Part II

No Roof, No Rights: Housing and Human Rights

This article is part of the series “No Roof, No Rights: Housing and Human Rights,” which examines the connection between housing and human rights in Sullivan County, with reporting on how both the county government and its residents are navigating these critical issues. See”

Legislators fired up over human rights appointment

Backlash to Ward’s appointment initially began between the legislators themselves two weeks prior to the April 24 vote, when the names were first introduced to the Human Resources Committee.

“As a legislator committed to justice and equity, I find it deeply concerning that I am being singled out and unfairly targeted. It is particularly troubling that my own chairman appears to be actively seeking reasons to block or prohibit my continued participation on the human rights commission,” Ward said.

Ward called out legislator Nadia Rajsz’s opposition to her appointment, which was communicated in an earlier group email exchange. Ward said that the opposition “targeted” her “personally.” She said that, as one of the first Black legislators and not on any boards, like her peers, she wanted to advocate to be on this board, and that the pushback was unprecedented.

The two engaged in a tense back-and-forth where Ward at one point threatened Rajsz—the chair of the legislature—with the filing of a formal complaint.

“Then file a complaint, Amanda,” Rajsz said. “It was not about you; it was about the position.”

McPhillips defended his decision to appoint Ward. He said, “I believe having a woman of race in the human resource field with the utmost years of experience in that field and having the ability to be a bridge between the community and this body is extremely important.”

District 7 Legislator Joseph Perrello also said that he supported Ward sitting on the board.

Ward said she wanted to sit on this commission to help it move forward. “There was a period of time that the Human Rights Commission and committee like it just wasn’t happening. It was kind of like on pause or just in a holding pattern. And I think that these discussions are happening now because I have pushed to bring light to the commission to get a full-time executive director,” Ward said.

She did not address the criticism over the potential conflict of interest in her position as a legislator prior to the vote.

The legislature voted 6-1 to approve the appointments to the human rights commission, including Bill Liblick and Amanda Ward. Scott was the singular nay. Perrello, as well as District 9 legislator Terry Blosser, were absent. Additionally, in a 6-1 vote with the same breakdown, the legislature voted to set a public hearing to amend local law to allow for a legislator to be a member of the commission.

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — The latest iteration of Sullivan County’s Human Rights Commission comes not without controversy, with two newly-appointed members coming under public scrutiny at the April 24 legislative session. 

The commission is composed of a new nine-person board appointed by the Sullivan County Legislature and the newly appointed full-time executive director, Ramone E. Wilson. The two arms work in tandem to protect human rights in the county by ensuring individuals’ concerns are heard and guiding people through the process of reporting their concerns, while also supporting outreach, education and compliance with anti-discrimination and consumer rights laws. 

The commission does not have and has never had an investigative arm. It will re-route human rights complaints that warrant investigation to the state’s human rights office to handle.

The controversy over appointments follows a rocky recent history for the commission. In 2019, at least four commissioners resigned, causing the commission to disintegrate. In 2023, the then commissioner’s executive director resigned, citing a lack of recognition and support from the county, causing the commission to fall defunct. The commission was not reformed after the director’s resignation. Until now, the county’s human resources office has been fielding cases.

Series No roof, no rights: Housing and Human Rights in Sullivan County Series 

Breathing sewage, seeking justice

Proposed shelter shot down-again

Julie Diescher, who has been fielding those human rights cases as the commissioner of human resources, said at a March 2024 meeting that “complaints are coming in, but there are contact issues.” “Sometimes people just need to be heard and given a different perspective and given guidance on where to go,” she said. “They don’t know where to go.”

Human rights complaints include discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation.

Past commissions have done vital work—the 2022 report said the office fielded 113 complaints, plus two cases that involved over 40 individuals. It cited housing as one of its most pressing issues. 

Community leaders, residents and past human rights commissioners, as well as several legislators, directed opposition at two appointees: Bill Liblick, who moderates several Facebook groups dedicated to Sullivan County news, politics and discussion; and District 9 Legislator Amanda Ward. 

The legislature ultimately voted to approve the appointees and to set a public hearing to change a local law allowing legislators to serve on the human rights commission.

Liblick is ‘divisive’ 

Each of the nine district representatives on the Sullivan County Legislature recommended an individual to serve on the commission. 

District 6 legislator Luis Alvarez chose Swan Lake resident Liblick as his appointee. At a previous legislative meeting, residents objected to Liblick’s appointment, and Alvarez defended his decision. “My appointment is my choice. Someone already said something about my appointment… I knew my person could do the job, had a real connection with all the police departments, and that’s the person I wanted,” Alvarez said.

Liblick previously served on the human rights commission from 2016 to 2019 and moderates a Facebook group titled “Sullivan County Post,” with over 40,000 members. The page is described as “an open group for discussion and conversation, about Sullivan County New York News, politics, opinion, events, entertainment and anything else on your mind relating to the New York State Catskill Mountains.” 

Additionally, he moderates another Facebook group titled “Sullivan County Uncensored,” which has over 35,000 members and states in the page description, “posts ABOUT recent Sullivan County news or politics will be uncensored, unless they violate other page rules.” 

While Liblick doesn’t attend the legislative session in person, he regularly posts live one-liners on Sullivan County Post describing key events from the session and offering editorial comments. 

A handful of people attended the legislative session on April 24 to specifically speak in opposition to his appointment, calling him “divisive” and fundamentally unable to fulfill the duties of the role.

