St. Petersburg is quietly renaming two city offices that include the words “diversity” and “equity” in their titles.
Effective Oct. 1, the Office of Equity, which aims to make and carry out policies and practices that put everyone on the same playing field in and out of City Hall, will become the Office of Community Impact. The Office of Supplier Diversity, created to help minority-owned businesses compete for city contracts, will be called the Office of Supplier Development.
According to memos provided to the Tampa Bay Times, Chief Equity Officer George Smith proposed renaming his office in April, shortly after his appointment to that role. The supplier diversity name change was requested July 25. Both memos contend that the missions of both offices are not changing, but the names of the departments may have “divisive perceptions” and limit “the way the office is perceived.”…