Vocal OI opponent announces run for Allendale Township seat
ALLENDALE TWP. — Rebecca Patrick was arguably one of the most civically engaged citizens in Ottawa County in 2023. She attended about 65 government meetings — often making public comments to boards and committees.
For the most part, she was concerned about Ottawa Impact, a far-right fundamentalist group that assumed a controlling majority on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners in January 2023.
The group made headlines locally and nationally after several controversial decisions resulted in at least four lawsuits, an investigation from Attorney General Dana Nessel, the pending recall of an OI commissioner and deep funding cuts to the county's health department.
More: A year after the Ottawa Impact controversy, here's what the commissioners accomplished
"I feel very strongly that government can do good things and provide good outcomes and good quality of life for people," Patrick said. "When I saw what was happening ... I got very concerned. That is absolutely what inspired me to get involved."
So, she's decided to run for the District 8 seat herself.
The district, which includes Allendale Township, is currently represented by OI co-founder Sylvia Rhodea, who has not yet filed for re-election.
Patrick, 67, is running as a Democrat. Although the district has previously favored conservative candidates, she said statistics indicate an electorate that could welcome a moderate.
"In the 2022 election, the (Grand Valley State University) precinct was underrepresented in terms of their turnout — and I suspect that may change in a presidential election," she said.
She also noted a 30% "under vote" for Rhodea, where voters cast ballots for national and state contests, but not for the county commission race.
"Thirty percent of them chose not to vote for her ... even though she was the only person running for county commissioner from Allendale," Patrick said. "I don't know what that means, but it does mean for sure that we've got at least 30% ... not voting straight Republican tickets. It also may mean there was already a level of concern about what Ottawa Impact represented."
"I think that, given the chance to hear another message — a message of fiscal responsibility and good governance — people will respond to that and I think people are willing to listen to that," she added. "In many cases, there's not that much daylight between a moderate Republican and a moderate Democrat. And I think if we're doing our jobs right, we should be willing to work with anybody who's willing to work with us."
If elected, Patrick aims to restore trust and transparency in county government — a theme she's vocalized in the dozens of public comments she's given.
"I've heard many, many other people comment they don't trust the board majority we have right now, and I think that's highly important in government."
Patrick would like to see the county revise its rules and bylaws to prevent the transparency problems that plague the current board. Another priority is welcoming dialogue with commissioners who hold positions that differ from her own.
"It's very important to make sure that all viewpoints are heard. Right now, we have a situation where the board minority is silenced, more or less in terms of committee work," she said, referring to current Board Chair Joe Moss' decision to assign OI commissioners to far more standing committees than non-OI officials.
"That could be addressed by something in the board rules that would explain how the committees are formed," Patrick said. "Or how does something get on the agenda? What is the process for that? Do you have to beg and plead? Or can you just follow a process and be assured that a commissioner can get an item on the agenda? That's the way it should be."
Patrick holds a bachelor's degree in education from Wheaton College. She's married to her husband of 40 years, with one son and daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren.
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She worked as regional director for the combined departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality. She said her responsibilities included bringing together leaders from divergent groups to find common ground on natural resource use and regulation.
"I spent a lot of time negotiating with people, meeting with people and listening to them," she said. "I spent a lot of time bringing those concerns forward to the state legislature. That was a good experience, and I think it fits me very well for a job like this where you have to listen to people — you have to find ways of finding common ground."
Dates to know
Tuesday, April 23: Filing deadline for Ottawa County candidates
Tuesday, May 7: Special recall election for District Two
Tuesday, Feb. 27: Michigan presidential primary
Tuesday, Aug. 6: Michigan primary election
Tuesday, Nov. 5: Michigan general election
— 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: Vocal OI opponent announces run for Allendale Township seat
