(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
Kenosha County Executive Samantha Kerkman, who served 22 years in the legislature as a republican, has announced that she removed four conservatives from the County’s Racial Ethnic and Equity Commission. Her appointments gave control of the mostly powerless board to its chairman, conservative attorney Xavier Solis.
Solis was elected as the commission’s chairman in May of this year. Since then, the commission has researched data on disparities amongst education, housing, law enforcement, healthcare and more. They have reviewed county ordinances, policies, and procedures. The opinions expressed by the commission have been extremely unpopular among liberals in Kenosha – in fact there has been a large movement by the Kenosha County Democrat party to lobby Kerkman to remove the conservative members. The members that Kerkman is removing consists of an African-American real estate investor and entrepreneur named Cortney Marshall, a Native-American business owner named Duane O’Keefe, a Mexican-American retired law enforcement officer and minister named Brian Gonzalez, and the commission’s chairman, Mexican-American attorney Xavier Solis.
Kerkman’s plan is to rescind all of her appointments and leave the commission dormant. Doing this, as she must have anticipated has irked both sides of the political divide.
On October 19, 2023 at a regularly scheduled commission meeting, there was a brief conversation between Solis and an activist named Troy Landry. Landry’s supporters claim that Solis called him “boy” during the meeting. Landry didn’t think the word “boy” was said until many days later. Most people don’t hear the word “boy” when they watch the video. Kerkman, however believed that the word was in fact said. Terry Rose, an 81-year-old attorney on the board, also believes that the word was used. An audio expert was hired and at Thursday’s meeting is prepared to give the report refuting the claim that Solis said “Boy.” Kerkman also cited as a reason for her removing the conservatives, the fact that Steffany Caputo live-streamed her county board appearance on Tuesday night. “I get all the blame for everything,” Kerkman said Wednesday. Kerkman was also furious when Solis wore a “Mom’s For Liberty” sweatshirt for one of the meetings. She demanded that Solis didn’t wear the sweatshirt anymore becuase she views the group as a hate-group.
KCE reached out to Kerkman early Wednesday with some tough questions. She instead, however, issued a disingenuous press release that reads in part:
“The current state of the Racial and Ethnic Equity Commission does not align with or fulfill the
mission set out by the County Board. The recent events have further demonstrated how the
commission’s actions have deep impact in our community. Therefore, I am rescinding all of the County Executive appointees to the commission effective immediately, and I encourage the County Board to take the steps needed to disband the commission.”
As Kerkman points out, but glosses over, she does not have the authority to disband the commission. A lawyer KCE spoke with today read the bylaws and concluded that Kerkman’s removal of the four conservatives is not legal. Kerkman asked the universally shunned attorneys at the County’s Corporation Counsel to issue her an opinion that says she has the authority to do so.
Republicans and Democrats Both Are Irked
(Submitted Photo)
Conservative and commissioner Brian Gonzales was upset with today’s news.
“I am disappointed in county leadership . I am disappointed that they did not recognize the lies being told about the conservative minorities that were appointed to the Racial and Ethnic Equity commission. Rather than standing up for what was right they instead capitulated to the lies of the extremist in our community. This type of feckless behavior seems to be endemic in the so called “non partisan right side of the aisle.”
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
Liberal commissioner Andy Berg was equally upset with the news in a statement to KCE. His statement, in part, says:
“By removing all County Executive appointments, and having no intention of appointing new members is disingenuous to the the community as a whole…There are plenty of qualified residents that have applied and were passed over for whatever reasons. Running away from the problems doesnt fix what needs to be fixed.”
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
“Kerkman’s decision is a shot to the gut to all of us on the commission who spent hours trying to better our community. All of our work will now go un-implemented. Kerkman surrendered her values to a group of extremists. The meeting will still take place as scheduled tomorrow. The County Executive has no authority to remove us. We will be meeting at the job center located at 8600 Sheridan Rd. The public, of course welcome to attend. We will go through the agenda as it was set.”
Kenosha County Eye will be present at the meeting.
