OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — Though he states the Ottawa County Democrats were hopeful for a smooth transition with the county’s new Board of Commissioners, the chair of the Ottawa County Democratic Party said the changes brought on Tuesday – which includes firing their current county administrator to hire former congressional candidate John Gibbs – create an environment that’s unwelcoming to the overall community.
In the first meeting of the year on Tuesday, the newly elected Ottawa County Board of Commissioners fired County Administrator John Shay and announced the hiring of John Gibbs for the job.
County commissioners also adopted a new slogan: "Where freedom rings," which will replace the previous slogan, "Where you belong."
In a vote, commissioners also fired Administrative Health Officer Adeline Hambley, MBA, REHS, and dissolved the office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
Democratic party chair Timothy Smith said he was totally caught off guard by the changes and found out shortly after the changes happened in the local news.
Smith told 13 ON YOUR SIDE that Michigan voters had just recently made it clear in the November 2022 elections that they did not want Gibbs representing the state’s 3rd Congressional District seat, but now Gibbs is running Ottawa County.
Because Smith says he found out about the changes along with everyone else while scrolling through the local news on his cell phone, he said the party is still discussing what should and what can be done next.
“We are going to be looking at all of the ramifications of the actions taken yesterday by the board of commissioners. I’m not sure what legal bounds there are. There were changes to the agenda that could violate open meetings laws,” said Smith.
In response to the changes, Smith released a statement Wednesday morning condemning the decisions.
"Yesterday the Ottawa County newly elected County Commissioners moved quickly to show that the county and county government will no longer be a place for a growing community to feel welcome," Smith said in the statement. "Instead, it will be one based on lies and one that is not living within reality."
Gibbs, who is backed by former president Donald Trump, most recently ran for the 3rd District Congressional seat. While he unseated sitting Republican Peter Meijer in the primary election, he ultimately lost to Democratic opponent Hillary Scholten in the midterms.
In his new role as county administrator, Gibbs will oversee day-to-day board initiatives, manage the county's financial health and supervise general operations.
Smith slammed the Board of Commissioners for the sweeping changes, which he says don't represent Ottawa County as a whole.
"The agenda items yesterday were not addressing the concerns of the entire community but of only a few. For example, after the swearing-in ceremonies, the board's agenda included removing the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) department sending a clear message that 'everyone' is not welcome here. Haphazardly added to the agenda items during the meeting was firing dedicated employees of the county and changing the county motto from 'where you belong' to 'where freedom rings'," Smith said.
"To add to their opening questionable action items they hired John Gibbs as the county administrator, who 42.9% of the county voted against and elected Hillary Scholten to the U.S. 3rd Congressional seat in the November election instead. Is yesterday's action in hiring the losing side for the race for congress a 'swipe' at the winning side?"
Smith concluded by saying the changes are "terribly disappointing and yes, unfortunately, expected."
The party chair also told 13 ON YOUR SIDE that he’s confident this latest move will help to increase the local democratic party membership. He said there are many people who don’t support this move and that sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option. Smith said these recent moves by the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners is “igniting folks to do more.”
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