Ottawa County judges recuse themselves from hearing Ebel recall appeal

OTTAWA COUNTY — A legal challenge to recall petition language targeting an Ottawa County commissioner will need to be heard in another county.

On July 26, District 2 Commissioner Lucy Ebel challenged the county election commission's unanimous decision to approve the recall petition language.

More: Ottawa Impact Commissioner Lucy Ebel appeals approval of recall language

Through her attorney, Peter B. Ruddell of Honigman LLP, Ebel argued the Ottawa County 20th Circuit Court should invalidate the decision because, she claims, the language isn't factual or accurate and is missing some required information.

On Tuesday, Aug. 1, Judge Jon H. Hulsing — who had been assigned to hear the case — signed an "order of disqualification/reassignment," saying "my continued assignment would create an appearance of impropriety."

Ottawa County's four other circuit court judges also signed the order, citing the same reason. On Thursday, Aug. 3, the Michigan Court Administrative Office assigned the case to Kent County's 17th Circuit Court Judge Mark A. Trusock to hear the proceedings.

Park Township resident Larry Jackson filed the petition language July 3, hoping to get a recall election on the November ballot for Ebel, a member of Ottawa Impact, which currently has a six-member majority on the county board. The far-right fundamentalist group was formed in 2021 after clashes with the county and state over COVID-19 mitigation measures.

Ebel, who represents constituents in Holland Township and Park Township, defeated Republican incumbent Joe Baumann by 332 votes in the primary (1,560-1,228). She went on to face Democratic challenger Joe Spaulding in the general election and won by 578 votes (5,089-4,511).

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, demoting the county health officer and eliminating the county's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office.

Those decisions have resulted in two pending lawsuits against the commission and a six-week investigation from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

The recall language focuses on the board's attempt to replace Health Officer Adeline Hambley with their own preferred candidate, demoting her to "interim" health officer, even after she was appointed by the previous board and approved by the state.

The recall petition states: “On Feb. 28, 2023, Commissioner Lucy Ebel voted for a motion to correct the previous board of commissioners’ Dec. 13, 2022, resolution that appointed Adeline Hambley as administrative health officer for Ottawa County. Commissioner Ebel voted for the motion after Ms. Hambley challenged in court the commission’s designation of her status as interim health officer.”

Ebel, in her appeal, is arguing the recall petition heading is missing information, uses the term "commissioner" as an "unclear and indistinct descriptor," and alleges the sequence of events outlined in the petition isn't truthful.

"Each of these reasons alone warranted the election commission's rejection of the recall petition, but taken together, they demonstrate that the petition to recall Ms. Ebel was erroneously approved," the appeal reads.

At the election commission's July 17 hearing to review the language, there was little debate between the three commissioners: County Clerk Justin Roebuck, County Treasurer Amanda Price and Probate Judge Mark Feyen.

All three acknowledged the language wasn't perfect, but said the imperfections weren't monumental enough to reject the language.

Ebel filed the appeal within the 10-day window she was allowed under state law. Signature gathering has been underway since July 17, but must now be halted.

According to state statute, signature gathering may not resume until the courts make a determination of whether the petition is factual and clear, or until 40 days after the date of the appeal, whichever is sooner. If the full 40 days are realized, signature gathering would not be able to resume until Sept. 4.

That would give the recall group only 11 days before it must submit a minimum of 2,480 signatures — 25 percent of the number of voters who cast a ballot in the last gubernatorial race in Ebel's district — in order for the recall vote to make it on the November ballot.

Attorney Sarah Riley-Howard, of the Grand Rapids-based Pinsky Smith Fayette and Kennedy, is representing the Committee to Recall Lucy Ebel, the group spearheading the signature-gathering effort. On July 28, Howard filed a motion to intervene, where the court grants permission to enter into a lawsuit that has already started between other parties.

The motion presumably will be considered by Trusock.

Judges in Ottawa County also recused themselves from the two ongoing lawsuits against the board, which were reassigned to Muskegon County's 14th Circuit Court.

Hambley sued the board in early February, claiming OI-linked commissioners have repeatedly interfered with her ability to do her job. That case is currently awaiting oral arguments before the Michigan Court of Appeals after commissioners appealed a lower court's ruling granting Hambley a preliminary injunction. Howard is also representing Hambley in that case.

In the second lawsuit, four residents sued the board in March claiming OI commissioners violated Michigan's Open Meetings Act when they made several controversial decisions at the board's first meeting — including the vote to "demote" Hambley. That case is also awaiting oral arguments before the Michigan Court of Appeals after the residents appealed a lower court's ruling granting the board's request to dismiss the lawsuit.

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On July 20, the COA granted the plaintiffs' request for expedited review. Briefs from all the parties are due to the court by Sept. 14.

Mark Brewer, of Goodman Acker, is representing the plaintiffs in the OMA-related case. He's also representing the Michigan Association of Local Public Health, which filed a request July 28 with the COA to submit an amicus brief supporting Hambley in her case.

— 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: Ottawa County judges recuse themselves from hearing Ebel recall appeal