ZEELAND, Mich. — Ottawa County Commissioner Jacob Bonnema has left the Ottawa Impact Political Action Committee (PAC).
“In 2022, I ran to serve the people of the City of Zeeland, Zeeland Township, and Holland Township. I ran on the values of government transparency and accountability and respect for parental rights. At the time, these same values appeared to be aligned with the Ottawa Impact PAC,” says Bonnema. “Unfortunately, some of the PAC’s leaders, who now lead the County Commission, have not acted in strict accordance with some of these values.”
Friends of Jacob Bonnema, his campaign, will act independently from Ottawa Impact in support of conservative values, Bonnema says.
“I will continue to act in accordance with the values that make our county the best place to live, work and start a business. That means making every decision in full view of the voters who put me here,” adds Bonnema. “I am accountable to them in every decision I make as County Commissioner, even if it upsets some members of my political party.”
Ottawa Impact originally backed nine of the board's eleven members and has been the center of controversyafter county commissioners made a series of sudden and significant back in January.
At the meeting, which was the first for most of the Ottawa Impact-backed candidates, commissioners ousted the county administrator and hired John Gibbs, a former Republican congressional candidate. Commissioners also voted to demote the county's top health officer, Adeline Hambley, and dropped the county's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office.
READ: Civil lawsuit filed against Ottawa Impact-backed commissioners
