Resolution to recognize U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman fails

Feb. 18—TRAVERSE CITY — The Grand Traverse County board — on the heels of the fallout from a commissioner displaying a gun during a livestreamed meeting — sparked controversy with a resolution to support U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, who gave the invocation at Wednesday's meeting.

The resolution would have recognized Bergman, who was elected to a third term in November, for his service to the First Congressional District. It was turned down on a vote of 3-3, with commissioners Betsy Coffia, Bryce Hundley and Penny Morris voting against it.

Commissioner Darryl V. Nelson abstained from voting, saying the resolution should not have been on the agenda in the first place.

"An abstention was intended to send the message that I do not wish to partake in this motion at all," Nelson said when contacted after the meeting. "I'm not on the board of commissioners to give my personal political opinions. I'm on the BOC to do what's right for the county, long-term."

Nelson has been on the board for 48 days, days in which he has not been able to do the things he signed up for, he told commissioners earlier.

"I implore the board to get back to business," Nelson said.

Hundley said he was furious the resolution was on the agenda, especially in light of Bergman's decision to sign onto a Texas lawsuit challenging election results in Michigan and three other states, and for his Jan. 6 vote to overturn the results of the presidential election.

Hundley said the resolution likely appeared on the agenda in response to Coffia's political activities done outside of the board, including support of a Defund Bergman campaign that asks people to contact donors to Bergman's election campaign and request that they withdraw their support.

Coffia is one of about 45 people in the district represented by Bergman who are involved in the project. The Defund Bergman website lists 22 companies that contributed $500 or more to Bergman's campaign, 27 individuals who contributed $10,000 or more, and hundreds of donors who contributed between $500 and $9,999. Campaign contributions to any candidate have been a matter of public record for decades.

Coffia says she is involved as a private citizen and not as a commissioner.

Leonard, who declined to give his last name, asked for Coffia to be censured for her "rabble-rousing" and expelled from the board.

Hundley said his fellow commissioners are highly political, as would be expected.

"When it actually steps over the line is when it's brought to the county meeting," he said. "I think everything about this resolution is garbage."

The resolution was brought forward by Vice Chairman Ron Clous, who displayed a rifle at the Jan. 20 meeting, prompting international headlines. Neither Clous or commission Chairman Rob Hentschel, who laughed at Clous' display at the January meeting, were censured or apologized to the community, despite public outcry asking for both.

A resolution to censure Clous, a Resolution of Redress that would have made the display of weapons inappropriate at future meetings, and a Pandemic Resolution that encourages individuals and businesses to use their own judgement in following state COVID-19 guidelines prom- pted hours of public comment at recent county meetings.

On Wednesday the resolution took up nearly 90 minutes, with many people asking commissioners to do their work instead of wasting time on polarizing resolutions that do nothing to help the citizens of Grand Traverse County.

"Grow up — do your jobs," said Holly Bird, a local attorney and activist.

Some talked about the Feb. 10 study session when the board discussed a $16,000 National Community Survey done during the summer in which respondents gave the county poor ratings on affordable housing, daycare and mental health care.

"You're free to do what you like on your own time, but I ask that you respect your great responsibility and get to work on real issues when you're on our time," said Amanda Scott of Fife Lake.

Many criticized the resolution itself, while a few spoke out in favor of it.

"I don't know what you're thanking (Bergman) for," said Jade Prange, who challenged Clous for his seat in the last election. "He helped incite the riot and he doesn't want to count my vote ... I think you could have just sent him a really nice card and flowers for Valentine's Day and gotten the same message across."

Andy Marek, Green Lake Township treasurer, praised Clous and Hentschel for sitting through several hours of public comment at the last few meetings, where they "faced the wrath" of unhappy citizens. He supported the Bergman resolution.

"Resolution support for the good work of our elected officials can go a long way for the continuation of the good work and support for the efforts of the county," Marek said.

Some commenters took shots at Coffia for her involvement in the Defund Bergman campaign.

Heather Cerone, founder of Citizens Liberating Michigan, called the Defund Bergman campaign despicable, saying it calls for people to harass and blackmail donors. She asked for Coffia to resign and asked the board to censure her and strip her of her committee assignments.

Hentschel said he supports Coffia's participation in the political process in her personal time.

"I don't think censuring for political activities is the duty of this board," Hentschel said. "I think that's the duty of the voters every two years."

Commissioner Brad Jewett said similar resolutions supporting state Sen. Wayne Schmidt and former state Rep. Larry Inman were unanimously passed by the board in 2019. Both Schmidt and Inman are Republicans.

Coffia said she would be willing to support a resolution that lauded all senators and representatives, Democratic and Republican, saying there have been a lot of resolutions in the last two years that cover symbolic, national and poke-the-bear issues.

"It's getting the community all riled up again and again," Coffia said.

Morris said that she voted for Bergman and still supports him, but questions the timing of the resolution in light of recent events.

"I think we need to make a better effort at looking non-partisan," Morris said.

Bergman did not respond to requests for comment.