Resident JoAnne Omar said, “I oppose Bill Liblick’s placement on this Human Rights Commission. He’s the admin of a Facebook page that sows tremendous division, hatred, cruelty and drama. I don’t know how that would work with the Human Rights Commission, and I want to know who would feel comfortable bringing any case to the Human Rights Commission when all day long, they’re bashing people.”

Liblick responded to Omar’s comments on Sullivan County Post, writing, “Radical Josie Omar Doesn’t Get Sullivan County Post. She Thinks She is Better Than All Of Us!!” 

Resident Miriam Hernandez brought up comments Liblick made in a 2012 opinion post about Spanish-language requirements for ballots. In the piece he wrote, “The biggest latest waste of Sullivan County tax dollars is a new federal mandate requiring ballots in certain election districts be printed in Spanish.”

Hernandez also quoted the last line of Liblick’s piece, in which he says, “If the federal government wants us to enforce such a ridiculous mandate, they should reimburse us for the cost of printing the extra ballots, programming voter machines, and hiring an interpreter. If someone cannot read or write English, perhaps they just shouldn’t vote.”

“Such inflammatory thinking undermines the efforts of the Human Rights Commission to enforce laws prohibiting discrimination. His statement disqualifies him for the Human Rights Commission; someone who publicly expressed this kind of prejudicial, limited and, yes, racist opinion can’t possibly serve to protect the rights of his fellow citizens,” Hernandez said. 

Martin Colavito of the nonprofit Sullivan Allies Leading Together (SALT), who served on the commission at the same time as Liblick, compared Liblick’s behavior to that of a 14-year-old. “The responsibility of a commissioner of human rights, human rights in this county, cannot rely on a 14-year-old’s mentality to guide us to our mission to address human rights and justice,” he said.

District 8 Legislator Amanda Ward, Chair of Human Resources Committee

RR photo by Ruby Rayner-Haselkor

Legislator on commission is a ‘conflict’ 

District 3 Legislator Brian McPhillips nominated fellow District 8 Legislator Amanda Ward to the commission. 

Both fellow legislators and residents were concerned about the appointment. Most of those who objected specifically noted that it wasn’t Ward herself they took issue with, but someone in the role of a legislator sitting on that board. People said it would open up the county to liability, potential for conflict of interest, and make it possible for the position to be leveraged politically—the antithesis of its purpose. See sidebar for details on the legislative discussion about Ward’s appointment.

At the April 24 meeting of the full legislature, resident Ken Walter, among others, made public comments against Ward’s appointment. 

“I believe it is not wise for a legislator to be on that committee since you [the human rights commission] are the oversight people… that would be any discussion [about the legislature] that would go on, you’d have to recuse yourself. I think it would be better if it was strictly wholly, separated an arm’s length from the legislature,” Walter said.

Ward has previously been censured for the way she handled an instance of conflict of interest. 

After serving as a town court justice in Fallsburg since 2015, Ward resigned from her position in October 2020, after being served with formal charges by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct (NYS CJC). The only further details provided in a release from the NYS CJC said the formal charges were “for, among other things, presiding notwithstanding a disqualifying conflict with a party or witness and failing to disclose and/or recuse herself as required.” 

The judicial commission administrator, Robert H. Tembeckjian, also said in the release, “Judges are disqualified by promulgated ethics rules from presiding over cases in which their ‘impartiality might reasonably be questioned.’ In certain instances, if they disclose the disqualifying interest, the parties may agree to waive the judge’s recusal. On being charged with presiding and not disclosing conflicts with a party or witness, Judge Ward agreed never to be a judge again.”

The commission’s pre-existing bylaws did not specify allowing or prohibiting a legislator serving. Ultimately, to approve Ward’s appointment, the legislature also voted to amend local law to allow for a legislator to serve on the commission. 

District 5 Legislator Cat Scott also expressed her concerns, saying she didn’t oppose Ward as a person, but opposed any legislator serving on the committee. 

“I think another thing to consider is, I don’t think that anyone currently would abuse their power, but I sat there for three and a half years, and I watched a board that did abuse power [referring to the former legislature]. And that’s my concern, [it] isn’t that somebody will, it’s that somebody could. I think that’s always a consideration we have to have when we’re moving forward.”

Ward said Scott’s explanation “makes sense,” but she still felt the reaction to her appointment was unprecedented. 

Judy Ballaban, who was the chair of the human rights commission for many years until it disbanded in 2019, told the River Reporter they dealt with a lot of complaints and issues from county employees, and because of those instances, had concerns that allowing a legislator on the commission would be potential for a conflict. 

Additionally, both Colavito and Ballaban said they resigned from the commission in 2019 in part because of concerns about the county’s interference in the commission’s work. Additionally, Colavito told the River Reporter he simultaneously felt back in 2019 that the county didn’t recognize the commission and its work seriously. 

Lack of support and county recognition for the commission was an issue raised again by the then-executive director, Adrienne Jensen, when she resigned in front of the legislature. 

On that occasion, she said, “I think that something that the office needs is support. I think that’s really what it needs to be recognized as a genuine office within the county. I think that it needs that respect. I hope that whoever fills the position coming up, that it’s someone who understands what I was just speaking about: that human rights is an issue for all folks and that it’s not something that people look at to wag a finger at someone or create some sort of disruption, but rather to find a way to bring the county together.”