![]() When I saw 1,000 people show up at those meetings, harassing health department staff, that was bullying." “I was bullied as a kid - more than my classmates - and I just hate bullies. “I’m 6 foot 4 and served in the Navy,” the now-retired 65-year-old said. The decisions sent ripple effects through the county and prompted David Barnosky, of West Olive, to act.īarnosky, a Republican-turned Democrat, first started paying attention to local politics in 2021, when protestors made large public showings at county board meetings demanding commissioners fire then-health director, Lisa Stefanovsky for issuing the county-wide mask mandate for pre-K-6 schools. More: Ottawa County GOP sues itself over mishandled convention Replacing the county’s counsel and changing the county’s vision statement.Choosing a new health director to replace the successor to Lisa Stefanovsky, who'd already been approved by the state.Eliminating the county’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office.Firing administrator John Shay and replacing him with former Third District congressional GOP candidate John Gibbs without conducting a public interview.The board made sweeping and unannounced changes during its first meeting Jan. The Ottawa Impact PAC provided funding to candidates who agreed to sign a contract saying they'd observe certain conservative principles and some specific policy changes upon entering office, including opposing what it called “unconstitutional orders” by the government in times of crisis and opposing the use of Planned Parenthood resources.Īll but one Ottawa Impact candidate was successful, giving the group a majority on the board - and Moss the chairman’s seat - in January 2023. Moss recruited like-minded candidates to challenge nine Republican incumbents on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners in the August 2022 primary election. More: Amid in-fighting, censures: What is the future for Ottawa County conservatism? More: ‘Your integrity is very weak’: Allendale school board spars over law firm switch These are essential qualities of liberty and freedom.” The group, formed by Hudsonville software businessman Joe Moss, was founded “to preserve and protect the individual rights of the people in Ottawa County,” according to the group’s website, including “freedom of speech, freedom of association, religious liberty, due process, and sanctity of conscience. In 2021, angered by state and local health orders that included a pre-K-6 mask mandate in all Ottawa County school districts, a group of disenfranchised parents formed a new local political group called Ottawa Impact. The coalition's website can be found at. ![]() "UCOC aims to unify the efforts of these groups, channeling resources and energies toward our shared goal: to vote out Ottawa Impact in ‘24." "In response to the recent actions of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners, local organizations, businesses, leaders and citizens in every district are setting aside differences and prioritizing The Common Good," the coalition's website reads. More: Michigan AG reviewing shakeup in Ottawa County, possible Open Meetings Act violations In their first meeting, they blindsided the community. More: Ottawa Impact campaigned on transparency. 15, Vote Common Good: West Michigan announced it will join with Ottawa Integrity to launch and steer a new movement called the Unifying Coalition of Ottawa County, which will serve to “channel all efforts related to the opposition of Ottawa Impact and the strategies to vote them out in 2024,” according to an email to its members. ![]()
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