Thank you to Jon Green for writing this document that will be voted on by the Johnson County Democrat Central Committee on Thursday, February 1 at 6:30 pm at Carpenters’ Hall (108 Williams St in Iowa City).
Only committee members may vote but the meeting is open to the public.
The meeting is hybrid and may be accessed on Zoom by requesting a Zoom link ahead of time from democratsjohnsoncounty@gmail.com
We have two requests:
1) Please attend this meeting in person or on Zoom (directions/instructions above)
2) Please write to the elected officials who will be voting on this matter (listed above).
Many thanks also to V Fixmer-Oraiz for their powerful response to this proposal, copied and pasted below:
“Johnson County Central Committee member Jon Green is offering a Resolution to Censure the Johnson County Attorney (see attached). This is my response.
Iowa Republicans have decided to make dehumanizing transgender people a cruel, state-sanctioned spectator sport. I knew that it wouldn’t be enough to go after families and children in our community last year. This year, the legislature is entertaining bills that seek to remove an entire class of protection- gender identity-from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. This is what authoritarianism looks like; it is predictable from the Republicans and it is terrifying.
I recently co-wrote an article about how authoritarian laws are here in our state and how, by criminalizing common protest activities, they have specifically targeted the transgender community. I met with the Johnson County Attorney, Rachel Zimmermann-Smith about the seven transgender/non-binary protestors who were charged last November. I asked her to drop the charges. She refused. She told me to trust the system and a few weeks later the Johnson County jail placed a non-binary protestor in solitary confinement. And when this person asked why they were being placed in solitary confinement, it wasn’t because they had done anything wrong, it was because of their gender identity. This is what dehumanization looks like.
The Iowa City Human Rights Commission recently released a statement also demanding that these charges be dismissed, on the grounds that our County Attorney is carrying out an authoritarian law. (https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IAIOWA/bulletins/386bab7)
This coming week, the Johnson County Democratic Party’s Central Committee will hear a resolution to censure the County Attorney. I have listened to the excuses people have for voting against this resolution:
“This is unprecedented.” So, I ask: when is the time to set precedent? As a queer, transgender, Person of Color, I am used to being told to wait. But when the government is actively stripping away the rights of my people, the people I was elected to serve, I find it unconscionable that members of the Democratic Party would tell me that now is not the time to set precedent.
“This will drive a wedge in the Democratic Party.” The wedge already exists. The question is: which side of it are you on? The one that favors compliance over compassion? Silence over human rights? Are we, or are we not, the party that will stand in solidarity with our LGBTQ+ community to say that we will not tolerate members of our party carrying out authoritarian laws? Or are we just the party that waves a Pride flag around one month a year?
In the end, there are only consequences. Now, as is often the case, the vast majority of those who are able to vote have nothing to lose. I am the only transgender elected official in this county. With this state legislature, I stand to lose everything. Members of my community. My mental health. My dignity.
I ask that the Johnson County Democratic party stand by its commitment to people over politics and vote to support the resolution as it has been submitted without amendment. It is not a choice. It is a people. I do not have the ability to vote on this matter, and I will not subject myself to witnessing it. I have been through too many votes on my civil rights over the years. But I ask you: what does it mean to be a Democrat when vulnerable members of your party, your community, are suffering at the hands of one of your own? Will you hold them–and yourself–accountable? Or will you continue to carry out Republican laws designed to stifle dissent? The LGBTQ+ community is targeted now, but make no mistake, we won’t be the last.
The following elected officials will be voting on this matter, and I urge you to reach out to them in support of this resolution:
Royce Peterson, City of Coralville City Council; rpeterson@coralville.org
Meghann Foster, City of Coralville, Mayor; mfoster@coralville.org
Royceann Porter, Johnson County Board of Supervisors; rporter@johnsoncountyiowa.gov
Jon Green, Johnson County Board of Supervisors; jgreen@johnsoncountyiowa.gov
Rod Sullivan, Johnson County Board of Supervisors; rsullivan@johnsoncountyiowa.gov
Mazahir Salih, Iowa City City Council; msalih@iowa-city.org
Andrew Dunn, Iowa City City Council; Adunn@iowa-city.org
Shawn Harmsen, Iowa City City Council; sharmsen@iowa-city.org
Laura Bergus, Iowa City City Council; lbergus@iowa-city.org
Adam Zabner, Iowa House of Representatives; adam.zabner@legis.iowa.gov
Julie Persons, City of Swisher, Mayor; mayor@swisheria.org ”
JoCo7 