YPSILANTI, MI – People with felony convictions cannot be discriminated against in Ypsilanti in a new addition to the city’s non-discrimination ordinance that passed Tuesday.

Ypsilanti City Council voted unanimously to make ex-offenders a city-protected class at its meeting on March 3. Elected officials said the move will help returning citizens reintegrate into society and address racial disparities.

Speakers during public comment said felony convictions are particularly challenging to finding employment and housing after returning from prison or parole. Several said a felony conviction can often act as a discrimination tactic as a proxy for race since incarceration rates for people of color and whites are disproportionate.

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The ordinance allows for exceptions if the conviction directly relates to safety or another direct relationship between the offense and the job, housing or other opportunity. Councilman Steve Wilcoxen said some residents were concerned about sex offenders, but he noted those on the sex offender registry already have limitations in place of where they can live and work.

Eli Savit, a candidate for Washtenaw County prosecutor, said he supported the addition. Studies show recidivism, or the likelihood for a convicted criminal to reoffend, rates are higher when people face housing and unemployment insecurity, Savit said.

Savit also said he supported the idea of allowing someone who paid back their debts to reintegrate successfully.

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Another candidate for Washtenaw County prosecutor, Hugo Mack, said his experience as both a lawyer and a formerly incarcerated person shows how difficult it is to return to society. He said he couldn’t get a job at Meijer because of his criminal history.

“I understand what it’s like to come out,” Mack said during public comment. “A man of my education, a man of my resources, a man of my finances, faced horrendous discrimination because of my penitentiary experience. If that could happen to someone like me, think what could happen to a poor black kid coming out of the penitentiary, a rural white kid coming out of the penitentiary, that doesn’t have that educational background.”

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Washtenaw County has a 35.1% recidivism rate, Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Guatz said. The statewide rate is 26.7%.

Some council members said they wanted the city to address the disparities and lead by example. Councilman Anthony Morgan said though he was unsure of creating a protected class but thought the addition to the nondiscrimination ordinance was necessary. Others thought the addition made sense to establish more equity.

“it’s our job to remove barriers for individuals who are trying to reacclimate themselves to their community, come back to their community and their families,” Councilwoman Nicole Brown said. “It is our job to assist and support to those who have done their time.”

Councilwoman Annie Somerville said she introduced the amendment partly in hopes that others nearby would enact similar measures.

The measure relates to a larger movement across the country to “ban the box,” referring to the checkbox on housing and employment applications that requires applicants to disclose if they have a felony conviction.

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