OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — In the public’s first chance to sound off on controversial decisions made at a January 3rd meeting of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners, about three dozen speakers took the podium on Tuesday, offering everything from harsh criticism to staunch support.
Earlier this month, at their first meeting of the year, six conservative commissioners – all affiliated with the far-right political organization Ottawa Impact – voted to oust the county administrator. John Shay, who took over the role in 2021.
The commissioners voted to replace Shay with John Gibbs, who ran a failed bid in November for the state’s 3rd congressional district.
The decision came with no warning, shocking even some commissioners, including two that were also affiliated with Ottawa Impact.
READ: GOP Ottawa County Commissioner on Gibbs vote: "That's deception"
At that same meeting, the same faction of six Republicans also voted to dismantle the fairly new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office. They also voted to replace the county’s legal counsel and health officer and to change the county's motto from “Where You Belong” to “Where Freedom Rings.”
Because there appeared to be coordination before the meeting in deciding who to oust and who to hire, the meeting has now drawn an review from the Michigan Attorney General’s office to see if any provisions in the state’s Open Meetings Act were violated. The act requires all public business to be done on the record.
On Tuesday, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners met for the first time since the shake-up— and the second time this year.
At the meeting, Gibbs took his seat in the county administrator’s chair and sat through his first official meeting in the role.
Public comment lasted for nearly two hours at the beginning of the meeting.
“I fully support the appointment of John Gibbs,” said one commenter enthusiastically.
“I’m here today to thank you for standing up for the citizens off Ottawa County and following through with your campaign promises,” said another.
But there was plenty of opposition to the recent decisions as well. An entire overflow room played the meeting on a massive screen where a room full of constituents booed and cheered audibly.
“Why was it done behind closed doors?” asked one man.
“I don’t know why, but there were a lot of decisions that were made before the board meeting and I don’t think that’s how it should be handled,” said another.
Others took specific issue with the abolition of the county’s DEI Office. Susan Pickings, a resident of Grand Haven, said she felt “gutted” by the office’s closing, and held up a picture of her husband – who is Black – to county commissioners and told them how he was constantly afraid of law enforcement.
“If my husband felt safe, where there was no need to call me, then I would say this is a community where you can wave your banner, "Where Freedom Rings." But it isn’t safe and it doesn’t feel safe,” she said. “Bring [the office] back. We need to educate the community and future generations of Ottawa County about bias and prejudice so we can dismantle racism and create an inclusive community.”
There were even some in attendance who supported the Ottawa Impact candidates, but were skeptical of the methods they used to replace top-level county officials.
“There still has to be transparency and a discussion with everyone,” said Linda Ford, who noted she was in support of the board’s conservative members. “I just think that they were rushing into things and they weren’t being fully transparent.”
“I really think they need to take a deep breath, slow down a little bit,” she continued. “Yes, changes are coming, people are going to fight them no matter what, but just take a deep breath, slow down a little bit, think it through, and make sure again that things are on that public agenda and that people know.”
The board eventually approved a contract for Kallman Legal Group, a conservative firm based in Lansing, on a basis of $225/hour. A motion to keep Kallman on as the interim counsel through February while a bidding process was conducted failed 6-5, and the contract was approved.
MORE COVERAGE: Ottawa County Board's swift changes costing taxpayers big bucks
Stay with FOX 17 for updates on this developing story.
