The Bloomington City Council has rejected Mayor Kerry Thomson’s veto of its resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Council members unanimously voted to override her veto at a Wednesday night meeting, slightly less than a month after they passed the resolution.
The council took no public comment on the item and held almost no council discussion but heard public commentary for three weeks leading up to the vote on the resolution.
Council members Isabel Piedmont-Smith and Dave Rollo sponsored the resolution. Rollo said resolutions like this are more effective if more communities pass them.
Read more: Community reacts to Bloomington City Council ceasefire resolution
“I think it serves as a conduit to people who are in positions that can make a difference, that are responsible directly,” Rollo said. “We have to hold them accountable, especially when innocent people — particularly children — are suffering and dying.”
Several dozen other U.S. cities have passed ceasefire resolutions. The Bloomington City Council has previously passed resolutions against the Iraq War and the Vietnam War.
Thomson, who took office in January, has said she will veto any council resolution she thinks does not directly relate to city business.
The override came on the seventh day of Gaza solidarity protests on Indiana University’s Dunn Meadow. Indiana State Police arrested 57 people at a campsite set up there after IU administrators banned unauthorized encampments at Dunn Meadow, changing a 55-year-old policy.
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That change came last Wednesday — the day before the protests began.
Although people could not comment directly on the ceasefire resolution last night, they condemned IU’s actions and police intervention.
IU student Chris Moore, who attended the protests, said demonstrators want the council’s solidarity with their movement.
“What we have seen is militarized groups, militarized troopers, come and silence our voices at the university,” Moore said. “We, as students and proud young people, are tired of people online talking about this. We want to see you on the ground.”
Earlier this week, State Police Superintendent Doug Carter confirmed to WFIU News that ISP deployed a “closed sniper position” on the Indiana Memorial Union rooftop to watch for potential violence during the protests.
The council shared an open letter to IU administrators Monday denouncing their actions and demanding the new encampment policy be rescinded.
Thomson issued her own statement saying Bloomington police were not involved in the protest crackdowns. She said she doesn’t support unauthorized encampments and called on “all involved to use the principles of nonviolence.”
In a separate statement, Thomson apologized for using ambiguous language about the need to remain peaceful and clarified she was referring to police using excessive force, not peaceful protesters.
Read more: Encampments cleared near Switchyard and Thomson property
On Tuesday, the council met to discuss possible changes for public comment at its meetings after several people used hateful rhetoric the night the ceasefire resolution passed.
The council condemned the comments that night, but not until late in the meeting. The council said Tuesday it will immediately condemn hateful speech at its meetings from now on.
It will also reduce speakers’ comment time limit to three minutes for items not on the council agenda.
