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Committee confirms Kayla McConan Diatta as Minneapolis civil rights director
Summary
The Minneapolis Public Health, Safety and Equity Committee approved Mayor Frey’s nomination of Kayla McConan Diatta to lead the Department of Civil Rights, citing her decade of department service and steps taken to clear case backlogs. The committee advanced the nomination to full confirmation after brief member remarks and public testimony in support.
The Minneapolis Public Health, Safety and Equity Committee on July 8 voted to advance Mayor Frey’s nomination of Kayla McConan Diatta to be the permanent director of the Department of Civil Rights.
Mayor Frey told the committee Diatta “doesn’t need time to get up to speed. She’s already driving these results,” highlighting her leadership roles in the department and saying staff were able to focus on enforcement as a result of her work. Multiple community leaders and the department’s former director testified in support, and members of the committee expressed public support during the discussion.
Why it matters: The department enforces city civil‑rights ordinances, oversees labor standards enforcement and the office that reviews police conduct; its leadership plays a direct role in how discrimination complaints and workplace claims are investigated and resolved. Council members repeatedly pointed to a recent reduction in the department’s investigative backlog as a key indicator of improved capacity.
Supporters who testified at the public hearing credited Diatta with stabilizing staffing and improving case timelines. Franklin Reed, who said he previously served as an assistant city attorney and interim director, called Diatta “a proven leader” and urged council members to vote affirmatively. Former department director Michelle Phillips flew in to testify in favor of the nominee, and others — including a former Civil Rights Commission chair — described expanded ordinance protections and improved community engagement under the department’s recent leadership.
Diatta, speaking to the committee, said she was “energized and inspired” to continue the department’s work, listing priorities that included accessible enforcement, improving investigative timelines and completing compliance steps stemming from a Minnesota Department of Human Rights settlement agreement. She described the department’s four divisions — police conduct review, complaint investigations, labor standards enforcement and contract compliance — and said she would continue efforts to make the office “the people’s investigator.”
Committee members asked about staffing and major accomplishments; several cited the cleared backlog and staffing gains as reasons to support confirmation. The committee voted by voice to move the nomination forward; the appointment carried at the committee level and will be finalized per the council’s process.
The committee’s decision closes the public‑hearing phase for this item; the council will take the next procedural steps consistent with its rules.
