APPLETON (NBC 26) — Hate Free Outagamie, a local organization advocating for equality, met again to address the recent censure of Outagamie County Supervisor Timothy Hermes. The group gathered at Lawrence University. Cameras were not allowed inside the meeting room, but NBC 26 was there to hear what they had to say.
Mary Blackburn, a founder of Hate Free Outagamie, voiced her dissatisfaction with the actions taken thus far.
“We are proud of it but ultimately it is kind of just a slap on the wrist,” said Blackburn.
She emphasized the need for further measures to address the situation adequately.
“It's a symbolic Victory and we're proud of it because I don't think without our actions it would have occurred,” said Blackburn.
Hate Free Outagamie has organized multiple meetings to articulate their demands and expectations in the wake of the censure. On the other hand, the Republican Party of Outagamie County issued a press release expressing their disagreement with the censure.
The statement read, "Therefore we, The Republican Party of Outagamie County, publicly condemn the votes of the twenty-one County Supervisors who voted to censure Supervisor Hermes. We believe that the Outagamie County Board not only stripped Supervisor Hermes of his Constitutional Right of Freedom of Speech but also the constituents that he was elected to represent in District 14 of Outagamie County."
Audari Tamayo, a board member of Appleton's Students for Democratic Society disagreed.
“Censure is not eliminating anybody's right to free speech. He can still say whatever he wants, he’s still saying whatever he wants. A censure was the board going against what he says disapproval of what he says he can still say whatever he wants his first amendment rights are not infringed whatsoever,” said Tamayo.
During the meeting held tonight, concerned community members voiced their thoughts on candidate options for Hermes district, how to continue to get people’s attention and voting on the HFO’s points of unity.
However, the primary goal of Hate Free Outagamie and their supporters has remained the same:
“Our ultimate goal is just getting him out of office,” said Blackburn.
Supervisor Hermes has not responded to our request for comment.
