OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — Two years ago voters in Ottawa County dramatically changed the makeup of the Board of Commissioners, with a majority of the seats going to candidates back by the group named Ottawa Impact. Since 2023, the board has taken a number of actions that have drawn criticism from inside and outside the county. Now voters will decide who can run for 4-year terms on the Board of Commissioners. With over 30 people in the running, many sitting commissioners face a challenger in the August 2024 Primary Election.
We are conducting profiles of each candidate based on the seat they are running for. FOX 17 reached out to the candidates months before election day to set up time to ask them a series of the same questions. You can read their answers and watch the full interviews with the candidates in the article below.
District 1 represents areas north of Holland, including Port Sheldon and Olive townships along with parts of Park Township. Gretchen Cosby (R), who is also backed by Ottawa Impact, is the current commissioner for the district. She faces fellow Republican Jim Barry in the August Primary. Democrat Danielle Smith is running unopposed.
(R) Incumbent Gretchen Cosby
Denied our request for an interview.
(R) Jim Barry
Why are you running?
I'm running for county commissioner because in the past couple of years, we've lost confidence in what's happening with governance issues in Ottawa County. [I'm] concerned about fiscal responsibility, transparency, and just felt my life experience, I might be able to help fix some of that. And that's why I decided to enter the race.
What are your priorities?
Number one priority I have is that we need to get the county back to standard business practices. With the way hiring is done, procurement is done, involving human resource department and a lot of the decisions that go on, just the transparency of good governance has been missing, and we need to reestablish that, and that'll help generate confidence among employees at the county and with citizens in the county. Just the transparency of good governance has been messy, and we need to reestablish that and that'll help generate confidence among employees at the county and with citizens in the county.
Tell me about you personally?
[I] grew up in Holland-Zeeland, area; graduated from Zeeland High School; I've got my bachelor's degree from Grand Valley. Careers took me out of state for a while, but I've spent vast majority of my life here in Ottawa County. I'm married to Liza Berry; we've been together 17 years. And between the two of us we've got four adult kids, two grandchildren. I like being involved with family; we're active with our church. We like going and seeing live music. There's a million great venues around West Michigan, and I'm a season ticket holder for Grand Valley football.
Why should people vote for you?
Well, I'm running to bring stability and transparency and commitment to good governance issues. I think we've got leadership on the county board right now. It is more ideologically driven than competency driven. And traditionally, county government has been frankly a little bit boring. Maybe it needs to stay that way because we're talking about public safety, public health, parks, things that really mattered to the quality of life in Ottawa County.
What are your thoughts for the past year and a half to two years when it comes to how the Ottawa County government has been run?
I’ve gone around the district and done hundreds of doors now. I find that people might not be familiar with all the specifics of what's gone on. But if you just ask them: Are you aware of the kind of chaos or the lawsuits that have been gone on around the county? People are familiar with that. One person even said to me, 'Yeah, county government seems to be in the news.' And it didn't used to be; I'm not sure I like that. I think that's the feeling that's out there that even if people don't know all the specifics, it just seems like there's been more drama than is necessary in well-run county government.
(D) Danielle Smith
Why are you running?
This is actually my second time running for this seat. The first time around, honestly, it was that I wanted to force myself to get more involved with the county, and just get more involved in general with politics. It's been a passion of mine over the years, but I've reached a point where I've got some more time and I can draw on some of my past experiences to contribute to politics. I also wanted to teach my girls how to use their voice, and get more people around me involved in our community. After the primary last time around, it became clear that there was a real threat of OI. That threat has turned into a reality with our county moving backwards. And that is why I'm running this time around.
What are your priorities?
I have three major priorities. The first is, it's good governance, both fiscally and ethically. I also care about health services and reinvesting in health services. Finally, I want to work to restore [the] county's reputation.
Tell me about you personally?
My husband and I were drawn to West Michigan; we wanted to live near the lake. We've been here for now about 15 years, and it's been an awesome place to raise a family. We love being outside. We spend a lot of time hiking, a lot of time at the parks; we've also become cycling routes for cyclists now. So we spend a lot of time within the community with friends riding our bikes.
Why should people vote for you?
I think people should vote for me because, I mean, there are several reasons. I think I have a lot that I can add to the commission. I think previously, when I ran, I felt that the board could ... the board would benefit from a different perspective as a business leader in West Michigan: a mom raising two teenagers here. At this point, I feel like there are other things that I can bring to the table. I've had a lot of experience over the years helping to break down workforce barriers. I think that's one of the biggest challenges facing our county today. I have a lot of knowledge and experience working across organizations to try to attract talent and make sure that they can get to work.
What are your thoughts for the past year and half to two years when it comes to how Ottawa County's government has been run?
When I ran the first time around, it was not because we didn't have a well-run commission. In fact, I had the opportunity to work with the commission, representing my employer. I ran because I was interested in getting involved. I felt that I could provide a diverse perspective. Over the last two years, we have moved backwards as a county; we're seeing depletion in our reserves, our triple-A rating at risk; we're seeing a negative impact to our reputation, which is going to impact our ability to attract and retain people here. We're seeing a lot of inefficiency and lack of focus on areas of the county truly impacts. ... It's a shame that we're hearing about lawsuits. I mean, we've got five-plus lawsuits underway. Right now, we're talking about non-binding resolutions in the press, right, when the real issues facing our county are things like affordable housing, access to child care... We've got a major issue with with our water reserves and our aquifer, and those are not things that you're seeing in the news. Those are things that we need to be paying attention to and focusing on as a county.
America Votes
2024 August Primary Ballot Guide
Find all of your election news in FOX 17's America Votes section
Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube
