Barbara Mezeske: Political lessons
Ottawa County in 2023 is a political laboratory where citizens can watch and learn about politics, in real time. Hang onto your hats.
Let’s start with the victory of eight Ottawa Impact (OI) candidates for county commission in the August 2022 primary. First lesson: The primary is the main game in a Republican jurisdiction. Win the Republican primary, and you win the race in November.
The next lessons are textbook demonstrations of good campaigning. The OI candidates were well-funded, generating a blitz of yard signs, billboards and fliers in our mailboxes. They knocked on doors, put boots on the ground and canvassed for weeks. They were clear about their goals, and anyone surprised when they fired the county administrator and director of the health department, hired a conservative law firm, and eliminated the Department of Equity and Inclusion, was simply not listening to what they had promised.
They presented a united front, right down to declining to be interviewed by the press or to speak at the League of Women Voters’ forum. They have maintained that unity, voting as a block to change how the county runs.
However, OI has hit some bumps in the road since the first of the year. The group of eight is a bit like the high school nerds and geeks who band together to oust the jocks from the best tables in the cafeteria. They succeed by being smart and strategic. But then they seem to forget that it’s still the same old high school.
Some rules and expectations are foundational to good government. Being in charge does not mean you can break those rules without pushback.
One such expectation is that hiring public employees is conducted in public. After all, the public pays their salaries. At their first meeting, the OI commissioners, having voted on a new rule to pass motions by a simple majority rather than two-thirds of the body, fired two key county figures. Lo and behold, their replacements were already in the room. John Gibbs and Nathaniel Kelly took their pre-arranged seats at the table at once.
What criteria were used to hire the new employees or to dismiss the old ones? Who else was considered for the positions? Where and when were the interviews conducted? Where was the public input? The public can answer such questions about school superintendents and principals, and about candidates for township and other county boards. But not at the Ottawa County commission this year. Whether or not the new board of commissioners is sanctioned for violating the Open Meetings Act, it’s pretty clear that the selection of new personnel happened behind closed doors with only some of the commissioners participating. The fix was in.
The county board has met two more times, and the meetings have been characterized by extensive public comment from OI supporters and from hastily formed groups that are offering pushback to those first decisions. Once sleepy board meetings have become lengthy, oppositional, and fraught with emotion. Attendees fill the conference room as well as overflow space.
Another of those first decisions was to ditch the old county motto, “Where You Belong.” But make no mistake, the OI people belong here, too, as they would be quick to tell you. The concerns that motivated them to run in the first place should not be lightly dismissed.
At the same time, despite their election victory, OI cannot claim a “mandate” from the voters: what they have is a plurality of the votes cast by roughly one third of eligible voters in August. That’s nothing to sneeze at. But it also tells us that lots of voters simply didn’t go to the polls. What do those people want from local government? How can they be motivated to participate in elections?
The job for citizens is to learn these lessons. If OI and their ideology do not represent you, then step up. Organize, network, and listen. Knock on doors and circulate petitions. Respect the media, and non-partisan bodies like the League of Women Voters. Just about everyone is aware that the definition of “Republican” in 2023 is so blurry as to be almost useless in evaluating a candidate for public office. So don’t just go by labels: instead, look for and encourage candidates who demonstrate good character and respect for others, and who will speak with and advocate for people who are not exactly like them. Choose people who make decisions based on evidence, rather than emotion or religious conviction. Choose people not for their firebrand preaching, but for wisdom. Most of all, choose people who are more interested in serving their neighbors, than in imposing an ideology upon them.
The work ahead will be tedious and time-consuming. It will more often be exhausting rather than exhilarating. That is the price of democracy.
— Community Columnist Barbara Mezeske is a retired teacher and resident of Park Township. She can be reached at bamezeske@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Barbara Mezeske: Political lessons
