GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — Grand Haven voters are looking for a change in government as they turned out to the polls and said "no" to current mayor Catherine M. McNally.
Andrea Hendrick and Bob Monetza were the top two vote-getters in the Aug. 8 primary election and will move on to the general election in November. The winner of the election in November will be sworn into office for their two-year term in 2024.
"I felt good going in, but you really never know," Hendrick told 13 ON YOUR SIDE the day after the election. "And as it gets closer, and you've done everything you can, you start to feel anxiety about, 'Did you do enough? Do you hear people? You know, are you getting a good feel for the community?' So when the results came in, it was very affirmative, that I was, in fact, you know, hearing what people were concerned about and starting to understand the concerns and, and values of our community."
Monetza was previously the Mayor of Grand Haven before he lost to McNally in the 2021 general election, and has made his previous experience in the role and elsewhere in local government a key selling point for his campaign.
While Monetza declined an on-camera interview after the election, he did speak in-person with 13 ON YOUR SIDE and released a statement later on.
"As I said to you, I am pleased and humbled by the voters' confidence in me and I will work hard starting now until the November election to listen to their concerns, understand their issues, and be their choice," Monetza wrote. "I am looking forward to serving the people as Mayor."
Hendrick, an urban planner who sits on the Board of Directors for Grand Haven’s Board of Light and Power, said she wasn't concerned over Monetza's previous experience in the role, believing she is the right candidate for the Grand Haven of 2023.
"You won't hear me saying bad things about Bob Monetza or his character because he's really a great guy," Hendrick said. "He has invested in this community and I care a lot about Bob as a person and I respect him as a leader in our community. But I think that when it really comes down to it, my background in urban planning and my understanding of municipal processes to move us in the right direction, exceeds some of Bob's skill set."
McNally served a single term as Mayor of Grand Haven. A petition to recall McNally was approved by the county in October of 2022, but never went further than that.
When 13 ON YOUR SIDE made contact with McNally following the election, she said she had no comment.
The next mayor will take on top issues facing Grand Haven, including working with the Board of Light and Power to determine the usage and continued cleanup efforts of the city's Harbor Island that faced PFAS and coal ash contamination from its J.B. Sims Generating Station that was demolished in 2021.
Such was an issue championed by multiple candidates leading up to Tuesday's primary - one that Hendrick described as a liability on the city that would take time to solve.
"That's going to be priority is to work with the community to figure out what they want to see on Harbor Island, and then start finding strategic partnerships and processes to get us there over the next decade," Hendrick said.
Both Monetza and Hendrick made clear that, come November, they're looking forward to showing the city that they are what Grand Haven needs.
"I think that regardless how this race ends up, we're going to end up with someone who cares about this community that has experience in this community," Hendrick said.
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