Trans-rights activists bring Outagamie County board meeting to a halt, call for member's resignation
APPLETON - Trans-rights activists packed the Outagamie County Board meeting Tuesday evening causing the meeting to take a recess for almost an hour after the group erupted in "trans rights are human rights" chants.
Activists rallied outside the Outagamie County Government Center before going into the board meeting calling for the resignation of board member Timothy Hermes, who made transphobic comments at the previous board meeting.
"We're not here to ask for an apology," Appleton Students for a Democratic Society member Adam Fleischer told the crowd of activists and citizens. "We want nothing less than his immediate removal from his position."
But after county officials told the board they would not take disciplinary action against Hermes, activists began shouting, asking officials to let them speak to the board on the issue and pleading for them to take definitive action against Hermes.
The eruption led to one activist being escorted out of the board room by deputies and an hour-long meeting recess before county officials talked down the boisterous crowd and the meeting continued.
Tuesday's rally was the most recent in a string of protests coming after Hermes likened transgender people to "a man pretending to be a woman" and called trans people's use of bathrooms that align with their gender "disgusting" at a May 9 county board meeting.
Hermes was elected to the board in 2022 to represent District 14, which covers the western half of Little Chute.
Related: Amid anti-LGBTQ student bills across US, Appleton just elected its first openly LGBTQ board member
What did Hermes say at the county board meeting?
During the May 9 county board meeting, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer Major Cooper gave a presentation to the board on the importance of equity in the workplace and appreciating the diversity of coworkers.
Following the presentation, board members were able to questions, to which Hermes asked Cooper how he can justify "that any man can be a woman," claiming without evidence that men are dressing up as women so they can go into bathrooms or changing rooms with young girls.
Hermes' comments about trans people came unprompted as the EDI officer did not talk about transgender individuals or their bathroom use during his presentation.
Hermes' claim that faux trans people are using bathrooms to watch children is unfounded. The National Center for Transgender Equality, the Human Rights Campaign and the American Civil Liberties Union all say there is no statistical evidence that people are dressing as the opposite gender to sneak into bathrooms.
The last board meeting wasn't the first time Hermes has expressed anti-gender and transphobic ideas at a board meeting.
At a Feb. 28 meeting, Hermes said he was against appointing a diversity and inclusion consultant for the Appleton Public Library because he worried the person would push for pronoun use and gender equity. He also told the board he doesn't believe there are multiple genders.
The Post-Crescent is not printing full quotes from Hermes, as sharing transphobic comments proliferates anti-trans rhetoric during a time of unparalleled anti-LGBTQ legislation introduction across the nation.
What are activists looking for?
Activists from Freedom Road Socialist Organization, ESTHER, Appleton SDS, as well as LGBTQ citizens, came to the county board meeting both to call for Hermes' resignation and to increase LGBTQ inclusivity in the county.
The group began their rally outside the government center, holding trans pride flags and signs calling for people to stand against anti-LGBTQ actions.
Speaking to the crowd, Appleton SDS member Jonnie Urban emphasized Hermes' viewpoints on the trans community are baseless, stating that spreading misinformation about trans people and their motives is dangerous for the community.
"Spreading a message of hate incites violence against trans people," Urban said. "We're here to reverse misinformation that Hermes has shared."
Transgender individuals are three times more likely than other groups to feel they don’t belong in the Fox Cites and LGBTQ people are 2.6 times more likely to feel they don’t belong, according to 2021 data released from Imagine Fox Cities.
Trans allies like Fleischer came to the rally to show support for the trans people in his life and stand against anti-LGBTQ language.
"There's an innumerable number of trans people in my life that are incredibly important to me, so to hear this kind of rhetoric being flat-out said by elected officials is unacceptable to me," Fleischer told The Post-Crescent.
Following the rally outside, dozens of activists and citizens packed into the county board room where they pleaded with county officials to let them speak on the issue, but were turned down, as public comment was not allowed during the meeting unless it related to board action items.
Hermes did not respond to comment on calls for his resignation, however, he told The Post-Crescent after last week's protest, "I have no problem with the trans community whatsoever. I just believe everyone has the same rights to safety."
How has the county responded?
The county board didn't put an agenda item related to Hermes' comments on Tuesday's agenda, meaning board members and the public couldn't speak on the comments during the meeting. The board additionally left out the comments from the May 9 meeting minutes.
However, Corporation Counsel Kyle Sargent told the board the county can't take disciplinary action against Hermes as his comments didn't reach the state law's definition of insufficiency of office or official misconduct that would allow the county to take action.
Sargent said the only way Hermes would be removed from office is if he chose to resign or was not reelected by his constituents.
Though the county can't take action against Hermes directly, board member Steve Thiede told activists that he would try to place a censure on Hermes — a formal statement of disapproval of Hermes' transphobic comments.
"We're gonna see what we can do," Thiede told The Post-Crescent. "I'll do whatever's available within the rules."
Additionally, board Chair Jeff Nooyen said he is going to ask committee chairs to draft a code of conduct outlining proper procedures for county board members so comments like Hermes' aren't made in the future.
"It's sad that it's come down to that," Nooyen told the board. "I don't agree with Supervisor Hermes' comments and I found them offensive and inappropriate."
Sophia Voight is a local government and political reporter with The Post-Crescent. She can be reached for feedback and tips at svoight@postcrescent.com. Follow her on Twitter @sophia_voight.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton trans-rights activists cause Outagamie County board meeting recess
