Ottawa Impact to lose board majority, but some candidates remain

OTTAWA COUNTY — Voters in Ottawa County were frustrated enough with Ottawa Impact to take away the PAC's board majority in 2025, but not enough to fully cast them out.

Of the nine candidates backed by Ottawa Impact, four survived to advance to the general election.

Ottawa Impact, a far-right grassroots group, was formed by Board Chair Joe Moss and Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea in 2021 after COVID-19 pandemic policies left some Republicans feeling burned.

There were 10 contested primaries for the board's 11 seats on Tuesday; nine of which involved Republicans backed by OI — six of whom were incumbents.

Starting with this year’s election cycle, terms for commissioners will increase to four years, in line with other county offices.

The results

In District 1, James Barry defeated OI incumbent Gretchen Cosby, earning 63.2% of the vote.

Jordan Jorritsma defeated OI candidate and former board member Lucy Ebel with 61% of the vote in District 2. He will face incumbent Democrat Chris Kleinjans in November.

Moss defeated Hudsonville Mayor Mark Northrup in District 5. Moss earned 57.1% of the vote.

In District 6, OI incumbent Kendra Wenzel held off Shawn Haff with 53.4% of the vote. John Teeples was victorious over Rachel Atwood, backed by OI, in District 7 with 56.6% of the vote.

In a message to voters posted on Facebook, Teeples called Tuesday a “great night for Ottawa County.”

“I’ve never seen it in 33 years where the community got so engaged and so involved in a cause that was greater than any one of us, but important to all of us,” Teeples says in the video. “We took a major step tonight to bring sanity back to Ottawa County government, get rid of the chaos, start making decisions that are good for all of us, stop wasting taxpayer dollars, start opening up transparency and being honest about what we’re doing and most importantly treating people with more civility and respect just for who they are, not because of who they affiliate with.”

Rhodea won handily in District 8 with 63.9% of the vote, defeating challenger David Morren.

Former board member Phil Kuyers defeated OI incumbent Roger Belknap in a rematch from 2022. This time, Kuyers won with 57.6% of the vote.

“I think it really shows that the people in Ottawa County want to get back to general common sense and good governance,” Kuyers said of Tuesday’s results. “I’m proud of the citizens, how they came together and spoke loudly.”

Kuyers added he doesn’t “want to be a bully like they were,” referring to Ottawa Impact candidates. He also said he’s encouraged by the results of the sheriff, prosecutor and treasurer primaries.

Josh Brugger proved victorious in District 10 over OI’s Jason Koert with 71.3% of the vote.

In a three-way race in District 11, Allison Miedema came out on top. Miedema earned 58.3% percent of the vote, compared to 31.1% for Bajema and 10.6% for Richard Van Dop, according to unofficial tallies.

In the lone Democratic primary, Oliver Shampine defeated Douglas L.P. VanBennekom in District 10. Shampine earned 54.2% of the vote.

For the first time in Ottawa County, a Democrat has filed in each district, meaning all 11 seats will be contested in November. Those matchups are (*=incumbent):

• District 1: Barry (R) vs. Danielle Smith (D)

• District 2: Jorritsma (R) vs. Chris Kleinjans* (D)

• District 3: Orlando Estrada (R) vs. Doug Zylstra* (D)

• District 4: Jacob Bonnema* (R) vs. Chris Crothers (D)

• District 5: Moss* (R) vs. Jon Rabideau (D)

• District 6: Wenzel* (R) vs. Michelle Dieleman (D)

• District 7: Teeples (R) vs. Heather Majestic (D)

• District 8: Rhodea* (R) vs. Rebecca Patrick (D)

• District 9: Kuyers (R) vs. Angela Stanford-Butler (D)

• District 10: Brugger (R) vs. Shampine (D)

• District 11: Miedema* (R) vs. Keith Courtade (D)

Electees will take office in January 2025.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ottawa Impact to lose board majority, but some candidates remain