Altoona residents question City Council after racist post
Council meeting attendees praise quick termination, but wonder about culture
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Several attendees at a City Council meeting Monday praised city officials for their quick termination last month of a code officer who had posted a Facebook comment that suggested that the Altoona Area School District could avoid the need to enforce a clear bag policy for sporting events by simply "prevent(ing) Negroes from going."
However, the posting of that remark suggests that there might have been "an issue here where someone felt OK to do something like that publicly," said resident Harriet Gaston, who is Black.
City leaders wondered precisely the same thing after Campanaro's comment came to light, said City Manager Christopher McGuire, when asked after the meeting what he thought of Gaston's observation.
They ultimately concluded that Campanaro felt he had the license to say such a thing based on his having been hired approximately two decades ago, when, as far as they could find evidence, he had not been subject to a background check, according to McGuire.
Things have been rectified on that score, as the city has been conducting background checks on prospective employees for at least the past several years, said McGuire and Human Resources Director Christina Notarfrancesco.
Moreover, the city has launched a training regimen designed to head off such misbehavior, according to McGuire.
It was planned prior to Campanaro's problematic comment, but executed after his dismissal, which itself followed a "Loudermill" hearing necessitated by Campanaro's being a union member, officials said.
The comment "reinforced" why such training is needed, McGuire said.
The comment was actually in violation of four employee requirements, including a good conduct provision, according to Notarfrancesco.
Current "onboarding" policy for new employees includes a review of the city's rules against harassment and requires that the new hires sign their assent to those rules, according to Notarfrancesco.
As long as he's in charge, the city will have "zero tolerance" for comments like the one made by Campanaro, McGuire said.
"We are public servants," McGuire said. "We need to be held to a higher standard."
It's his hope that the quick termination of Campanaro will "send a message that's loud and clear," he added.
Prior to the hearing, Campanaro apologized for the comment, McGuire said.
Campanaro and representatives of his union -- the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees -- were cooperative, Notarfrancesco said.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.