The Timeline
- Jan 2023 – Ottawa Impact Commissioners fired without cause Administrator John Shay and appointed John Gibbs, hired without a public interview or job posting
- Feb 2024 – Fired John Gibbs
- Mar 2024 – Jon Anderson appointed as interim administrator
- Sep 2024 – Jon Anderson submits resignation to leave Oct 4th
- Sep 2024 – Nomination Committee consisting of only OI Commissioners using a recruitment firm W Talent (proposed by Moss – no public proposals issued)
- Oct 2024 – OI Commissioners request Jon Anderson stay on
- Oct 2024 – Jon Anderson resigns again immediately on the 13th
- Oct 2024 – Appoint Deputy Administrator Ben Wetmore as Interim Administrator
- Nov 2024 – Last Nominee Withdraws from consideration
Ottawa Impact IS an HR Disaster
Since the takeover of Ottawa County Board of Commissioners by OI candidates, the hiring and firing practices of Ottawa County have spawned unqualified loyalist candidates and improper hiring practices resulting in numerous lawsuits.
The road begins with the appointment of John Gibbs, an unqualified candidate who took control on day one of the Ottawa Impact regime. If you don’t remember him, here is a reminder. John Gibbs brought in loyalist Ben Wetmore as Deputy Administrator. You can brush up on his credentials here.
Then there is the personal assistant to John Gibbs, Jordon Epperson. This resulted in an age discrimination lawsuit you can review here.
Next is the drama of firing John Gibbs. Here is the story, also resulting in a lawsuit. Immediately another loyalist, Jon Anderson the man who ran as the constitutional sheriff and lost, was appointed as interim administrator.
After multiple resignations of Jon Anderson we now get to the appointment of loyalist Ben Wetmore as interim administrator with the rather odd added ability to hire and fire without oversight. What could possibly go wrong with such a great history behind them (please note the irony here). View the video below for the skivvy on that one.
Nomination Committee – more of the same
In establishing a nomination committee to replace the county administrator, the Ottawa Impact controlled board continued their poor judgment, lack of transparency, and their goal to hire loyalists at all costs. The committee, consisting of only Ottawa Impact board commissioners, used an outside recruitment firm without requesting public bids in direct violation of their own policies. See the nomination committee link above for more details.
After interviewing numerous candidates, two finalists were selected. Both candidates later withdrew. James Freed said
Here in Port Huron, we are home. This is where we want to raise our two little girls. No raise or promotion can change that fact. Furthermore, I believe that God has placed us here for such a time as this. – James Freed
Makes you wonder why James Freed even applied. Jim Lower’s withdrawal was littered with allegations:
They explained that, regardless of my qualifications or efforts, they were committed to terminating or otherwise forcing out whoever is hired. This would be the case even if it resulted in significant costs to taxpayers through severance payments, search fees, and renewed turmoil. While I was assured this was ‘not personal’ it would undoubtedly impact my family and my career. – Jim Lower
John Teeples and Jacob Bonnema were accused of intimidating the final candidates causing them to withdraw by Joe Moss in a November 25th committee meeting. In a statement to the Holland Sentinel, Teeples said Lower contacted him looking for reassurance. By state law administrator contracts cannot be extended longer than one year before the new board would review it. In 2025, Ottawa Impact will no longer have a majority on the Board of Commissioners.
The most demeaning thing about the Board of Commissioners is their dismissive attitude to public comments. While cheerily saying thank you to the most damning accusations, Joe Moss continues to do whatever he likes with a smirk on his face, never once addressing any issue of the constituents who take their time to sit through their boring-as-paint-drying meetings. It is often in the public comments where you learn about the undercurrents, things going on that are never brought to the light of day in the official meeting. Here is one resident’s succinct summary of issues in his three minute public comments before and after the nomination committee meeting. You can listen to the whole meeting on YouTube if you want to hear a half hour or so of self congratulatory rhetoric. Be assured anything with it’s a beautiful county and where freedom rings are used in the same sentence is nothing more than propaganda.
Now that you have a bird’s eye view of the shenanigans the Ottawa Impact commissioners have been up to for the last two years. How do you feel about them picking an administrator just two months before a new board, that will not be OI controlled, is sworn in? Had there been an effort to include non OI commissioners and legitimate HR professionals on the committee along with following county policy and hiring best practices – perhaps it would not feel so underhanded. But that is not and never has been the Ottawa Impact way.
It would be not only appropriate but a kindness to inform any candidate who accepted the administration job under the current circumstances that they could be in trouble if they are the usual OI loyalist pick. While Joe Moss bemoans how terrible it would be for the new board to terminate an administrator regardless of their qualifications, that is exactly what OI commissioners did just two years ago regardless of the cost to the county.
While a candidate can say anything during an interview process, as Susan Collins found out about Supreme Court Justices, it is highly unlikely the OI commissioners chose anyone who was not a died-in-the-wool Christian Nationalist.
The tone and content of the withdrawal letter from Jim Lower sounds like what one would expect from a loyalist candidate.
County Governance vs Christian Nationalist ideology
It is time to reset the bar for the county Board of Commissioners. The county government is not here to be used as a platform for Christian Nationalist ideology. The actions of Ottawa Impact are Christian in name only since what we have experienced in the last two years does not represent traditional Christian values. Instead it is a mishmash of conspiracy theories, dirty politics, and unconstitutional nonsense. Emboldened by extremism at the national level, we must be ever more vigilant to keep Ottawa County from falling into the same morass.