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 backed 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 3 represents the city of Holland. Doug Zylstra (D) is the current commissioner for the district. He is running unopposed. Orlando Estrada (R) is running unopposed. Both will automatically move on to the general election this November.
(D) Incumbent Doug Zylstra
Why are you running?
I think we've done some good things over the last five and a half years since I've been on the board. One of the first things I worked on when I was first elected was the Housing Commission. I think we did a great job getting started; we had a $10 million contribution to the housing fund. I want to see us amplify that work, make sure we're continuing to develop that investment and make sure that we're developing housing opportunities throughout the county.
What are your priorities?
Well, again, housing opportunities throughout the county. I think everyone is aware that we are a growing county. We need to have housing opportunities for everyone, whether it's workforce, housing, disabled housing, senior housing, across the board, right? Whether you're looking to, you know, rent or own a home, we just need to keep working on that. ... So that's number one, and making sure we continue to provide high-quality services. I think the hallmark of Ottawa County, long before I've been here, is high-quality services and making sure that taxpayers can count on high-quality services and not have to, you know, pay an arm and a leg for that.
Tell me about you personally?
I'm small business owner for the last 25 years. Clothing, mainly. I have two kids who live in Holland, obviously. My youngest is a sophomore at Black River. He is involved in track and cross country. He is on the autism spectrum, so we spend a lot of time with him. Whether it's in school activities, extracurricular and making sure that he has the opportunities to be the best student and being the best athlete.
Why should people vote for you?
I think I have a strong track record. I've been commissioner for the city of Holland for the past five and a half years. People have seen the work that I've done, and they can judge based on the work that I've done. Since I've been on the board, I compile meeting notes for every meeting. In any key votes, I put my rationale for voting so folks can see. … I think I've been a transparent commissioner, and people can make their judgments based on that. I think working on housing and making sure that, especially in the city of Holland, we're offering services to all our residents and making sure that I'm listening to what I think is a very diverse district and making sure that everyone has a voice and presence on the table.
What are your thoughts for the past year and a half to two years? What do you think are successes/failures/things you would change?
I think we've done well. I didn't vote for the budget last time because I think we didn't do as much as we could have as far as public health. As far as some of our core areas, I think we've done really well in the park system. I think one of the nice things that I've seen is that we all have differences when it comes to maintaining our parks, which I think almost all of us on the board will recognize we probably have the best park system in the whole state. We all want to maintain that. Obviously, there's been moments where we disagreed from the first meeting. The DEI (Department of Equity and Inclusion) department, we have strong disagreements on that.
(R) Orlando Estrada
Why are you running?
A lot of people encouraged me to run. I've always ran for office only because I believe that there's a need to have the conversation. I'm not a fan of people just walking into the seat for free. Example, if I run for a state House seat, someone just walk in just automatically get reelected. I believe that there are some things that just need to have the conversation or to see some accountability versus "I'm a good person" and I just go into the office.
What are your priorities?
I really am not trying to go into this office with an agenda. If I was running for a state House seat, I probably would have a list of things. One thing I believe, as I get a little bit more mature, is I do like to ask what's, like, important to them. It's not really about me; it's me going there on their behalf versus "this is what I believe in; you should too." … So this is what I'm gonna do. It's a different style.
Tell me about you personally?
Before COVID hit, I was actually a national speaker; I was traveling around talking to colleges and universities about the dangers of drug and alcohol awareness, or distracted driving simulators are doing do like a trivia show. Those students enjoyed it. Sometimes they won money, sometimes they learned things and it was an experience.
Why should people vote for you?
I'm consistent in my character. What I mean by that is, if anybody looks up my political Facebook page, I left everything I've done since 2016. That way, people can see if I am still "grassroots or not," if I've grown or not and if things have changed or not. I've been around the nation. I've been around different circles. It's just interesting to know that it seems like based on how people are raised when it comes down to a belief system. That's why people should vote with me: because I'm willing to meet them where they are.
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 interesting because Ottawa County gets a lot of attention. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing. I'm not really into "bad publicity." Sometimes, the cage needs to be rattled enough for people to wake up. If things are going good, bad or happier or sad, versus government is boring and there's nothing really to attend, ... I think it's great that people are showing up and having their emotions invested about why they like or don't like what the board is doing.
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