OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — After the abrupt firing and replacement of Ottawa County’s administrator on Tuesday, some commissioners who voted down the change say they felt blindsided by the surprise motion and were even told it wouldn’t be brought forth during that meeting.
Rebekah Curran, a Republican commissioner affiliated with the conservative group Ottawa Impact, voted ‘no’ on Tuesday, noting she was told by fellow commissioner and Ottawa Impact co-founder Joe Moss that the vote to replace John Shay with failed congressional candidate John Gibbs would not take place.
But almost immediately after the swearing in of eight new commissioners – including Moss, Curran, and six other people associated with Ottawa Impact – several of the commissioners added the change to the agenda and voted for its passage.
In a 6-3 vote, Gibbs was immediately installed as the county administrator, taking the place of John Shay who served in that position since 2021. Curran, Republican commissioner Roger Bergman, and the sole Democratic commissioner Doug Zylstra all voted no.
FOX17 caught John Gibbs coming out of the Ottawa County Filmore Complex on Wednesday. He acknowledged it was his first full day on the job and that “95% of things won’t change.”
He declined to acknowledge that he had met with commissioners prior to Tuesday’s meeting or had knowledge he would be installed as county administrator, despite being present at Tuesday’s meeting. He only said it was a “surprise” and that the “timing was right” for him to assume the job.
“Absolutely not,” Curran responded on Wednesday, when asked if she had knowledge that six Ottawa Impact commissioners would bring a vote to replace Shay with Gibbs. “It was brought to my attention that there might be a possibility of legal counsel and the administrator being dismissed. I reached out to Joe Moss and I personally asked him if that was the case, and in essence, I was told no.”
“When I went to him during the recess and said, ‘hey Joe, you lied to me,’ he said, ‘oh no, I skirted the question,’” Curran continued. “And I’m like well, that’s deception.”
Constituents and some commissioners took issue with the fact that the decision was seemingly predetermined by the six commissioners who voted ‘yes.’ On Wednesday, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced an investigation into the decision – which was abrupt and did not include input from residents.
Curran suspects the six commissioners met beforehand, off the record, to determine how to oust Shay.
“I was not privy to any of that so I would assume that there was, but again, that would be an assumption,” said Curran. “I mean, you can tell by the way things unfolded that it was coordinated and decisions were made ahead of time.”
“It was very well thought out, very well planned, and it was not taken to the community,” she went on.
However, Curran, who has consulted with an attorney since the meeting, said she doesn’t believe any meetings prior to Tuesday’s controversial commission session to be a violation of the Open Meetings Act, which requires “public entities to provide public notice of, access to, and an option for participation in meetings of a public body where discussion of, and decisions in matters affecting public policy are accomplished.”
“From what I understand until you’re sworn in, you’re not subject to the Open Meetings Act,” said Curran. “Now is it the most ethical thing to do? Probably not. But technically it doesn’t apply to them.”
The board also voted to make several other consequential changes at Tuesday’s meeting, including the changing of the county motto from “Where You Belong” to “Where Freedom Rings,” as well as the replacement of the county’s health director, legal counsel, and the dismantling of the county’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office. Curran voted for the last two, but argues, those were promises she made even before taking office.
“While I still disagree with how it was done, I made that commitment. I don’t agree with how we did it, but I kept my commitment and that’s why I voted yes on those other votes,” she said. “Now with the John Shay vote, that was something that I was specifically lied to about. That was different. I felt very comfortable voting ‘no’ on that.”
The DEI Office was initially established with private and corporate donations, then was kept running by government funding. Curran said the companies who donated to found the office, despite it only being around for a short time, will not get their money back. A motion was made by Zylstra on Tuesday to return the funds, but was not seconded by any Republican commissioners.
“That money's already been spent and they did invest in [the office] and sometimes you make investments that work and sometimes you make investments that don’t work,” said Curran. “Do I think it would’ve been a nice gesture? Sure. However, if the money was spent, the money is spent. Then we’re taking money away from the people of Ottawa County to give it back to them.”
Curran is still committed to the conservative values deeply held by Ottawa Impact and its officeholders, but hopes in the future, the Ottawa County Commission will be more in unison – and more transparent – with the way they go about county business.
“I am all about making change,” she said. “I am conservative through and through, there’s no doubt in my mine. But how we do things is as important as what we do.”