63 Responses
This group is a waste of time and money any way. Bunch of poor libtards crying on each others shoulders about how unfair life is and accomplishing nothing.
Think this group is a waste of money… They have a position in the human resources department,strictly for racial equality and diversity in the work place. Making about 100k a year.
They probably hired some one based on ethnicity vs qualifications
How do they justify that position what could they possibly be doing to justify a 40 hour work week….?
Hmm, if Berg’s unhappy with it, it’s the right move.
I totally agree . He’s a weasel .
I am sitting with a cocktail looking out at my lake and so glad I moved from Kenosha. Enjoy.
I have watched and listened to the video about 20 times. At no point does Atty. Solis say the word “boy.” This is part and parcel of our society, in that evidence has no weight and people just believe whatever they want, evidence be damned. How does “Don’t come here with your sarcasm, go ahead and speak” turn into “boy”? Absolutely mind-boggling. It’s things like this that turned me from a Bill Clinton Democrat in the 90s to a Republican today — although, the Republican party often disappoints. It’s best to withdraw from this nonsense entirely.
Agreed. I like but don’t always agree with Xavier. That said, I don’t think he’d ever say that.
I listened to the clip many times. I will concede that “Don’t come here with your sarcasm” was not appropriate but I didn’t hear any conclusive evidence that the word “boy” was used. Maybe a forensic examination of the video would offer a more detailed take but the people who do that work have far more compelling cases than this. I also think that the comments portion has become in large measure a political forum rather than a serious and thoughtful outlet for community dialogue and ideas for improvement.
It was extremely irresponsible of Andy Berg to spread this rumor. If you listen to the recording it is clear Solis never said that. Way to try and stoke racial flames while on the committee to help resolve them…
About time Samantha Kerkman is standing up for minorities and Democrats whom she pretends to love behind closed doors!
I agree. He definitely started this and no way does he say the word boy in his statement. An elected official acts like this and spreads rumors. It’s well known berg does not like solis. This is the democratic way tho, start rumors, lie and oust people
i could not hear it either–i slowed the video way down and still could not hear it. I am so sick and tired of Democrats accusing conservatives of what they are already doing. On another note, it seems that Samantha has gone the way of her ex-husband and become a liberal
I totally agree with you Max. Actually those liberal losers are apparently ignoring that Mr. Solis is absolutely incapable to make remarks of racial content.
Even when I have to concede that you are right when you state “withdraw from this nonsense”, on the other hand we shouldn’t be backing off each time they decide to punch us below the belt. We lose our boys, they win. That’s how they always win. Let’s not blame the County Executive this time, let’s remember that unfortunately Ever(s) is still ruling in Madison. It’s him and his red mignons the ones to blame.
It is a pleasure to have you here Mr. Cicchini.
I’m sure berg is estatic! He loves the drama
Troy Landry and his fat troll of a wife are typical left wing nut jobs. They will lie and make a lot of noise and try to snatch up whatever attention they can get. In the end, they will still be poor and angry because they have no real skills or abilities. They will sit in their shitty little shack, wearing their ratty clothes, sucking up government benefits, and bitching about how all of their problems are other peoples fault.
Facts. All night during koerri live stream all he did was promote his wife. Buncha trolls
Pro tip. Landry, berg, barker all supported kusd. Multiple murders of students, and teachers supporting them murderer and also sexual assault teachers. Now they want more support? Fuck them
Hey Joel Trudell–if you want to be an anonymous troll, maybe you should drop the Pro-tip part
Pro tip – get a job you lazy leach.
This commission is almost as useless as Kerkman.
Kenosha News says she disbanded the committee in its entirety. That would seem to me to be the appropriate decision. If the group plans to meet tomorrow anyway, that doesn’t give them any authority. From what I’ve seen in the news for months, only minorities seemed welcome to apply and their agenda always seemed to be to further DEI aka CRT motives, which are discriminatory and thus unconstitutional anyway. And we, as usual, get to contribute our tax dollars to it.
That’s cute that you believe the Kenosha News when they don’t actually report, they just print whatever the mayor or county exec say.
