APPLETON (NBC 26) — The Outagamie County Board voted to censure Speaker Tim Hermes on Tuesday night, but some community members are calling for more action.
LGBTQIA+ Rights group Hate Free Outagamie (HFO) met outside the Outagamie County Courthouse on Thursday at 3 p.m. to announce their position that a censure is not enough. They want Hermes off of the Board.
"We must acknowledge that despite the censure, Tim Hermes retains his position on the Board and the Public Safety committee. We are still calling for his removal, even if it requires a more gradual process. Our next step will be finding a way to get him off his committee assignments to reduce his ability to harm others while we build a case for his formal removal from office," said HFO spokesperson Mary Blackburn.
Hate Free Outagamie also said they wanted to focus on initiatives to advocate for more accessible processes for name changes, gender marker changes, and gender-affirming healthcare.
Outagamie County District 24 Supervisor Steve Thiede said that the censure was an impactful decision made by the Board.
“As far as the Board is concerned, we did everything in our power on Tuesday night to send a strong message – and we did send a strong message – that we disagree with his comments and his actions, and it was a strong vote: 21 to 8,” Thiede said.
According to Theide, if HFO wants further action, there are two main options.
“If folks want to get further action done, the corporation council was very clear – not in this meeting but the meeting before that – what the options for regular citizens are. Because the Board has taken all the action that we can. OK, the next steps for regular citizens," said Theide. "If they want to move forward with something, they can either recall Supervisor Hermes or they can wait and run somebody in the upcoming spring election."
NBC 26 reached out to Supervisor Hermes for comment, but he did not respond.
HFO representatives said they will know which specific actions they plan to pursue next after their meeting Friday evening at 7 p.m. on Lawrence University's campus.
