OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — Two years ago voters in Ottawa County dramatically changed the makeup of the Board of Commissioners, with a majority of the seats going to candidates back by the group named Ottawa Impact. Since 2023, the board has taken a number of actions that have drawn criticism from inside and outside the county. Now voters will decide who can run for four-year terms on the Board of Commissioners. With more than 30 people in the running, many sitting commissioners face challengers in the August 2024 primary election.
We are conducting profiles of each candidate based on the seat they are running for. FOX 17 reached out to the candidates months before Election Day to set up time to ask them a series of the same questions. You can read their answers and watch the full interviews with the candidates in the article below.
District 10 represents several areas, including the city of Ferrysburg, the city of Grand Haven, and areas in Spring Lake Township. The current commissioner, Roger Bergman, isn't seeking reelection.
This is one of the largest races for county commissioner, with four candidates. Two people are vying for the Republican and Democratic tickets.
Jason Koert (R) is a member of Ottawa Impact and will face off against Josh Brugger (R) in this primary election. Douglas VanBennekom (D) is running against Oliver Shampine (D) in this primary election.
(R) Josh Brugger
Why are you running?
I am running to bring sanity back to Ottawa County government. What has been going on with Ottawa Impact at the county level has been all about the county commissioners. We need to bring it back to focus on the people of Ottawa County that we are in place to serve and elected to serve.
What are your priorities?
I hope that in the first 100 days, we will put out a search for a new Ottawa County administrator; we'll put out a search for a new legal team that actually understands municipal law. Then we'll work to rebuild relationships with the county staff and with the community as a whole. Ottawa County is a great place to live, a great place to work, a great place to raise a family, and right now are in the news media for everything but that. I look forward to getting us back to where we were.
Tell me about you personally?
I'm a family guy. My wife and I have two boys: Caden and Caleb. Caden is graduating from the Grand Haven High School, actually just did [and] getting ready to go to the University of Oregon. Our younger son, Caleb, likes to play soccer, plays on a travel team around West Michigan, and is just a great kid. Our passions are community; we've been plugged in with the Grand Haven community for years. I was elected to serve on the city council for four years. Before that, I was on our Planning Commission, our ZBA, our Human Relations Commission, just really believe in community service. And that's been one of my passions my entire life.
Why should people vote for you?
I have experience. I think experience is one of the key factors in this election. If you look at the makeup of the current Board of County Commissioners, not only is a flawed ideology in play but a complete lack of experience and what it actually takes to run county government. I have nearly two decades of experience when it comes to working with the city of Grand Haven, various boards and commissions [and] nonprofits; I've been on the Salvation Army Board of Directors for 12 years as a chairman. I'm involved at the county level with economic development and brownfield restoration.
What are your thoughts for the past year and a half to two years when it comes to how the Ottawa County government has been run?
Last two years, I've been embarrassed to be from Ottawa County. We are in the news locally, statewide and nationally for dysfunction in the community. I think the headline was that it's gone to war with itself. We're better than this. We absolutely are better than this. I've watched our community fall apart with a polarizing ideology that has been running things at the county level. And it's... we just need to get back to the middle. We need to get back to, for me personally, right of center, but we need to return to some normalcy in our county.
(R) Jason Koert
Why are you running?
I saw a need. You've seen what has been going on in the county. Obviously, you've been covering this and the turmoil, what has been said, what has been done, and the results. I've liked a lot of the results that are going on with a certain group. So therefore, knowing that people are going to be running that might not align with that success, I wanted to jump in and help with that success.
What are your priorities?
Priorities are to get to more functionality. They've been very transparent; I want to be as transparent or more, especially with the sheriff's department; what they're doing with the body cams and stuff, really get their people supported, get their needs met. We've got the Parks Department; that has been awesome. We'd like to keep that going. Also some financial responsibility with anything that is not helping the county and community, and that's a cost.
Tell me about you personally?
The gym. So despite the little extra, I do love the gym, pretty much gym, church, family things, going to the baseball games with my son. Last five, six summers I've been with my daughter's travel lacrosse [team]. So usually, I wouldn't be here from Friday to Sunday; I'd be on a field in Indiana, Chicago, somewhere cheering her or cheering her team on, so that is pretty much life and outdoors.
Why should people vote for you?
I like to listen to both sides. So, like, to hear truth, honesty; I like to hear what people have to say even [when] we have opposing views. Even as a Christian, I would love to hear the views of an atheist. I want to have them all have a voice and be the voice for them. So I don't want them to say "I'm on this team or that team." I want to be their team and do the best job I can for them.
What are your thoughts for the past year and a half to two years when it comes to how the Ottawa County government has been run?
What Joe Moss and Sylvia Rhodea have done with pushing forward agendas, that didn't get the attention I believe they needed. And seeing now the body cams go on and seeing departments being held accountable for fiscal responsibility. I love seeing that because it's stirring the pot, and it's making people be aware of what's going on in our county. We're getting people like me that are willing to step up and try to help.
(D) Douglas VanBennekom
Why are you running?
