FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD) - A Fort Worth human relations commissioner's social media posts are drawing the ire of the city's mayor and others -- and now, the chairwoman of the commission is launching an effort to remove him.
One of the roles of the Fort Worth Human Relations Commission is to recommend measures to the mayor and council designed to eliminate discrimination in the city.
One of the commissioners, Mike Steele, used his now-deleted personal Facebook page to share content many believe hostile towards Muslims, immigrants and transgender people -- the very people that the commission aims to protect.
"Many believe that in his Facebook posts, he crossed the line," says Fernando Costa, Fort Worth assistant city manager. "And many are responding with expressions of outrage."
Mayor Betsy Price called for Steele to step down from the commission, but Steele has so far refused to do so.
Now, an effort is underway to oust him.
"The chair of the Human Relations Commission (Eva Bonilla) has indicated her intent to call a special meeting of the Human Relations Commission on Monday, July 15, for the purpose of considering a recommendation that the city council remove Mr. Steele from the commission," says Costa.
There are normally 11 city council-appointed members of the commission; currently, there are two vacancies.
It requires a two-thirds majority -- in this case, six out of the nine sitting members -- to recommend the removal of a commissioner to the city council.
Barring the calling of a special council meeting by the mayor or three councilmembers, the next scheduled meeting takes place Tuesday, August 6th.
