On October 20, the Shorewood Village Board, passed Resolution 2025-15. This resolution states Shorewood’s support of the US Constitution and the rule of law. It directly states the “No Kings” movement is a confirmation of their opinions and ideas against unconstitutional abuse of power.

The United States government is designed with multiple different checks on power, primarily shown by the power that the three branches of government have on each other. Resolution 2025-15 affirms that Shorewood respects these checks and wishes to see them sustained. 

The resolution says, “WHEREAS, the “No Kings” movement affirms that fidelity to constitutional principles—not loyalty to any one leader—remains the cornerstone of our Republic; and WHEREAS, at times of division and uncertainty, it is vital for citizens and public institutions alike to reaffirm their commitment to the Constitution and to equal application of the law to all persons; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Village of Shorewood rejects any effort—by act or by rhetoric—eroding our constitutional checks and balances, undermining free elections, or elevating any individual above the laws, and call upon of our residents, regardless of political affiliation, to renew their shared commitment to liberty, equality, and justice.”

The “No Kings” movement began in June of 2025, when the group organized the peaceful protest of millions on President Trump’s birthday. According to their website, “His attempt to turn June 14 into a coronation collapsed, and the story became the strength of a movement rising against his authoritarian power grabs” (No Kings).

“No Kings” efforts culminated on October 18 when they led a nationwide protest against the President More than seven million Americans across every state hosted their own “No Kings” protest against President Trump. 

“The No King’s resolution is an affirmation of our values around supporting the Constitution, and a resolution is something that we are able to pass, and it’s non-binding. So it’s not an ordinance,” said Ann McKaig, Village President. “There’s no authority or regulation that comes with it, but its resolutions are a statement of values that you know, they make a public statement to the community and are on record for future boards to refer to.”

Ann Mckaig has been Village President for four years and has been a trustee for twelve. She supported the resolution and worked to put it into place alongside Trustee Matthew McGovern, who was the main author of the resolution. 

“I think people are feeling really powerless around the changes at the federal level that do reflect a lack of listening and awareness of what you know everyday people are dealing with,” Mckaig said. 

McGovern (who has been on the board since 2024)  shared similar ideas, expressing his dissatisfaction with Trump’s lack of regard for constitutional law. 

“There are so many reasons [why we wanted to institute] the resolution. Our framers wanted to set up a government where one person could not just seize all of the power… Trump is just seizing power like a dictator, and just not acting like an American president.”

One of the “No Kings” protests took place in Shorewood near the Oak Leaf Trail bridge on Wilson and Capital. The popularity of anti-Trump displays and opinions is partly what prompted the resolution to be drafted.  

“Some residents asked Trustee McGovern if he would introduce a resolution, because they had…they were aware of other municipal governments doing this, and it’s in response to the consolidation of presidential power that is pretty consistent with this administration, the current administration that we have,” McKaig said.

Although no other villages in the Milwaukee area have instituted similar measures, many other counties or cities around the country have, which McGovern partly based his resolution off of. 

“There’s been a number of [similar measures] around the country, “ McGovern said. “I kind of modeled what we did after the city of Boston and what Bernalillo County in New Mexico did. [The resolution] echoes a tactic that was done in the Revolutionary War, to kind of list all of the abuses of power that the king of England did and how it’s harmful to people living in the US.”

Inspired by those resolutions and positive community input, McGovern was able to pass the resolution on October 20. 

“I drafted a version of the resolutions, and then formally introduced it at a meeting where it was on the agenda and spoke about why I wanted it to pass and then it passed 7-0,” McGovern said. “I did this as a response to members of the community reaching out and saying, ‘Hey what are we going to do?’ And this goes back to when Trump first won, or won his second term. [I thought] ‘What should I be doing to try to stand up against the abuses that are coming out of Washington?’” 

Despite this, the resolution is largely symbolic and creates no actual new laws or regulations. 

“It’s really just more of a symbolic statement,” McGovern said. “One way that autocrats around the world have taken power is they get everybody to fall in line. So they get business leaders to fall in line, they get other members of government to fall in line, or they get universities to fall in line and not criticize the ruler. And we’ve seen that a lot with Trump.”

To McGovern, respecting public office and holding those that don’t accountable is part of being an elected official, and it disappoints him to not see Trump upholding those rules. 

“There’s seven of us on the Village Board,” McGovern said. “We all took an oath to uphold the Constitution when we were sworn in … and I think most of the time we think of that as a formality, but now we’re in a situation where we are seeing our rights being taken away. We are seeing power being seized by somebody who wants to act like a dictator in the White House.”

Community support and aligning himself with his constituents views are the main reason why McGovern brought the resolution forward, especially in terms of anti-Trump ideology.

“This [resolution] was my way of responding to what the community wanted,” McGovern said. “I think we went 82% for Kamala Harris last year. Trump is not super popular here, so that’s why I decided to bring it forward.”

Shorewood residents have noted the pushback against Trump and his administration, including Shorewood resident and parent Christina Katt.

“There’s a lot of talk about Trump,” said Katt. “Even in the [movement’s] name itself: there should be no kings, we’re meant to be a democracy, we don’t want someone to be a tyrant who is just making decisions without the proper authority to do so.”

Despite the resolution’s support for the constitution in regards to limits on power, McKaig believes that the document still has room to be improved — mainly in terms of improving inclusivity. 

“I also acknowledge its imperfections and historically that it didn’t represent rights for everyone, and so it’s a good opportunity to say, not only should we uphold the Constitution, we should improve it,” McKaig said. “Continue to improve it to be more fair and just for everyone.”

During Trump’s past term, the board has introduced other legislation similar to Resolution 2025-15. In 2018 the passed Resolution 2018-06: “Resolution in the opposition of the practice of conversion therapy,” this was passed under Allison Rozek, the Village President at the time. A year earlier, they also passed Resolution 2017-08, which essentially defined Shorewood as a sanctuary city for immigrants and stated the village’s refusal to aid ICE with their seizures.

The resolution stated, “BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Village of Shorewood and its elected and non-elected officials shall fulfill and comply with their legal duties under applicable Immigration and Customs Enforcement law, but shall not carry out the work of, Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Patrol as the primary agencies for immigration enforcement.”