OLIVE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners picked a sheriff candidate, who also owns a local firearm store, to run the county's day-to-day operations during the search for a permanent hire.
Jon Anderson was selected to serve as Interim Administrator on Tuesday, March 12.
Anderson owns Bullet Hole Firearms and Training in Holland, and is also campaigning for Ottawa County Sheriff this November.
"I will make sure if there's any campaigns is done off the clock," Anderson explained.
Commissioners voted 5-4 to appoint Anderson. Chairperson Joe Moss publicly supported Anderson for the interim role. Despite the Ottawa Impact founder's announced preference, two commissioners who are part of Ottawa Impact voted against Anderson's appointment.
"I have a lot of budgeting and fiscal skills, believe it or not, but when you focus on the people, I'm hoping that it's done well for me in the past, and do well here," Anderson said.
Jon Anderson has been appointed to the interim position. The vote was 5-4, with 4 going to the current finance director. Ottawa Impact Commissioner Gretchen Cosby and Lucy Ebel voted against Anderson's appointment.
— Matt Witkos Reporter (@matt_witkos) March 12, 2024
Gretchen Cosby and Lucy Ebel joined non-Ottawa Impact commissioners Doug Zylstra and Rebekah Curran in supporting Karen Karasinski, the current Finance Director for Ottawa County.
"I think she's in a unique situation where she has the departmental resources take on this role as the current financial and organizational knowledge of Ottawa County," Commissioner Doug Zylstra said.
Commissioner Jacob Bonnema and Roger Bergman both explained to FOX17 that they had prior commitments so they weren't able to attend the meeting.
FOX17 is learning that Anderson's business did provide support to an Ottawa County GOP fundraiser last year.
"My business partner is a co-owner; he is involved with a lot of one Republican Party. And he brought that to my attention. I had an objection to that," Anderson told FOX17
The decision to appoint Anderson had been expected since late last week. A couple of members of Ottawa Impact posted on social media, calling Anderson the right fit for the job.
Anderson's experience includes 30 years in law enforcement, mostly in California. He also has prior experience managing security at Spectrum Health and the Detroit Tigers.
"Mr. Anderson had done was quite diverse. And his job required him to work with a lot of different departments and work within a large county. And so we're, we're hoping to leverage all of that experience and his very excellent recommendations and serve the people of Ottawa," Chairperson Joe Moss said.
The chair also explained that, at this moment, it's unclear how much the interim county administrator will be paid.
"We'll be looking to HR for recommendations and suggestions on that. And then also have the committee review anything that is recommended," Moss added.
Anderson says he doesn't plan on seeking to be a permanent county administrator.
Moss says they plan to follow the previous board's experience in creating a search committee to find a permanent replacement. He added that it could take several months.
Commissioners needed to fill the position after firing John Gibbs on February 29.
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