Joseph Alfonso announces second bid for Michigan's 4th congressional seat

HOLLAND — Joseph Alfonso is throwing his hat back into the Michigan Fourth Congressional District ring.

The U.S. Marine Corps veteran has filed to run as a Democrat in the 2024 election. This will be Alfonso's second run for the district, which was created in 2022 after the Michigan redistricting process.

The district now includes southern Ottawa County, Allegan County, Van Buren County and the cities of Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.

Alfonso, who was disqualified from the official primary ballot last year over insufficient valid signatures, launched a write-in campaign. He successfully captured the Democratic nomination and went on to face off against incumbent Republican Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, who currently is serving a seventh term in Congress. Alfonso lost by about 40,000 votes.

He said he's not deterred by the defeat.

"A lot of people get discouraged when they don't win," Alfonso told The Sentinel. "I was pretty motivated from what we saw last year. We did extraordinarily well considering all the circumstances working against us. People appreciated the fact that I went to meet them where they were."

He said the energy is high this time around.

"There's an adage I learned from a master gunnery sergeant when I was in the military. 'Think about all the things you want in a leader. OK, now be that leader.' These are the things I wanted our leadership to have and our representatives to do. And I just wasn't seeing it," he said.

Alfonso said voters no longer want to see the same gridlock in Washington and self-serving politicians.

"Polarization only benefits those who are entrenching themselves further with power," he said. "And that's what needs to change. We need to go back to a time where people came first. We're building towards the future."

He said too many modern-day politicians flip-flop on issues to please donors and allies.

More: Bill Huizenga's Democratic challenger is disqualified from the ballot. He's not giving up.

More: Marine veteran Joseph Alfonso running for Congress in new Holland-area House district

"We're sitting back and waiting for people to do things for us. And then the times comes for them to do that, and then they turn around and do something that's in their own self-interest. That really needs to change," he said.

Alfonso was born to Dominican and Puerto Rican immigrants in the Bronx. His family moved to upstate New York following the events of Sept. 11, 2001. After his time in the Marines, Alfonso and his family settled in Holland. He currently serves on the State Plumbing Board as well as Ottawa County's Veterans Affairs Committee and Officers Compensation Board.

He said his blue-collar background keeps him grounded in what everyday people want in their leadership.

"There were so many bailouts for Wall Street, but regular people are just waiting to get a hand up. Someone like me who came from the working class and literally had to build themself up from nothing," he said. "And just listening is the biggest factor. Our representatives don't listen to us anymore. It's just about staying in their bubble and never really trying to hear others and their viewpoints."

It comes down to public compassion, he said.

"You can't get into these roles to represent the public and then turn around and say, 'No, we're just going to keep doing our own thing and listen to our own people.'"

One troubling aspect to last year's campaign cycle, Alfonso said, was a lack of debate between the candidates. In October, he and two other candidates from the U.S. Taxpayers and Libertarian parties participated in a forum. Huizenga was invited, but did not attend.

"We owe it to the public," he said on candidates making themselves accessible to voters. "You need to debate your opponent because you need to show the people where your stances are — and how are you going to make their lives better."

Alfonso said last year was the first time Huizenga hasn't debated a Democratic challenger.

More: Incumbent Huizenga skips forum where Fourth District candidates talk affordable housing, gun control

More: Report: Rep. Huizenga challenger short signatures, may be removed from ballot

"He's debated everyone else except me. That struck a chord with a lot of not just Democrats, but Republicans and Independents alike. ... That goes to show that I am such a different candidate, that I'm actually here to represent everyone — not just those who live on the lakeshore," he said.

"Somebody doesn't spend $3.6 million to only win by 40,000 votes if they truly are trying to represent the people. It's essentially buying the election, considering money in politics seems to determine how successful you are. I did every forum I could think of; never saw my opponent there."

He said he's not intimidated by Huizenga's fundraising capabilities — he is supported by wealthy donors such as Elsa Prince and her daughter, former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

"It can take a lot of money to tell a boring story," Alfonso said. "You can't choose who you were born around. Our perspective is we're here just to represent the people. The only reason why we lost is because we didn't have the tools to reach more people."

That's one of the reasons he's declaring his run so early — giving him more time to reach more people in the district.

"I really love this place and I want to make sure we are heard — whether we agree on everything or not, we still should be able to be heard. And that's how we win," he said.

The political landscape is changing, Alfonso observed, and he said most Americans are looking for change.

"I don't care for negative politics. I'm tired of it. We're all exhausted," he said. "We're done with the former president. We're done with the rhetoric. Because the younger generations? They don't want to hear that stuff anymore. Their lives are effectively being held back. They aren't able to do the things they want to do because we let the house catch fire."

Alfonso said his top priorities include:

• Water quality: From preventing chemicals spilling into the waterways to holding those responsible accountable.

• Veterans: Ensuring that veterans' services and affairs improve. "It's an ongoing issue where veterans are getting out of the military, they have nowhere to go."

• Social Security: "This is someone we paid for. It doesn't affect the national deficit."

• Immigration: "We need to improve this system to make it work for everyone."

Alfonso also said he wants to see a federal effort for tighter gun control laws.

"People have a right to have guns. We're just asking that they be more responsible," he said. "Kids should have, at most, a fire drill and a tornado drill. Why are we having them trained for active shooter drills? The time has long come where we need some actual changes and stop dancing around the topic — because our donors might get a little chill up their spine — we have to do things for the public."

Alfonso pointed to recent events in Ottawa County, where a far-right political group called Ottawa Impact took over the county's board of commissioners at the beginning of the year and made a series of controversial changes that already have resulted in two lawsuits and an investigation from the state attorney general's office.

So far, the county has incurred approximately $330,000 in unplanned expenses, not accounting for the lawsuits, which are still ongoing.

"A lot of these voters thought with Ottawa Impact that they would be heard. And now they just turned around and these people are doing whatever they want. This literally was a power grab," Alfonso said.

The changes included firing former county administrator John Shay and installing failed Republican congressional candidate John Gibbs. Democrat Hillary Scholten defeated Gibbs by almost 44,000 votes in November to become the first progressive to represent the district in decades.

Since taking the administrator role, Gibbs has admitted during board meetings that he's struggling to keep up with the demands of the position, asking for an executive assistant position to be expanded to an aide, and costing the county an additional $37,000.

Alfonso said the problem with Ottawa Impact is its loyalty to religious ideology over good governance.

"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And that's what we're seeing in Ottawa County," he said. "They tell people, 'We're here for change and to stop this and that,' and then they get in there and cost the county half a million dollars on the first day with their first vote. And then they're costing more to shore up people who can't do the responsibilities," he said, referring to Gibbs.

"There's a difference between fiscal conservatism and Christian nationalism," he said, "and I feel like over the last 20 years or so, that's what it's veered off into — away from fiscal conservatism to just being religiously responsible and one religion in particular — and we're a country that doesn't have a national religion. We have freedom of religion, but they seem to overlook that."

Loosely defined, Christian nationalism is the development of politics and culture that reflect America as a Christian nation.

“It’s the idea that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and should be defended as such,” Kristin Kobes Du Mez, an American historian, author and professor of history and gender studies at Calvin University previously told The Sentinel. “It’s a modern manifestation of this mythical idea that God has a special plan for America — if it responds obediently.”

Alfonso said the far-right faction of the Republican Party is out of touch with today's voters.

"The younger people want a change," he said. "They want someone who will listen to them and want changes that actually benefit their lives. We're not here to say, 'Give us your vote to give us the authority and then we're just going to do what we want.' No, we're here for you."

— 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: Alfonso announces second bid for Michigan's 4th congressional seat