Six months after all its members were unceremoniously removed from office, Arlington’s Human Rights Commission is back in operation.
County Board members on Tuesday (Jan. 28) made seven appointments to the body, with terms running through January 2028.
Jimmy McBirney, Gena Cotton, Sharon Gibson, Angela Malone, Maggie Davis, Allan Gajadhar and Dylan Montgomery were named to the positions.
Board members last summer rewrote the commission’s charter, effectively firing all incumbent members. The body’s last meeting before being disbanded was in July.
The action came after a series of skirmishes between commission members on one side and the Board, county manager and sheriff on the other during the early part of 2024.
Believing they were within their authority to do so, commission members wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice, asking for a federal investigation of conditions at the Arlington County Detention Facility.
That caused Board members to fire off their own letter to the Justice Department, disavowing the commission’s request.
The Jan. 28 appointments were made as part of a larger list of those tapped for a host of advisory-body posts.
While not speaking directly to the new human-rights panelists, County Board Chairman Takis Karantonis did thank volunteers for their “massive investment of time [and] talent” in being willing to serve.
While Board members earlier said that previous members of the Human Rights Commission would be welcomed to apply, none of the new appointees was part of the group removed last summer except for Malone, who was appointed in early 2024.
