Damakant Jayshi
The Wausau City Council overwhelmingly voted in favor of reviving a long-dormant diversity committee after alders stressed the need to have a body that promotes messages of tolerance and inclusivity.
The council restored the Liberation and Freedom Committee on Tuesday after Mayor Doug Diny added a resolution to terminate it, citing its long inactivity and seeking the council’s opinion on whether to reconstitute or disband it.
Ten alders rejected the termination resolution. Alder Becky McElhaney cast the sole vote to terminate the committee, though she did not explain her vote, nor did she participate in the debate on the fate and future of the committee.
The committee last met on April 27, 2022. City Attorney Anne Jacobson told the City Council that several meetings did not take place due to a lack of quorum. The Liberation and Freedom Committee was earlier called the Mayor’s Welcoming and Inclusivity Committee.
Mayor Robert Mielke formed the group in 2019 “to identify issues and barriers to equality” and to “educate the public on diversity, inclusivity and bias and to promote tolerance and acceptance of all people who choose to reside in or visit Wausau.”
City Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde said the Committee is no longer listed as an entity on the city’s website because the listing of members had expired.
“We just felt that it was best to hide that for the moment, since it was not up to date,” Bernarde told council members.
Alders this week asked Mayor Diny to take the initiative to revamp and “retool” the committee and reach out to community residents to join.
Alder Sarah Watson said disbanding the LFC would be a misstep, though she suggested the group might need a facelift and a refresh.
Alder Gary Gisselman said he wants the mayor to reconstitute the committee and set some agenda to promote the message of tolerance and acceptance of all people. “I think we need more voices on behalf of the City Council to be speaking against some of the intolerance that’s going on,” he said.
A similar group at the county level, the Diversity Affairs Commission, was dissolved shortly after the April 2022 election. At the time, some Marathon County Supervisors said the group was “divisive.”
Alder Michael Martens called the county’s move a disgrace and said the city needs a diversity-promoting body. He said Wausau has a need to create a better and more inclusive community.
“We need that now more than we did five years ago, that’s for sure,” Martens said.
Alder Lisa Rasmussen said the committee somehow went off track despite its good intentions.
“We know that we have a lot of work to do with marginalized communities, and we still have work to do with welcoming and diversity,” she said, though she questioned if this was the right vehicle. Rasmussen said that the revived committee should have clear tasks and know its role.
Alder Tom Neal, who briefly chaired the Mayor’s Welcoming and Inclusivity Committee, said they need to better serve marginalized residents, but those goals have not been reached. He also said that during the debate on diversity a few years ago, people were hung up on labels. The word “equity” became dirty, and the DEI – diversity, equity, and inclusion – became a bad acronym to a lot of people, he said. “When you look at what the words mean, you wonder, how can that be?”
Neal also agreed with Rasmussen that the committee should be well-focused.
The vote to revive was decisive. After the vote, the mayor said he has work to do.
