OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — The hunt for Ottawa County's next County Administrator continues. FOX 17 has learned that the Board of Commissioners is considering a shortlist of four candidates for the interim position.
The board looks to appoint an interim on Tuesday morning.
Commissioner Doug Zylstra shared on X that the candidates are:
- Ben Wetmore
- Paul Sachs
- Karen Karasinski
- Jon Anderson
Three of the candidates are currently employed with Ottawa County. One is running to be the next Ottawa County Sheriff.
Wetmore is Ottawa County's Deputy Administrator and has been in the role since November.
According to Sachs's LinkedIn, he has been with the county for 22 years, but a large chunk of his time has been spent as the Director of Strategic Impact.
Karasinski became the county's Finance Director back in 2013, according to her LinkedIn page.
Anderson is running to be the county's next Sheriff. He owns Bullet Hole Firearms and Training in Holland.
Chairperson Joe Moss, founder of Ottawa Impact, shared in a statement on Facebook why he believes Anderson is the right fit for the job.
"Jon had a 30-year career in law enforcement, including 10 years in administrative leadership," Moss wrote. "He has also served in an interim role with Spectrum Health as Manager of Security and Police Operations for their entire organization."
Vice-Chair Sylvia Rhodea and fellow Ottawa Impact founder agreed with Moss and the need to appoint Anderson to the position.
Zylstra disagrees with the chairperson's suggestion, and believes Karasinski should fill the interim position.
"Having reviewed Mr. Anderson's qualifications, I do not believe he would be the best fit, and will be encouraging my colleagues to consider appointing Karen Karasinski as Interim County Administrator," Zylstra wrote on X.
More than a week ago, the county board voted 10-1 to fire John Gibbs as county administrator after more than a year on the job. The move comes after serious allegations emerged against the county leader. Gibbs has denied many of the claims brought up against him.
Gibbs was hired on by a majority of the board when Moss and several Ottawa Impact commissioners were sworn in on January 3, 2023.
Moss says the board plans to take a different approach this time.
"The Board will develop a robust search process for a permanent county administrator. I'd like to thank Commissioner Bergman for explaining the process that was used in the past. I will propose a similar process and search committee to find a permanent county administrator, and I agree that it could take several months to complete a full search," Moss wrote in his statement.
The meeting on appointing the interim county administrator is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m.
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