Meet the candidates hoping to fill Ottawa County's vacant seat

OTTAWA COUNTY — Ottawa County residents in the Sixth District got their first look Friday at who could be their next commissioner.

The position opened Nov. 16 after the sudden resignation of Republican Commissioner Kyle Terpstra, who was halfway through his third term after running unopposed in 2022.

The resignation came hours after county Health Officer Adeline Hambley filed a request in Muskegon County's 14th Circuit Court asking a judge to enforce a $4 million settlement agreement she said she reached with commissioners Nov. 6 in exchange for her resignation.

The board is currently led by an Ottawa Impact majority, a far-right fundamentalist group created by Board Chair Joe Moss and Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea after they unsuccessfully challenged the previous board and county health officer over COVID-19 mitigation mandates in 2020 and 2021.

More: District Six Commissioner Kyle Terpstra resigns from Ottawa County Board of Commissioners

From the time of Terpstra's resignation, the board had 30 days to appoint someone to fill the seat. They'll be allowed to remain in office until December 2024, but will need to file by 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, if they wish to run for re-election in November.

On Dec. 5, the board narrowed 11 candidates for the appointment down to five. Commissioners conducted public interviews with the finalists Dec. 8. The board is expected to finalize an appointment at its last regular meeting of the year on Tuesday, Dec. 12.

Candidates were asked the same 10 questions on Friday, five of which were provided in advance. Moss asked all questions and there was no discussion period.

Commissioner Rebekah Curran asked prior to starting the interviews if individual commissioners would be given the opportunity to ask their own questions, but Moss suggested they "call them" or "get coffee with them" if they felt they needed to know more.

The three non-OI commissioners on the board — Democrat Doug Zylstra and Republicans Jacob Bonnema and Roger Bergman — did not attend the interviews.

Bonnema said commissioners had no input into the questions asked and weren't allowed to participate in the process in any meaningful way.

"I am deeply disappointed by Chairman Moss' decision to deny commissioners the opportunity to submit questions and the public the chance to observe their elected commissioners asking interview questions to the applicants today," he said.

"It is concerning that the public was only allowed to witness what Chairman Moss deemed appropriate for them to see. It is crucial that we strive for a higher standard of transparency and good governance. I am committed to advocating for increased transparency and good governance in the future."

The finalists

All five finalists are Republicans, most vocalizing either support for Ottawa Impact or declaring official membership to the group. All finalists expressed their concerns about "government overreach" during the COVID-19 pandemic and what they viewed as the erosion of individual liberties.

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The candidates included four men and one woman; none were people of color.

Interviewed in alphabetical order were: Joe Buck, Shawn Haff, Lynn Janson, Joseph Parnell McCarter and Kendra Wenzel.

To read the candidates' applications and resumes, visit tinyurl.com/5n9be8fk.

Questions and Answers

Tell us about yourself and why you decided to apply.

• Buck: “I've always been interested in how government works ... what sets America apart from other countries, how great it is ... how it could be again. A lot of people in 2020 kind of woke up to what was going on.” Buck said his mother-in-law turned him against COVID-19 mitigation measures. After doing research, he said, "I learned who the good people were." Buck works as a design engineer and project manager in Allendale. He's an Ottawa County GOP precinct delegate and a member of Ottawa Impact.

• Haff: “My roots in this community are strong.” Haff has lived in the county for 44 years, attended a private religious school and was home-schooled for a time. He graduated from Hudsonville High School, then Grand Valley State University. As a Republican, he was president of the Federalist Society in school. He founded the Criminal Defense Law Center of West Michigan about 13 years ago and defends criminal clients. “I think, like most people, I'm disappointed in elected officials. Especially during the lockdown and how people reacted to that. People were willing to give up essential liberties to try to obtain safety, and they should have listened to Ben Franklin, where we won't have either liberty or safety if we do that.”

• Janson: A marketing services professional, Janson has been married 23 years and has three children, three dogs and a cat. “In early 2022, I heard about a different way to do things in this county.” Janson said he almost ran for the seat in 2022, but thought Terpstra was doing a "fine job and didn't need a primary challenger." He said Grandville schools were and are “going in the wrong direction.”

• McCarter: McCarter is a CFO for a local manufacturer. He said he admires the current Ottawa Impact majority on the board. “You all inspired me. As I saw what you all were doing, in terms of government … when I saw that you really meant it in terms of seeking to preserve our liberties and our Christian principles, it inspired me to get involved.” McCarter said he views OI as anti-federalist, the separate of powers between the federal government and individual states. He wants to be on the board "if God wills it." Originally from Texas, McCarter grew up an agnostic evolutionist. He said he became a Christian after “being exposed to the Gospel.”

