Totah panel: Former Burger King manager was out of line

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For the first time since its creation in July 2008, the Farmington Community Relations Commission has validated a complaint of discrimination.

David John, commission chair, said Wednesday the commission voted in favor of findings that showed that Burger King manager Tyrone Lozano made a "racial comment" when he said, "I need to let go of Natives and start hiring white people."

John said that during the commission's investigation of Lozano, who managed the Burger King at 948 E. Main St., the franchise owner, Julian Joseph of San Diego, informed the commission that he had "disciplined" Lozano and that Lozano was no longer working at that Burger King store.

According to John, the commission voted on its finding May 4 but could not release it until this week because of city review procedures. John said he signed the finding July 28.

John said that former Burger King worker Julian Yellowhorse Jr. of Newcomb, N.M., filed a complaint Nov. 20 with the commission in which he said that Lozano had made the offending statement in front of him and other workers on Nov. 18.

Commissioner Emeterio Rudolfo, who is an attorney, conducted an investigation into Yellowhorse's complaint.

Rudolfo reported to the commission that he had a hard time getting people to talk, especially Joseph, who owns Red Rock Food LLC.

The Navajo Times contacted Rudolfo's law office Wednesday but he was away on business travel.

According to John, when Joseph finally responded to Rudolfo months later, he said Lozano had been disciplined and was no longer working at the Burger King on East Main Street.

Rudolfo also reported to the commission that there were several witnesses to corroborate Yellowhorse's account.

John said the commission mailed its findings to Yellowhorse, who also no longer works at the Burger King on East Main.

He added that the investigation took as long as it did primarily because the commission has no funding to hire staff to investigate complaints, which meant that a commissioner must handle the investigation.

John said the commission asked Assistant City Manager Bob Campbell for help and that Campbell responded by providing for a city investigator to step in when no commission member is available to look into a complaint.

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He noted that commission members are hesitant to use the city's investigator because it might further criticism that they are "little puppets" of the city - a charge he said is not true.

John said the commission is working to increase its budget and revise its plan of operation so it can be process complaints faster and stay "at arms length" from the city government. He noted that there are currently four or five complaints pending before the commission.

Campbell said Wednesday that the Burger King complaint was a "lesson learned" on having "volunteer commissioners" investigate complaints, which is why Farmington has authorized the commission to use city investigators.

But Campbell said the city cannot increase the commission's budget because it's facing a financial shortfall of $2 million, which has forced it to impose severe cutbacks including a hiring freeze and the elimination of 16 positions.

The Farmington Community Relations Commission has scheduled a public meeting Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. at San Juan College, and welcomes the public at its regular meetings held the first Monday of every month at 4 p.m. at the Farmington Civil Center.

In a related note, John said the Colorado Civil Rights Commission plans to hold two upcoming meetings in the area. Its regular monthly meeting is scheduled Wednesday, Aug. 19, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sky Ute Conference Center in Ignacio, Colo. The CCRC will hold a civil rights forum from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the same day at Sky Ute.

Farmington established its 15-member community relations commission in July 2008, spurred by a series of incidents in which Navajos were beaten or ended up dead at the hands of white men.

The initial call for the city to create a "human relations committee" was made in 1975 by the New Mexico Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, which investigated race relations in Farmington after another burst of racial violence against Native Americans.

The federal inquiry found a need to resolve "the injustice and maltreatment" that Native Americans suffer in the areas of "community attitudes, the administration of justice, provisions of health and medical services; alcohol abuse and alcoholism; employment, and economic development on the Navajo reservation."

Creating a human relations committee was one of several recommendations published in "The Farmington Report - A Conflict of Cultures."

In 2005, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission reiterated to Farmington that one solution to help resolve its persistent racial problems was the establishment of "an official human relations commission."

The 2005 recommendation appears in "The Farmington Report: Civil Rights for Native Americans 30 Years Later," in which the U.S. Civil Rights Commission also credits local leaders, in particular Farmington Mayor Bill Standley, for promoting positive relationships with Native Americans and the Navajo Nation.

Information: Farmington Community Relations Commission, 505-599-8442, or www.dora.state.co.us/civil-rights.

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