OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — A major shakeup in West Michigan is now getting national attention tonight after the new board of commissioners in Ottawa County voted to make several staffing changes on Tuesday.
That includes getting rid of the County Administrator and replacing him with a former congressional candidate for the third district, John Gibbs.
That motion and vote came immediately after the eleven-person board saw eight new members sworn in. Most of them are affiliated with the far-right conservative group “Ottawa Impact”, which among other things, rallied against public Covid health mandates and diversity efforts.
READ MORE:In unexpected vote, Ottawa County appoints John Gibbs as county administrator
The vote, which is only one of the many big changes that took place, is getting mixed reactions.
“It feels good, the people have spoken and the county commission election was a revolutionary election. The people really stood up and picked some new leadership to go in a bold new direction,” said John Gibbs.
He’s excited to take on his new position as the Ottawa County Administrator, after losing the third congressional district to Democrat Hilary Scholten in November. He wasn’t expecting this to be his next move, but a 6-3 vote made it official.
"I wasn’t thinking about it, I was focused on winning my race but didn’t have other plans and then this opportunity came along today. God's timing is always good, he puts his people right where they want him.” said Gibbs.
Gibbs, a conservative Republican, says he believes his previous experience in government and politics makes him qualified for the role. He says he wants to work for the people and more transparency.
READ MORE: Democrat Hillary Scholten defeats John Gibbs, wins MI’s 3rd Congressional District
“We want less top-down mandates, whether it comes to shutting down schools, whether it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion which has to come from the hearts. We don’t need the government telling us how to do that, so just putting more power in the hands of the people bringing them more freedom,” said Gibbs.
In addition to Gibbs’ appointment, the board also voted to replace the county's legal counsel and health director, changed the county’s motto from “where you belong” to “where freedom rings”, and dismantled the county’s diversity and inclusion program. The page has already removed from the county's website.
Republican Roger Bergman, who’s been an Ottawa County commissioner for a decade, has never seen anything like what he saw at Tuesday’s meeting.
“I’ve gotten so many messages and emails of people that are shocked at what happened today, because this isn’t Ottawa County, this is not what Ottawa County people are about,” said Bergman.
Those concerns were echoed by the community.
“I think that today as a whole was a very clear message that this was not spur of the moment, this was all planned beforehand, not all of the commissioners were let in on this plan,” said Ottawa County resident Salem Sousely. “I think all in all, it's a huge transparency issue, there were a lot of decisions made that affect a lot of people and affect a lot of taxpayer money immediately.”
He's worried about how things went down at Tuesday's meeting, especially since Gibbs doesn’t live in Ottawa County.
“He is not an Ottawa County resident, so he lives in Byron Center. So he's going to be running a county that he doesn't even know and that's a little bit concerning,” said Ottawa County resident MJ Hernandez.
They’re hoping he makes an effort to get to know all of the people and issues in Ottawa County, not just those who support him.
“We do hope John Gibbs does well in his new position, but I think that guidelines of what doing well looks like needs to be looked at from more than one perspective,” said Hernandez.
Meanwhile, others say, they’re happy with the staffing changes.
“It’s a big deal and I'm behind you guys, I'm thankful for what's happening. Ideas matter because bad ideas have consequences,” said one public speaker at tonight's meeting.
“I believe there are now five women sitting around that table and we have a new African American County Administrator, so while the previous commissioners made a big deal about having diversity and inclusion, they did nothing to actually do what they were saying. Whereas you have shown that with your hearts, you do love everyone and have respect for everyone, and when the time is right, the person that deserves the role will be in that role and I just want to thank you for that,” said another public speaker.
Gibbs says he’s ready to serve the people in Ottawa County.
“I’m really looking forward to serving the people of Ottawa County and getting to work really quickly. I think people are going to like the results and I look forward to their support,” said Gibbs.
So far, FOX 17 hasn’t heard from any of the commissioners who voted “yes” on the changes.
We've also reached out to “Ottawa Impact” but haven’t heard back. Lots of questions remain following today’s developments. Stay with FOX 17 for updates.
