Ottawa Impact boots lone Democrat commissioner from housing panel he helped revive

OTTAWA COUNTY — Ottawa County's lone Democratic commissioner was removed from the county's housing commission Tuesday — a body he helped revive in 2019 — after Ottawa Impact founder and board chair Joe Moss said he wanted to take the panel "in a different direction."

At the county commission's March 14 regular meeting, an action item on the agenda said: "Consider a recommendation to update the composition of the Housing Commission."

In a social media post Monday, March 13, District Three Commissioner Doug Zylstra speculated the Ottawa Impact majority on the board planned to remove him from the housing commission, a post he's held since the commission was revived in 2019 after being dormant since 2011.

Tuesday's board packet — background materials that help commissioners make decisions — initially included a 1985 legal opinion from then-Michigan Attorney General Frank J. Kelly, concluding a member of a county board of commissioners cannot simultaneously be a member of the county housing commission because they "are incompatible and may not be simultaneously occupied by the same person."

Zylstra, one of five members on the housing commission, is the only member who's also a current county commissioner.

In his tweet, Zylstra challenged the Kelly opinion by citing Michigan Senate Bill 284 of 2009, which amended state law to list a number of public entities on which public officers could serve without creating incompatibility issues. The bill was signed into law by then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Jan. 4, 2010.

"Since the Ottawa County Housing Commission was created under that provision, and current state law maintains MCL 15.183(3) to include housing commissions as exempted bodies, the question as to whether county commissioners may also concurrently serve as housing commissioners would seem to be resolved in the affirmative," Zylstra wrote to the board.

By late Monday, the Kelly materials had been removed from the board packet, but the agenda item remained.

Independent of the conflicting legal opinions, the county has language in its housing commission operations ordinance (400.4.2.4c) that says the board "may remove any member of the housing commission for any reason" at the request of the board chair.

When the issue came before the board Tuesday, Moss said he wanted to remove Zylstra, Virginia Beard and Thomas Reinsma from the commission, replacing them with county administrator John Gibbs, a local developer, and realtor Jared Schuitema to "take the board in another direction."

Moss didn't specify what that direction is, but said two of the new members were "experts in housing."

Schuitema is an Allendale-based realtor and Ottawa Impact supporter who endorsed Commissioners Sylvia Rhodea and Allison Miedema during their campaigns. He's made posts on social media that include "the left ... wants to groom your children" and has been vocal about his anti-mask mandates as well his opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion; critical race theory and the LGBTQ community.

Beard works in Hope College's political science department, while Reinsma is a senior attorney at Scholten Fant and a long-standing member of the commission alongside Zylstra. The remaining members are Holly Cole, vice president of grants and programs at the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation, and county deputy administrator Patrick Waterman.

"Hopefully it doesn't change the direction," Zylstra said of adding two people who currently have livelihoods rooted in the housing market. "If these two gentlemen want to come in and further the mission ... I wish all three of them the best because I think we were on a good path. ... You have to give everyone a chance."

Zylstra made a motion to move the appointments to the talent and recruitment committee, but the motion failed. The motion to remove Zylstra, Beard and Reinsma passed 8-4. Commissioners Rebekah Curran and Jacob Bonnema sided with Ottawa Impact.

"I'm disappointed I'm not able to serve anymore," Zylstra told The Sentinel. "We made a lot of progress (on the housing commission). I mean, it is what it is. I just hope we can continue the mission."

Curran and Bonnema both took steps recently to cease affiliation with the far-right political group after several controversial decisions led to two lawsuits against the board and an investigation by the Michigan Attorney General's Office.

Bonnema made a public statement Monday detailing his separation from Ottawa Impact after he questioned several actions taken by the OI majority.

More:Signs of fracture as three commissioners distance themselves from Ottawa Impact

The upstart group was borne from clashes over the county’s COVID-19 mitigation mandates in 2020. Its founders, Moss and Rhodea, were unsuccessful in suing the previous board of commissioners and the county's former health officer.

In response, they targeted seats on the board in 2022, recruiting like-minded candidates who agreed “traditional Republicans” weren’t enforcing true conservative policies. They successfully defeated enough incumbents in the August primary to secure a majority.

Bonnema said he will move forward as an independent conservative "still committed to supporting traditional, conservative values — free speech, free markets, no medical mandates without informed consent, low taxes, pro-life, pro-family, pro-business, full support of public safety and the individual right to keep and bear arms."

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Curran, District 7, told The Sentinel in March she was initially affiliated with Ottawa Impact, but withdrew last spring. She did not receive campaign support from the Ottawa Impact PAC and did not have a website managed by the organization.

District 6 Commissioner Kyle Terpstra also confirmed to The Sentinel he never signed Ottawa Impact's contract — a requirement to receive financial and campaign support — nor has he ever accepted funding from the group, leaving just six commissioners fully backed by OI.

At times, the board has had contentious discussion periods, with the more conservative members differing on achieving ideological goals versus following historically accepted process and procedure.

Zylstra, who isn't included in discussions to prepare the board agendas, said he's doing his best to stay true to representing his constituents.

"It is what it is," he said of being cut out of the majority's plans. "I can only do the work I have before me. It's been two months and it hasn't smoothed out, so I do what I can to catch up in moments when I can to be ready."

The board is facing two separate lawsuits filed in the past month, both challenging actions from the board's inaugural meeting Jan. 3.

More:Second lawsuit against Ottawa Impact-led commission targets decisions made Jan. 3

County Health Officer Adeline Hambley, on Feb. 10, sued seven commissioners, including Curran, claiming they overstepped their authority when they voted to demote her Jan. 3. Hambley also claims Ottawa Impact commissioners have repeatedly interfered with her ability to do her job and have attempted to limit her state-authorized health duties, which she says violates state law.

A second lawsuit from a citizen group was filed March 8, alleging the Ottawa Impact majority violated Michigan's Open Meetings Act at its inaugural meeting. The lawsuit names the board as an entity and doesn't identify individual commissioners.

The suit seeks to nullify decisions made by the board Jan. 3, arguing Ottawa Impact commissioners were a de facto public body and required to adhere to OMA beginning Nov. 9 — the day after the general election — because, during that time, they discussed county business, made decisions affecting the county and gave instructions to county staff, which were followed.

— 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 Impact boots lone Democrat commissioner from housing panel he helped revive