NORTHAMPTON — Newly appointed Human Rights Commission member Tara Ganguly said Tuesday that she will not serve after the Gazette published a story about the Northampton attorney’s Twitter page.
I am no longer interested in serving this town in any way, shape, or form. I’m done. I’d much rather have the freedom to speak.
— Tara Ganguly (@tara_ganguly) August 23, 2016
Because Ganguly had not yet been sworn in, she does not call it a resignation.
She criticized the Gazette story which she shared on her Twitter page, calling it a “hatchet job” and citing it as the reason for stepping away from her new role.
“I don’t believe the people in the community are going to be able to look past a sensationalist, cherry-picked story that does not encompass me as a person in any way, shape or form,” she said in an interview with the Gazette. “I was cut off at the knees before I had a chance to do anything.”
Five members left the commission since April 2015, some objecting to its limited, advisory role. Ganguly was one of three approved unanimously by the City Council on Thursday. The two others, Brian Barnes and Christine Young, join four existing members for a total of six members on a commission with nine positions.
The commission’s mission is to “act to promote human rights in the city of Northampton.”
Mayor David Narkewicz, who said Monday that he stood by Ganguly’s appointment, told the Gazette on Tuesday that he would consult City Solicitor Alan Seewald regarding how social media accounts might be involved in future reviews of potential appointees.
“I’ve appointed dozens of residents to city boards and commissions in the four, five years I’ve been mayor — this is the first time there’s been an incident like this related to social media,” Narkewicz said, adding that since commission members are volunteers, the standards are not the same as for elected office-holders.
Ganguly came highly recommended by commission members past and present.
Narkewicz said he will now turn his attention toward bringing the body back to full capacity.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to find other folks who want to serve on the Human Rights Commission,” he said, adding that his office received one phone call Tuesday from an interested person.
Ganguly, a criminal defense lawyer, sent out tweets that, among other things, encouraged “morons” to kill themselves, criticized Black Lives Matter protesters as ineffective, and took aim at an allegedly neglectful mother with the admonition, “Tie her tubes. Now.” She told the Gazette on Monday that her online comments were sometimes facetious and that she uses Twitter as a platform to vent.
Commission Chairwoman Natalia Muñoz said she saw no harm in Ganguly’s appointment and blamed the Gazette for her decision not to serve.
“The scandal here is not what Tara put in her social media; it’s that the Gazette is run by white men,” Muñoz said Tuesday. “I was really looking forward to working with Tara and I’m sorry she will not be at the table.”
Muñoz said that while Ganguly’s “edgy humor” may not always have worked, she would have been a welcome addition to a body that needs more members.
“What makes someone eligible to be on the Human Rights Commission is they’re someone who believes in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Muñoz said. “And that person does not have to be perfect. Nobody’s perfect.”
Muñoz said Ganguly, who is half Indian, was ostracized because she did not fit into the “cookie-cutter white” culture the city cultivates.
“The choir of white, progressive, politically correct people in Northampton — they’re not showing up to the Human Rights Commission meetings,” Muñoz said.
Another commissioner, Laurie Loisel, said she hopes to discuss the controversy during Wednesday’s regularly scheduled meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers.
While declining to pass judgment on Ganguly’s tweets, Loisel said the commission has an opportunity to “model civil discourse” and “set the tone.”
“I think people should mean the things they say and I don’t think sarcasm really helps when you’re talking about human rights,” Loisel said. “I’m not talking about being politically correct, I’m just talking about when you say something, make sure it’s what you mean.”
City Council President William H. Dwight said the city has entered new territory with the social media controversy.
“No one’s quite picking up on the fact that we’re all human beings with opinions that used to be kept in check but now social media allows Tourette’s moments when we speak in unfiltered ways,” he said Tuesday. “You’re judged by your resume and now because of social media you’re judged by what you post.”
Dwight said he’s unsure if it’s feasible to incorporate social media into the review process for volunteer commissions, given it can be hard enough just to find people willing to serve on them. Still, he said, Ganguly’s tweets and the response to them were enough to cause concern.
“I found some of those comments to be disappointing,” Dwight said. “In this respect it’s probably true, if this had come to light before, it’s probably possible that she would not have survived the scrutiny.”
Council Vice President Ryan O’Donnell interviewed Ganguly by phone but did not check social media because it is not standard procedure. He told the Gazette on Tuesday that he’s amenable to exploring the use of social media in the future.
“It’s clearly a matter of public concern,” said O’Donnell.
Mathias Klang, associate professor in the communications department at the University of Massachusetts Boston, said Northampton appears to be behind the curve in checking the social media accounts of people who serve publicly.
“What we can be critical of the local government for doing is not being more careful in their vetting, even if they traditionally haven’t had to vet that carefully,” Klang said. Ganguly “wasn’t exactly in a gray scale — these are not things someone on a human rights commission should be saying.”
Klang said people often get themselves into trouble on Twitter, as context and tone are often impossible to convey in short tweets.
“Joking and sarcasm can be lost when you have more of a word limit,” Klang added.
Staff writer Chris Lindahl contributed reporting to this story.
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.
Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect that five Human Rights Commission members have resigned since April 2015: Eamonn Crowley-Edge, Gwen Agna, Jordana Amato, Douglas Ross and Carolyn Toll Oppenheim.