• Wenzel: A former sales professional, Wenzel has lived in Hudsonville for 10 years. She's been married for 34 years and has four children. “The reason I got involved … I heard that (Terpstra) resigned. I'm on the executive committee in the county Republican Party.” She said friends encouraged her to apply.

What qualifications, skillsets, or experience would make you the right person to serve?

• Buck: “As to government experience, I'm a newbie, but I give everything 110%.”

• Haff: “I think with the educational background I have, I learned that you have to stand up for your values, but you need to have a factual background to do that.” Haff said it’s vital to "do my own research to back up what I say."

• Janson: “I've built successful businesses. Like many people, my life has been negatively affected by an overreach of government.”

• McCarter: McCarter said his experiences have given him a broad knowledge of many things, including legal and fiscal processes. He cited his master’s degree in business administration and accounting.

• Wenzel: Wenzel said her daughter had a "legal medical mask exemption" and a police officer escorted her out of class during the pandemic. “It lit a fire in me,” she said. She became a precinct delegate for the Ottawa GOP, then joined the executive committee. "There's a lot of crossover there. It helped trained me for this position."

How will you go about making decisions? Tell us about your internal compass.

• Buck: “I pray on it. God is my true north. I want to keep government small,” Buck said, citing grant money and how tax dollars shouldn’t be wasted. “I would look at personal liberty and freedom in every decision that needs to be made.” He said people talk a lot about "defending democracy," but the word “democracy” doesn't actually appear in the constitution.

• Haff: “Every decision I make will follow four to five steps. First, does the board have the statutory authority or does it violate the state or U.S. Constitution? Also, are we going to use the least amount of government required to achieve good goals for this community? What's the least amount of money that needs to be spent to get the best result? Also, I want to make sure that everything that's passed would mitigate possible lawsuits. And finally, does it support the values of my community?”

• Janson: “My belief is, like a physician, government should do no harm. My internal compass will be to minimize government interaction for people who don't need it, and perhaps make government smaller.”

• McCarter: “I do like to study issues to make sure that I'm as well-informed as I can be. I like to run my ideas past other people. Sometimes I have what I think is a great idea and someone shoots it down — and for good reason. My moral compass is to serve Christ and do my sincere best to serve the citizens of Ottawa County.”

• Wenzel: “I'm a researcher by nature. I ask a lot of questions about the specific things we are trying to resolve or do. There has to be complete truth at the center of all that. Also, prayer and discernment are important to me.”

Given the opportunity to receive a $1 million grant, how would you spend it and why?

• Buck: “First of all, I would look at where that money was coming from. What strings are attached? A lot of this money comes from a place that has an ulterior motive. I would have no problem turning that money down and telling the people why.”

• Haff: Haff said some of his clients have addiction or mental health issues, and that it would be good to try to reduce crime and address mental health. He said he once needed food assistance from the state and that some assistance is good. He also suggested dash and body cams for police.

• Janson: “I don't know if I necessarily would spend it. There's no such thing as free money. The strings attached would be very important.”

• McCarter: McCarter said he supported Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea's idea of creating a department of Family Impact “outside of the traditional roles of public health.” He said he'd also like to see a neighborhood watch network for addressing “a whole series of issues in the community,” such as reducing crime and overseeing a "broken election system."

• Wenzel: Wenzel said she would conduct a “lot of research on what's needed and where."

How much time do you expect to be able to give this role?

• Buck: "I expect about 3-4 hours a day after work and most of Saturday."

• Haff: “I certainly would be able to put in the time to do the job right." Haff said, if it's too much, he won't run for the seat in 2024, but will finish out the current term.

• Janson: “I would give the role the time it needs.” Janson said he has a unique work schedule that affords him flexibility.

• McCarter: “I'm committed to doing a very good job at this.” McCarter said he thought it would take 15-20 hours a week, but that he’s willing to do “whatever it takes.”

• Wenzel: Wenzel said the first 3-5 months in the position could require “about 40-60 hours a week. She said "whatever is needed."

Can you describe a time where you had differing opinions and you had to make a decision?

• Buck: “One of the biggest decisions recently was deciding to leave the church I attended for 20 years. The church started making decisions that rubbed me the wrong way. ... social decisions and cultural decisions that aligned them with the world and not the Bible.” He said his wife and kids wanted to stay with the congregation, but that he “ultimately made the decision for the family to leave the church. My wife wasn't happy, but everyone’s happy now."

