The Erie County Executive is giving the community an opportunity to fill vacant positions of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission (DEI) after the recent firings on Nov 11.

Erie County Executive Brenton Davis removed DEI commissioners LaVette, White, and Carter from their positions effective immediately on Friday, Nov. 11.

Davis said the previous firings were due to alleged mishandling of funds and self-dealing. He added that Friday’s firings were due to pending legal disputes between the DEI’s Delaware-based accounting firm and the commission.

The county executive said his main concern is the status of the $4.5 million of county taxpayer money amid alleged legal issues with the accounting firm. Davis said an effort is now being made to have members in the commission that will properly represent the DEI Commission.

“This next week, we’re going to have another press conference that rolls out our applications process for these boards appointments and authorities to make it transparent to give every member in the community the opportunity to put their resume forward for consideration,” said Brenton Davis, Erie County Executive.

Davis said he hopes this will be a lesson to not only the DEI commission moving forward but also to the appointees.