I think that the current majority on the Ottawa County Commission hasn't been doing enough for the people of Ottawa County. I think that there's a lot more that we could be doing to serve the people. I think there's a lot of important issues that have sort of fallen by the wayside as sort of the current majority on the commission is focused on a lot of their own, like, pet issues.
What are your priorities?
My priorities would be working on affordable housing. I think that's a major thing that's affecting Ottawa County right now. I think that the cost of housing is making it hard for families to afford to move here, which I think has an effect on business, like the attractiveness of Ottawa County for businesses to move in. ... Another major issue is all the costs that the counties had from the lawsuits and other and firing people. … I think a lot of these costs could have been avoided. I think [it's] unfair to the taxpayers to expect them to pay so much money on things that, in my opinion, were not necessary. Then the third thing is I'd like to try to bring a bipartisan shift back to Ottawa County.
Tell me about you personally?
I live here in Grand Haven. So, I like to go to the beach. I like to walk around to sort of, like, downtown and stuff. There's a lot of really nice places just to sort of, like, walk around and exercise. I really enjoy to read, especially when it's nice outside. I like to read outside.
Why should people vote for you?
I think I bring a unique voice to the people of Ottawa County. Most of the members of the commission are business owners or sort of people for professional jobs. I come from a more working-class background. I worked at Meijer over here over in Grand Haven. I'm a member of a union, which is... I think that really there's a lot of people who have that sort of working-class background, really; their viewpoints aren't represented on the committee, on the commission.
What are your thoughts for the past year and a half to two years when it comes to how the Ottawa County government has been run?
I think unfortunately, the sort of new commission has not lived up to their promises. They promised to sort of create a better, more responsive commission because their whole argument was that the current commission was out of touch and wasn't doing what the people thought it wanted. I don't really feel that the new commission has fixed that issue.
(D) Oliver Shampine
Why are you running?
I'm running because there was a group of people known as Ottawa Impact. They took a, in my way, I say, takeover of our county commission. Through that takeover, they have wasted our essential taxpayer dollars and sent our hard-working employees out either through firing or their own choice of wanting to get out of here. They brought a lot of bad publicity to Ottawa County. … They've made it so clear that they do not care about a majority of the people here in Ottawa County, whether that be younger people or whether that be people that just have different opinions of any sort. I felt compelled to bring a different perspective that honestly isn't heard that often in politics here or anywhere.
What are your priorities?
I've five priorities. So my first priority is called renewal and restoration. ... I named them my pillars. My first pillar is renewal and restoration. That is simply renewing and restoring what Ottawa Impact has done to our commissioners' place. … Then I'd also really want to focus on our mental health services. I think it's important that we recognize that mental health is a thing, that we should foster greater communities that actually respect mental health, and that we continue to have just greater investment that I'd even like to see greater. I know right now, there's one employee that goes with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office and rides with them as an extra mental health worker; I'd like to see that grown even greater. … I want to have fair housing. Ottawa County is one of my favorite places to ever have been; I've grown up my entire life [here]. I'd like to be able to stay here. There's a lot of younger people that actually do want that, but it is not an affordable place to live at this moment. … Alongside that, some people also don't have access to transportation. And being in a secluded area as Ottawa County can be, I would like to see investment into greater transportation. Eventually I'd like to say that Ottawa County is connected to Muskegon County, and to Holland, and I'm [connected] to Kent County. … I want to ensure that farmers also move towards more sustainable practices. That doesn't mean I want them to stop farming or use up their land or sell it. I want to ensure though that with the land that they have, if they have land that isn't marginally very good for their farming business, that they could reasonably change that to sustainable energy options like solar panels, which in the end can be great for them because they can actually sell that for a profit.
Tell me about you personally?
I have been a resident of Grand Haven my entire life. I currently attend Grand Valley State University after I graduated from Grand Haven High School as the class president. I'm studying public administration [and] sociology. I have been invested in politics for probably the past five to six years; I have volunteered on over a dozen political campaigns, mostly knocking on doors. … I've interned for the city managers and city planners of Grand Haven. I've also interned for a Lansing representative for three months.
Why should people vote for you?
I almost struggle to say, like, "vote for me." I like to tell people to consider me because I don't like to just tell people what to do. I think people will; most people are very reasonable and can make their own decisions. But I want people to consider me because I'm a younger person, and that might come with its lack of experience or wisdom. I do find myself a very experienced person, as I've mentioned what I have done before, and I do find myself a wise person.
What are your thoughts for the past year and a half to two years when it comes to how the Ottawa County government has been run?
It's honestly been frustrating to me. I have lived in Grand Haven most [of my] life. So I've attended a lot of their city council meetings. I've seen how they run things. They run things even when they disagree. They sometimes wildly disagree, but they run things with respect. That's what it comes down to. …They threw the county administrator away on the first week; they threw the county lawyer away. It's disrespectful; these people have built careers, [and] they have decades of experience. And people just throw it away like it's nothing. To me, what I've seen is just a lack of respect. … Sometimes, it's nice to have someone that disagrees with you a little bit because that's what a healthy democracy is.
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