Well cutie it is disbanded. NO meeting last night.
Wrong.
I think the commission has a useful purpose but the county executive’s appointments were not always the best choices. I suspect she felt there was no other option at this point.
A commission such as this needs to have a broad cross-section of the community that engages in respectful, serious dialogue on important issues. Far too many of these panels tend to be like minded people who really don’t consider a bigger picture. By being myopic they become exercises in futility.
Your analysis is incorrect. It WAS a broad cross section, but that was the whole “problem”. They didn’t agree, they didn’t lock step with each other. Those bad minorities didn’t have the opinions they were supposed to have. How dare they think differently. Shut it down.
Completely disbanding the commission is the most conservative response. No point in wasting tax dollars on woke bullcrap like that.
It’s amazing that society has to be so thin skinned. While I cannot say if the word “boy” was said or not, there are worse words that one could use that would be offensive and cause social impact than that. America has become the country where we don’t stand up to BS. Instead of standing up to herion we offer methadone clinics, instead of calling someone a prostitute we say they were trafficked. We allow people to quit their jobs rather than be investigated or referred to authorities. We shouldn’t was our time or tax dollars arguing….just do what the tax payers are paying you to do!
Moron. Nothing you said is real. Instead of standing up to Heroin (correct word) we offer Methadone Clinics (what would you like done? Shoot Heroin? Lock up the users? We have seen how the war on drugs worked. It didn’t, it in fact costs MORE money to incarcerate people than to get them the help they need. Instead of calling someone a prostitute we say they were trafficked…well when they are trafficked we say they were trafficked. When they are sex workers we call them sex workers-the oldest profession. We allow people to quit their jobs rather than be investigated? So the government is going to force people to stay in a job until they investigate someone? What kind of stupid, ignorant idea is that?
It is amazing how thin skinned everyone is. Instead of worrying about what is happening between people’s legs, or in medical offices with medical professionals and a patient/guardian, or in someone’s bedroom, or in their place of worship…worry about YOURSELF. Worry about YOUR life, Worry about YOUR body parts, Worry about your religious beliefs. Try to keep YOUR PERSONAL beliefs to yourself. A person’s EXISTENCE and presentation are not infringing on you or anything about YOU-except your fragility (general not direct).
Christ taught us to be kind to people. To love thy neighbor-why can’t CHRISTIANS act more Christ-like…and I PARTICULARLY mean people who go about spouting being a disciple of Christ who acts nothing Christ-like…
Another bullshit committee with no power she’s not who I voted for..
Did he want to be called a girl?
I hope Samantha Kirkman doesn’t show up at anymore Dairy Breakfasts. That Rino will get an earful from myself and many others west of the i
Bet she is scared of you and worried about your opinion…
That right Samantha has turned Democrat!
Smart move Sammy!
If Samantha and her lawyer heard it then he said it!
Samantha, 30 pieces of silver really isn’t all that much….
The power of suggestion at its finest. Did Landry think he was called “boy”? Nope! Not at the time! When he said “go ahead”, it does sound like “boy” if you are looking for that. But if you are listening for the truth, he actually said, “go ahead”. What will we do to each other with AI? SMH. Get a grip, people. At least you are not being bombed yet! Of course, with “Mao”, I mean “Xi” getting a warm reception in San Francisco yesterday, like he is the leader of this country, I’m not so confident that we are not under attack. I’m sure we will be fighting about something else stupid tomorrow.
Meanwhile…what about all the stuff at KUSD about closing schools??????????? Way more important to Kenosha than this committee.
Probably has nothing to do with the story, which might be why it isn’t being talked about. As for closing schools, have you read the report from Davis demographics? Absolutely we need to close some schools, unless we live in such a wealthy community that we can afford to have all the two of the schools far under capacity. The big question is what would it cost to mothball this schools and leave them sit around and if we decide to get rid of them are we going to be absolutely ridiculously stupid by simply repurposing them them as if they were free, for every cause and weeping wailer who says let’s turn it into a…
If we shut down and older school, it better be sold and end up on the tax rolls, even if we have to simply knock it down and sell the lot. Enough with keeping humans like they were pets, and forcing others to cover the costs. Don’t want to freeze in winter and don’t have a single friend or relative in Kenosha to assist you? We’ve had some absolutely fantastic weather for hitchhiking South, lately.
