KALAMAZOO, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) — Former Michigan Speaker of the House, Lee Chatfield, who left office in January for a job as CEO with the economic development agency Southwest Michigan First, has resigned.
In a tweet posted Monday he wrote, “For the betterment of the Kalamazoo community, the businesses that the board of directors represent, the staff at SWMF and for the sake of my conscience, please see the letter of resignation I offered this morning. I remain grateful for having had this incredible opportunity.”
The announcement that Chatfield would lead Southwest Michigan First led to an outcry among several groups, many charging him with anti-LGBTQIA efforts during his time as a lawmaker. As a result, members of the economic development organization began voting to withdraw their memberships and funding, including the City of Kalamazoo. This happened despite Chatfield indicating that he had changed his stance on equal rights legislation that he opposed while in office.
Southwest Michigan First provides economic development services in a seven county area, which includes Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Branch, St. Joseph, Cass, Van Buren and Berrien counties.
Along with the tweet, Chatfield posted two screenshots of this resignation letter, which read in part:
“I was already admittedly walking a fine line. It is true that, while in office, I upheld my personal convictions and those I believed held by my constituencies. And as CEO, I was more than willing to uphold the values of the company.
“But I knew I couldn’t within myself be honest to those around me by always agreeing on what good public policy was or what was necessarily right or wrong. As a Christian, I believe the Bible. I don’t want to hide from that. Nor do I want to run from that. I don’t say that as a shield, and I certainly don’t say that to use as a weapon. I say it only because I want to be open and honest. And I don’t want to feel I have to be quiet about that within this community so I could collect a paycheck. That’s not right to anybody.
“And I can’t truthfully apologize for various conservative beliefs I espoused while in office, and I don’t think you wanted that. But many of my political opinions were causing an uproar. That much was obvious. I thought I could come into a community and find ways to collaborate even despite some past disagreements, which I was very willing to do so, but I was wrong.
“And as a board of directors, to fit within this community and bring about cohesion with our partners, you deserve someone with a blank political slate that won’t bring about the division that I’ve unfortunately caused.”
The Board of Directors of Southwest Michigan First accepted Chatfield’s resignation at their meeting Monday morning, and issued the following statement:
In recent days, the announcement of our selection to fill the vacant CEO position has caused a great deal of disappointment by our team members, community partners, investors, donors and board members of Southwest Michigan First. Many have questioned our agency’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion as well as our human capital and CEO search processes.
We welcome the conversations, challenging questions and opportunities to listen, learn and grow. What is abundantly clear is that our search process fell well below the standard expected by our board, our community partners, investors, donors and importantly, our Southwest Michigan First team.
As we renew and begin again our search process for our next CEO, we are committed to and will assure a process that is open, transparent and inclusive of those who depend upon us to improve economic development and employment opportunities for all we serve. We recognize that increased
prosperity has not often been experienced by our communities of color, Latinx communities and our LGBTQ+ community. We remain committed to increasing access to capital, entrepreneurial opportunities, leadership development programs and representation at board tables.
In 2017, the Southwest Michigan First Board of Directors voted to support the amendment to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. We supported that legislation then and we support it today. Words, policies, and actions matter. We believe that communities, individuals and organizations get
better when we engage in tough important conversations about discrimination and racism. Southwest Michigan First is committed to the conversations and actions necessary so that all in our community prosper and are free from the debilitating impact of discrimination of any kind.
The first step in our agency’s journey is to establish and appropriately resource an executive level position for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Southwest Michigan First. Additionally, we will create a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board Committee to make certain that all of our human
capital policies, procedures and practices mirror the expectations made clear by our community partners, investors, donors, board members and team members. With humility, we apologize to all who we have disappointed.
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