Recall language approved against Zylstra, Bergman

OTTAWA COUNTY — Recall language was approved Tuesday for two members of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners — a moderate Republican and the board's lone Democrat.

The petition language was filed Sept. 1 against District 10 Commissioner Roger Bergman and District 3 Commissioner Doug Zylstra.

Thomas Morren, of Spring Lake, and Rosalie Austin, of Holland, filed duplicate language targeting Bergman and Zylstra, respectively. The language says the commissioners voted "no on resolution B/C 23-120, also known as the Resolution to Protect Childhood Innocence."

The Ottawa Impact-led board pushed through the resolution earlier this summer. It prevents the county from using resources for “activities, programs, events, content or institutions which support, normalize or encourage the sexualization of children and youth.” It passed 9-2, with Bergman and Zylstra dissenting.

Bradford W. Springer, of the Grand Haven-based law firm Scholten Fant, spoke at the Sept. 12 clarity hearing on behalf of Bergman. He said the language didn't meet the state's legal standard because it was misleading in the use of the "childhood innocence" label.

"The petition seeks Mr. Bergman’s recall based on his 'no' vote on Ottawa County Board of Commissioners Resolution 23-120. But the language in the petition is confusing and misleading because it identifies the resolution at issue not only by its proper number (23-120) but also by a purported narrative name and title that does not exist and that does not fairly summarize or describe the resolution,” Springer said.

"A voter could say, 'Oh, my god, Mr. Bergman didn't vote to protect children. Of course I'll sign it.' That's the concern here."

More: Bergman, Zylstra face recall over 'child innocence' vote

David Morren, who previously said he was organizing the dual recall effort, spoke on behalf of both petitioners. He said it would be more confusing if the "childhood innocence" label was left out.

"I didn't come up with that wording. The board of commissioners did," Morren said.

During deliberation, the county election commission members — Probate Judge Mark Feyen, Treasurer Amanda Price and Clerk Justin Roebuck — agreed the language was sufficiently factual and clear as written.

"I just want to say I've known Roger Bergman for years and have found him highly ethical — and if I could find a way to vote against this, I would, but I can't," Feyen said.

The commission unanimously approved the language.

During the board's discussion in June, Zylstra criticized the resolution because it lacked specificity.

"I voted no on the measure because there was no list nor guidelines provided as to which specific activities, programs, events, content, or institutions staff is prohibited from attending or allocating resources towards," Zylstra wrote on his campaign website after the vote.

Ottawa Impact co-founders Joe Moss and Sylvia Rhodea, now the board's chair and vice chair, respectively, dismissed the concern over lack of specificity, with Rhodea saying the resolution lacked specifics intentionally to leave room to discuss with staff.

“I don’t think it was ever the intention to just have a resolution stand by itself with staff unsure where to go with it,” Rhodea said. “Clarity and discussion around what this means with staff is important, which is one reason why exact specifics are not in the resolution, to give opportunity for staff input as policy is created.”

Bergman was the only Republican incumbent to survive a primary challenge after Ottawa Impact, a far-right fundamentalist group disgruntled over school mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, ran a slate of candidates against nine of the board's 10 moderate Republicans.

Prior to his vote on the resolution, Bergman said it didn't address things like poverty, hunger and homelessness, which also harm childhood innocence.

“This resolution is wrong on so many fronts,” he said. “For you to vote 'yes' is a slap in the face to parents who don't share your beliefs.”

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Moss said the resolution deals with county employees, not parents at large.

Zylstra and Bergman have 10 days to appeal the commission's approval of the recall language.

Organizers of the recall efforts have a 60-day window to gather a minimum number of signatures in their respective districts, matching 25 percent of the number of voters who cast a ballot in the most recent gubernatorial race.

That would require 3,717 signatures in District 10 and about 2,620 in District 3.

Also Tuesday, the commission again rejected recall language against Allendale School Board member Anna Hendricks over her vote earlier this year to withdraw the district's membership from the Michigan Association of School Boards and replace it with the National School Board Leadership Council. The school board ultimately decided to stay with the MASB.

The election commission rejected the language — for the fourth time — because of a typo.

During public comment, a Hendricks supporter said the petitioner should face sanctions for having tried so many times to get the language through — however, Michigan law doesn't limit how many times citizens may resubmit language; only how many times elected officials may face an actual recall election.

Meanwhile, signature gathering is ongoing in Ottawa County's Second District after a recall effort against OI-backed Commissioner Lucy Ebel was allowed to move forward in late August.

All current recall efforts, if successfully completed, would appear on the May 2024 ballot.

— 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: Recall language approved against Zylstra, Bergman