Chelsea Bossert/Daily Mining Gazette A large crowd showed up at Tuesday's Houghton County Board of Commissioners Meeting. Many showed up to address the controversy surrounding a float in the recent Traprock Valley Fourth of July Parade.

HOUGHTON — Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Houghton County Board of Commissioners drew an animated crowd. Many came not to discuss items on the agenda but District 2 Commissioner Joel Keranen. Public comment was split between those calling for his resignation and those showing support. The two-hour public comment period contained more than 40 statements from residents both in-person and watching via Zoom.

Keranen has recently come under fire on social media regarding a controversial float in the Traprock Valley Fourth of July parade, where he was attributed as the parade’s Marshall. In a prepared statement, Keranen spoke about the history of the Traprock Valley Parade and its guidelines. He said the parade does not allow any commercial advertisement or political campaigning. He said its history has been filled with political satire and free expression.

“I did not build this float, nor did I have anything to do with it. However, some have determined that because I did not ban the float from the parade, this means that I am a white supremacist,” Keranen said. “The purpose of the parade is to celebrate freedom and liberty. So I am not going to ban a float when freedom of speech is one of the core freedoms that is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”

Around half the public comment came from those calling for Keranen’s resignation from the board. Hailey Macias said what was shown at the parade was not satire and was insensitive to those of hispanic descent. “Political satire is one thing, but this float was just racist,” she said.

Several supporters of Keranen spoke up during public comment. Yvonne Ollivier from Calumet said she supports Keranen and his right to freedom of expression. “I’m in support of a commissioner who supports the First Amendment,” she said. “I believe in America and freedom.”

Keranen said the social media and in-person pressure towards him to resign was a targeted effort by his political opposition. He specifically called out the creators of a flyer calling for his resignation. “But let’s be honest. This isn’t about a float. What this is about is a world view. It goes back to my stance on gender. This is clearly evident by the flyer that the non-partisan Keweenaw Indivisible group shared over social media calling for me to resign,” he said. “The group incorrectly, and frankly irresponsibly, defined a simple Fourth of July parade as an event that glorified ICE and white supremacy. That statement was completely false.”

Keranen played a profanity-laced voicemail off of his phone for those in attendance to hear. He said he had received numerous calls and complaints lambasting him for the controversial float and his beliefs. “People here today calling for my resignation do not want my world view in Washington D.C., Lansing, or Houghton County,” he said. “That is why I’m being called all kinds of nasty, mean spirited, profanity laced names, and am facing threats and character assassination. This is what the extreme left does. It’s pretty much the only play in their playbook.”

Keranen’s sister Gail Ongie said she supports for her brother amidst the controversy. “I totally support my brother. We are not racists,” she said. “Be tolerant of each other — it goes both ways.

District 2 resident Solana Skubick, called for Keranen’s resignation and said she disagrees with his supporter’s claims of suppressing speech. “You are entitled to your own opinions and ideals, but your constituents are entitled to react,” she said.

19 residents spoke in support of Keranen, 19 against him and three did not have a solid position. Some heated comments led to several interruptions which Chairman Tom Tikkanen had to control. One person was removed from the meeting after interrupting other speakers and continuing give comment after his three-minute time limit was up.

Up North Advocacy Organizer Lexi Tater said she designed the flyer and encouraged concerned residents to let Keranen know how they feel. Richard Canavez from Keweenaw Indivisible, and Heather Mroz, called for Keranen’s resignation. “His [Keranen’s] First Amendment rights should not prevent the community from speaking out,” Canavez said. “This county deserves professional conduct.”

The majority of those attending the meeting were supportive of Keranen’s stance — often applauding him and his supporters. Although not every supporter spoke, they occupied one side of the meeting and were there early to show support.

Krissy Tepsa said the whole situation has been blown out of proportion. “This nonsense over a parade float is ridiculous,” she said. “I support Joel 100% and I support people that support Joel 100%.” Keranen said he is grateful to those who showed up to defend him.

“The intolerance and hateful rhetoric is coming from the extreme left — not from me. I will not allow my character to be smeared by my political opposition, and by people who have never even spoken to me or spent any time with me,” he said. “I will trust the people who know me or have worked with me to judge my character.”

Keranen told Tikkanen he will not be resigning from the board. He said she has made the full statement available on his Facebook page.