ACLU of Ohio sends letter to Waynesville Village Council over ‘unconstitutional, discriminatory treatment’

For David Nation, the last few months have been a whirlwind of activity.

On July 15, Waynesville Village Council in southwestern Ohio did not swear in the 41-year-old for a vacant temporary seat on Council. Council set a deadline of July to turn in applications for the seat, and Nation was the only candidate to meet the deadline. After the deadline passed, Council members changed the application process to allow three new candidates to be in the running for the seat.

Then on July 31, Waynesville President pro tempore Chris Colvin said in a special meeting that Nation, although one of Wayneville’s biggest cheerleaders and very active in civic causes, was not fit to fill the seat due to his work in “diversity and inclusion” as a founding member of Rainbow Alliance, an employee resource group (ERG).

In October, after the Buckeye Flame broke the story about the decision and the news went national, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio submitted a formal letter to the council. The letter alleged that the Council committed “unconstitutional, discriminatory treatment” against Nation, who is gay and very much out in the community with his husband, Mark.

“The ACLU of Ohio urges the Village to immediately implement a policy of nondiscrimination to ensure no future applicants or current or prospective employees of the Village experience similar discriminatory conduct,” the civil rights advocacy organization said in an Oct. 7 statement on its website.

It’s all been very overwhelming, Nation said. Messages of support, both physical and virtual, were sent to him.

“It’s just really been positive. I’m hoping all of that positivity will really trickle to Council and they can see this was a mistake,” he said. “Maybe it was not intentional, but at the end of the day, you have to own it and you have to make it right.”

‘A very simple ask’

Nation has worked behind the scenes with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and ACLU of Ohio on his current situation. While he is the center of the story, he hopes whatever the outcome is will help others.

He has three goals: he would like Colvin to resign; a non-discrimination law passed; and the village government to go through DEI training.

Nation hopes that at the very least, Village Council implements the non-discrimination law to prevent possible litigation, he said. 

“That seems like a very simple ask in comparison to what this can turn into,” Nation said.

According to Fox 19 Cincinnati, a Waynesville Village Council lawyer confirmed that the Council received the letter from ACLU of Ohio and had no further comment. The Council declined to comment further to The Buckeye Flame.

Village changed its tune

On September 3 – weeks before the ACLU sent its letter – Waynesville Village Council approved a public statement. The statement said, according to the council charter, there is no deadline for applications to the vacant Village Council position.

The public statement reads: “Colvin indicated that his lack of support for [Nation] in this appointment was due to [Nation’s] application, related to his focus on diversity and inclusion and his efforts advocating for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in local government, businesses and educational institutions. [Colvin’s] statement made clear that [his] rationale was based on policy concerns related to DEI initiatives. It in no way was based on [Nation’s] sexual orientation.”

ACLU of Ohio is giving the Council some time to review and is being “as kind as we can,” Nation said. 

“We have to ensure that something is put in place [so] that this will never happen again with some sort of discrimination law,” Nation said. “I don’t want anything else from this. I just want to make sure that this cannot happen to somebody else.” 🔥

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