Ebel recall claims enough signatures to hit the ballot

OTTAWA COUNTY — A recall effort targeting an Ottawa Impact-backed county commissioner could soon be OK'd for the May ballot after the group of citizens spearheading the effort announced they gathered enough valid signatures.

On Tuesday, Nov. 14, the Committee to Recall Lucy Ebel announced it has 2,653 valid signatures — verified with current voter registration records — exceeding the 2,481 signatures required to put the matter on the spring ballot.

That's down from more than 3,000 signatures the group turned in to recall Lucy Ebel, who represents the second district.

Ebel is a member of Ottawa Impact, which currently has a six-member majority on the board. The far-right fundamentalist group was formed in 2021 over frustrations with the county and state over COVID-19 mitigation measures.

Since taking office, Ebel and other Ottawa Impact-linked commissioners have pushed through a series of controversial decisions, including firing the previous county administrator and former corporation counsel, attempting to demote the county health officer, eliminating the county's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office and making deep cuts to the health department's operating budget.

More: 3,000 signatures turned in to recall Ottawa County Commissioner Lucy Ebel

Those decisions have resulted in at least four ongoing lawsuits against the commission and a six-week investigation from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

The recall language for Ebel was submitted July 3, the first day commissioners were eligible for the procedure. The Ottawa County Election Commission ruled July 17 the wording for the recall petition was "factual and of sufficient clarity" to be certified for the ballot.

Ebel appealed that decision July 26, but a circuit court judge rejected her argument on Aug. 26, allowing the 60-day signature-gathering process to start.

The recall effort had to submit a minimum of 2,480 signatures, 25 percent of the number of voters who cast a ballot in the most recent gubernatorial race in Ebel's district.

“The recall election will be a referendum on Ottawa Impact,” said Park Township resident Larry Jackson, the sponsor of the petition. “The malicious actions of Lucy Ebel, Joe Moss and the other Ottawa Impact commissioners continue to cause harm to the citizens of Ottawa County.”

Jackson said recent cuts to the county's health department budget, mounting legal costs and a lack of transparency inspired thousands of residents to sign the recall petition.

“Their attacks on the health department will harm not only the Ottawa County residents who are most in need of their help and compassion, but everyone who swims at our beaches, eats in our restaurants, or enjoys our many parks and festivals,” Jackson said. “They are eroding trust with both county employees and the general public.”

Ebel now has eight days to challenge any of the validated signatures, but the challenges "must be in writing and must be specific in nature" about a voter's validity of registration or the "genuineness" of a signature, according to the clerk's office.

If Ebel doesn't challenge any signatures or if enough signatures are not invalidated by Nov. 23, the special election will appear on the May 7 ballot in the second district, which includes parts of Park Township and Holland Township.

Ebel has never responded to The Sentinel's requests for comment.

Two other recall efforts are ongoing against Ottawa County commissioners.

Duplicate petitions were filed Sept. 1 against District 10 Commissioner Roger Bergman, a moderate Republican, and District 3 Commissioner Doug Zylstra, the board's lone Democrat.

Bergman and Zylstra both appeared at a Sept. 12 clarity hearing before the county's election commission, which ruled the language was sufficient to move forward. Zylstra appealed that decision Sept. 20, which prevented the signature-gathering process from starting until a circuit court hearing or 40 days passed, whichever was sooner, according to state election law.

But a hearing was never scheduled, so the signature process was allowed to proceed as of Oct. 30. It wasn't known as of publication time how the signature-gathering effort is proceeding.

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If either process is successful, those recall elections would also take place May 7.

— Sarah Leach is executive editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ebel recall claims enough signatures to hit the ballot