Whenever people like berg, stef cap, Joel, Landry are involved, they will stop at nothing to lie, troll and have their narrative fit their agenda. Berg was against solis every meeting, even acted like a child on Facebook to make fun of him during Roberts trial. Andy isn’t a leader, role model or a good elected official. Just a wannabe
With an ugly bum toe…
Rather than taking the responsibility that she made a mistake and fix it, she cowered and shut the whole thing down. She just made the whole situation way worse. This is terrible leadership. At least she removed these trump loving racist clowns. The leadership of this commission was taking the city backwards. Humans Rights for Everyone!
Trump !!
Lowest unemployment across all demographics and races. EVER !!
Lowest oil and gasoline prices in decades.
Lowest border crossings in decades.
No wars started on his watch.
Trump Loving ?? You Bet !!!!
Racist ?? Not at all !!
Trump doesn’t see colors !
Trump sees character !
Americans who Love this Country !
And All that it stands for !
Yes. They were trump loving supporters. Supervisor Andy Berg wanted Chairperson Solis removed and the other committee members didn’t listen to him. They always voted no. I was at the meetings. They only had a conservative agenda. I am glad Kerkman finally listened and got rid of them. At least it’s a step in the right direction.
Hopefully the whole thing will be shut down, since it is nothing but a waste of money like most woke jokes. As for whether or not anyone said boy, if you play it backwards you can just make out somebody saying, “Paul is dead.”.
Lol. When people mention berg I laugh. Same guy who says people with trucks and fly flags are racist. Same guy who says if you wear grunt style you’re racist. All while posting I’m a vet, and wearing vet apparel as much as he can. Cmon man. Let’s be real. JOKE
First off, have some respect for our Veterans. “Veteran” should be capitalized. So a Veteran shouldn’t wear Veteran apparel? Do you say the same thing to Vietnam and North Korea Veterans or Veterans of any other conflict? You seem to care a lot for Berg, considering you have all these details.
When this VET claims people who have flags and wear a clothing brand are racist. Yes. He’s a clown
You forgot about that time he defended pedophiles during the discussion about the Sex Offender Registry.
Sam Kerkmsn has been a huge disappointment. She cannot complete a sentence without mumbling. She dresses very unprofessional. She’s trying to be everyone’s friend and little does she realize she doesn’t have any friends. That’s what happens when you’re given the power to fire an employee at any given time . Kerkman nothing in Madison of value except cosponsoring a bill to make the cranberry the state fruit. I hope that everyone who voted for her is now seeing how inapt, unqualified, unprofessional, and quite a disappointment she truly is. Let’s hope the next election cycle in April 2026 she is voted out Kenosha County doesn’t need Sam Kerkman.
Working as County Executive for 4 years I believe over doubled her state pension (I think the state uses her 3 highest years of earnings to determine her benefit). Kerkman has only done government so that is why she is in over her head and good at photo ops.
Yes, plenty of photo ops and lousy at public speaking.
Huge disappointment! I’d rather her ruin Kenosha County than fill a seat in Washington though.
What happened to still having the meeting last night? Only a few people attended, but the doors were locked.
Only, Garcia, WGTD, and Berg were there in the parking lot when I drove by.
Her pockets have been fattened enough. It is time for her to go! No good for Kenosha County and definitely not the city of Kenosha.
Can’t wait to vote that babbling shifty eye Kerkman out of office! No more photo ops on Kenosha County’s dime.
WOW your comments are way off. The VOLUNTEER committee was disolved. The HR ethnic employee is STILL EMPLOYED at $100,000 per year. NO idea what she is doing now but the entire HR department is nearly outsourced at this point and yet Kenosha county still has 9 HR employees on payroll.