• Haff: Haff described a legal a case in which a parent was falsely charged with kidnapping, and he had to decide whether to file a motion with a "hostile" judge or go to a higher court. Peers told him to apologize to the judge, which he did, and he said the judge’s “demeanor changed immediately." The case was dismissed and resolved in favor of his client.

• Janson: Janson spoke about fall 2021 and masking policies. For the first two weeks of school that year, he pulled his children out "because they weren't going to be a part of that nonsense." He said he had to find a physician to give them a medical mask waiver, but even when he received one, the school "wanted us to agree to a number of things that were not applicable to all students and not appropriate. I saw no benefit to my children.”

• McCarter: McCarter spoke about his company considering allowing white-collar workers to work from home. He said he was “the biggest objector of any consideration of that.” Prior to the pandemic, he said, “I started to rethink it. We tried it some, and it worked — but it works in some ways and not others. … You have to balance the feelings of the employees with the goals of the organization.”

• Wenzel: Wenzel spoke about being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. She said her doctor wanted her to get chemotherapy. “I wanted time to research. She was not an advocate for me.” She said she did a natural protocol instead. “There was a pharmacist in that meeting who said, ‘I'm so proud of you. You are your own best advocate.’"

What are the best things about the United States?

• Buck: “The opportunity for every individual to succeed. The freedom to make decisions, whether that's with religion or careers. We're not a country like China, where you're pretty much told what you're gonna do. We have the Bill of Rights that affords those things to us."

• Haff: “The Republican government is an example of the world. The separation of powers are designed to protect the individual from government overreach. Religion and values are part of an upstanding society. We don't force religion on people.” Haff denounced Christian Nationalism, but said Christians have the freedom to follow their belief system. “Everyone has equal rights and opportunity. Not everyone has equal skills.”

• Janson: “Let's start with the founding — it recognized the individual person and bestowed rights on them. … We are clawing back on the Second Amendment. It's still a fight, though. … People who accept oppression don't have the opportunity for greatness.”

• McCarter: “I think we are a very blessed nation. We have been blessed by God with the benefits of a heritage that we have to be careful we don't totally squander. We sought to build Christian principles into our government and we need to make sure to preserve them as best we can. It's been a matter of progressive erosion, in my opinion.”

• Wenzel: “Until recently, our constitutional freedoms. We need to maintain them.”

What are the best things about Ottawa County?

• Buck: “I would say the best things right now are the resolutions this board has put forth in the past year — the direction it's moving. Getting away from (diversity, equity and inclusion). Becoming a constitutional county. Things that you see happening down south, like in Missouri — it's great to see it happening here.”

• Haff: “There's good people. They're just outstanding. For the most part, we really see good schools and values.”

• Janson: “Without flattering you all, we have several people right now standing up for our freedom. We said enough is enough. You've said enough is enough.”

• McCarter: “This is like an adopted child and natural child situation. The people who grew up here are the natural children. My wife and I chose this area. We chose the area because of the Christian family values and the mix of rural, suburban and urban.”

• Wenzel: “When we moved here, I thought it was the ‘Twilight Zone.’ Everything was wonderful and safe. We love the conservative values.”

Where would you live if you couldn't live in Ottawa County?

• Buck: “Probably someplace in Florida. I would find another county that's on the path this county is on. I look at the freedoms that are given back to the people in Florida by Governor (Ron DeSantis).”

• Haff: “The free state of Florida. They've turned out to be a citadel of freedom." He said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is “terrible.”

• Janson: “It would've been Kent County a year and a half ago, but the Republicans aren't in good shape.”

• McCarter: “It would be a hard second choice, but realistically Kent County would be my second choice. We're committed to this overall community.”

• Wenzel: “Anywhere where I could have 10 acres, chickens, cows and be self-sustaining ... and be close to my kids.”

What else would you like to share that you haven't been asked?

• Buck: “Basically that I don't want this job. This is something that took a lot of prayer to take this step. I won't align myself with anyone else on the board if chosen. I will be my own individual and everything will be considered through prayer.”

• Haff: “My word is my bond. I'm going to give it my best effort. There will be times I disagree with you, but I will be open and honest and be willing to discuss.”

• Janson: “I would like to make clear that I agree with the goals of this commission. Mr. Moss, I really appreciate the way you say ‘thank you.’” (Moss immediately replied: “Thank you.")

• McCarter: “How do we best reach the people who really need help?” He suggested connecting people to a counselor, specifically citing church and nonprofit organizations, rather than specific government programs.

• Wenzel: “The values all of you have is a beautiful thing and I would love to be a part of that. I would love to get people more involved. I've enjoyed watching you all.”

— Sarah Leach is the executive editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarahleach@hollandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Meet the candidates hoping to fill Ottawa County's vacant seat