics' decision, Vicki Whipple shouted at the board members, saying Vogel called Mason racist and white supremacist.

"That's unbelievable. It's not right. I'm not racist, and I'm not a white supremacist," she told board members, before arguing with people who attended the meeting and walking out.

Vogel said after the meeting she's happy the complaint is dismissed and behind her.

"We clearly have more work to do on inclusion," she said.

Mayor Russ Whipple and city Clerk Sarah Jarvis did not respond to messages from the State Journal.

City employees can be investigated by the ethics panel for prohibited conduct such as accepting or soliciting gifts, preferential treatment, violating conflicts of interest, nepotism, political activity on city time, retaliation and illegal or misuse use of information, city property or personnel, according to an ordinance adopted on March 1, 2021. The board can investigate and issue its own report on complaints or forward a complaint to the city attorney or city manager.

The city notified Vogel of the complaint on April 6, she said.

"She was asking the City Council to pass a Malcolm X Day and, of course, City Council didn't agree and I didn't agree," Vicki Whipple told the State Journal Monday. "And after that, they wouldn't pass on Malcolm X again. She said we were racist, our city was racist and white supremacist.

"We try to strive to be a nice, happy, healthy, helpful city. We don't need to be called all those nasty words. It's not healthy," she added.

Vicki and Tom Whipple said they were offended by Vogel's comments at the council meeting.

"Rita Vogel, City Council Member at the February 6th council meeting said City of Mason is racist and white supremacist because we didn't vote in Malcolm X Day," they wrote in the complaint. "She doesn't (sic) acutually know who Malcolm X was. Malcolm X lived in Mason for a little over a year and didn't contribute much of anything in (sic) rememberance here to celebrate."

Vogel defended her effort to recognize Malcolm X to council members before they voted, and said she didn't call Mason racist or white supremacist.

"Making decisions around the white experience does not gain community trust," Vogel told council members, according to a recording of the February meeting obtained from the city. "Gatekeeping representation by refusing to create space for people of color in Mason is white supremacy."

Several members of the public spoke during at both Feb. 6 and Feb. 20 council meetings in favor of Vogel's resolution. They also told the council members stories about Mason's lack of diversity and friends' experiences with racism.

Mason resident Jennifer Schlosser spoke Feb. 20 and said she has two daughters, one who is white and a second "whose skin is a little darker than (hers)."

"I've witnessed this as I've raised my kids, two wonderful girls who are raised like race didn't matter," she said. "For the kid who looks like me, that has worked well in this community. However, I did not prepare for my other daughter, whose skin is a little darker than mine, for the life that she would face."

Vicki Whipple told the State Journal Monday that neither she nor her husband have seen racism in Mason and she doesn't believe it's ever happened.

"We don't have that many (people of color) here in our city. Maybe in another city," she said. "I believe I heard people came from Holt and Lansing, so I don't think it was Mason."

Mason resident Gregory Molenda disagreed with Whipple, noting instances of racist behavior in recent years.

"Mason has a perception of being a city that has a problem with racism and intolerance," he said Feb. 20. "Whether it's the restaurant that gave a staff member a watermelon on MLK Day, the neighbor of mine that put a sign in their yard that said 'For sale. No foreigners,' the students at a football game yelling (an anti-Black slur) or the teacher who gave students an assignment littered with (an anti-Black slur). Social media posts and news articles shine a light on the intolerance in our community."

Vogel said the complaint and investigation are examples of generational differences in Mason, rather than racial issues.

"There have been so many things in the last six years that we're saying 'No,' which the younger generations in town and young families want, and this just so happens to highlight the bigger picture and that's where we are right now," she said.

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Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at 517-267-1344 or knurse@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @KrystalRNurse.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Mason councilwoman cleared of ethics violation by panel