Meet the 33 candidates running for 11 Ottawa County commission seats

Editor’s note: After the filing deadline passed, two adjustments were made to the candidate list. Chris Vander Sys withdrew from the race for District 1 commissioner, and Phil Kuyers was added to the candidate list for District 9. This article has been updated to reflect those changes.

OTTAWA COUNTY, MI — Now that the filing deadline has officially passed, Ottawa County voters have a complete view of who is running in the election for the county’s Board of Commissioners seats.

Among the 11 districts, 33 candidates are running for commission seats. Each of the districts has at least one Democrat and one Republican candidate, meaning winners won’t be determined until the November election.

However, that doesn’t mean the August primary election will be uneventful. Eight of the 11 county districts have multiple Republican candidates in the running, so the August primary will narrow down those Republican candidates to one for each district. This is a stark change from the last Board of Commissioners election in 2022, in which seven districts had zero Democratic candidates, meaning whichever Republican won in the primary won the seat outright.

This is the most candidates to run for election for the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners in at least two decades. In the most recent election in 2022, 26 candidates filed to run. Before that, commission candidates hovered much lower, with 14 candidates filing in 2020, 16 in 2018, 14 in 2016 and 17 in 2014.

“It’s for sure the most (candidates) in the past 20 years or more,” said Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck. “We were certainly expecting more interest, we see that in conversations with constituents, but frankly, that’s a large number.

“When you look at the past several cycles, with the exception of 2022, there were many times where incumbents ran unopposed.”

Among those 26 candidates in 2022 were several Republican candidates who ran as members of the ultraconservative political group, Ottawa Impact. In that election, Ottawa Impact members won a majority on the county board and has since made sweeping changes like dissolving the county’s diversity office, canning two county administrators, banning county staff from attending Pride events in an official capacity and declaring Ottawa County a Second Amendment sanctuary county.

Now, a new slate of candidates are running to unseat those Ottawa Impact members. Both of the group’s co-founders, District 5′s Joe Moss and District 8′s Sylvia Rhodea have Republican primary challengers along with Democratic challengers.

“We’ve not in my time had the Democratic party put up challengers for every single commission seat,” Roebuck told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. “I think it represents the interest on both sides more than there has been before. Especially those districts in Zeeland, Georgetown and Jamestown, that’s unique.”

In District 1, Republican candidates are James Barry of Holland and incumbent Commissioner Gretchen Cosby. The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Danielle Smith in November.

Barry is an associate broker and real estate agent and graduate of Zeeland schools. Cosby, a member of Ottawa Impact, has a 30-year career in nursing and served as the chairman of the Nursing Leadership Committee. Smith is the chief human resources officer for an investment company and serves on multiple professional boards.

In District 2, Republican Jordan Jorritsma of Holland is challenging incumbent Lucy Ebel of Holland. Ebel is currently facing a recall election in May. The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Christian Kleinjans, also of Holland, in November.

Jorritsma is a legislative director in the Michigan House of Representatives and serves on the Ottawa County Land Bank Authority. Ebel, an Ottawa Impact member, specializes in nursing care management and teaches exercise classes. Kleinjans is a U.S. Navy veteran and is a community nutrition instructor at a nonprofit.

In District 3, incumbent Democratic Commissioner Doug Zylstra of Holland is being challenged by Republican Orlando Estrada of Holland.

Zylstra is the lone Democrat on the county’s board of commissioners. He is a small business owner and a member of the Michigan Association of Counties Finance Committee. Estrada is an entrepreneur who has run for state and local office multiple times. Most recently, he ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign for the Holland city council.

In District 4, incumbent Republican Commissioner Jacob Bonnema of Zeeland is being challenged by Democrat Chris Crothers, also of Zeeland.

Bonnema originally ran as a member of Ottawa Impact, but split from the group shortly after taking office in 2023. He is an independent commercial insurance agent and an Eagle Scout. Crothers is the head brewer at Tulip City Brewstillery and graduated from Zeeland Public Schools.

In District 5, Ottawa Impact co-founder Joe Moss is facing a Republican primary challenge from Hudsonville Mayor Mark Northrup. The winner of that matchup will face Democratic candidate Jon Rabideau of Hudsonville in November.

Moss is a business owner and vice chair of the Keys for Kids Ministries board of directors. Before being elected mayor of Hudsonville, Northrup was a production team leader for companies like Motorola and Gentex and served over 13 years in the U.S. Coast Guard. He’s also a former Boy Scouts assistant scout master. According to his LinkedIn, Rabideau is a software engineer and a graduate of Grand Valley State University.

In District 6, incumbent Republican Kendra Wenzel of Hudsonville will compete for votes with Republican Shawn Haff of Jenison. The winner of that primary will face Democrat Michelle Dieleman of Grandville. Wenzel was appointed to a partial term on the Board of Commissioners after the previous commissioner, Kyle Terpstra, resigned last November.

Wenzel, a member of Ottawa Impact, is a former sales professional and executive committee member of the Ottawa County Republican Party. Haff owns a criminal defense law firm and describes himself as a “contrarian by nature” on his website. Dieleman owns and runs a local hair salon and considers herself a moderate Democrat.

In District 7, there is no incumbent candidate as current Commissioner Rebekah Curran is running instead for a U.S. Senate seat. Republicans Rachel Atwood and John Teeples have filed for the District 7 seat, along with Democrat Heather Majestic. All three candidates live in Jenison.

Atwood describes herself on her LinkedIn as a social media influencer and a “freedom fighter.” Teeples is an attorney and avid hunter. According to her LinkedIn, Majestic is an indirect sourcing manager and previously worked for 17 years at Steelcase.

In District 8, Ottawa Impact co-founder and Republican Sylvia Rhodea of Allendale is facing a primary challenge from David Morren of Allendale. Democrat Rebecca Patrick, also of Allendale, will face the winner of the Republican primary in November. Both Morren and Patrick are frequent public commenters at county board meetings.

Rhodea worked in foster care before having her own children and graduated from Cornerstone University. Morren, a farmer, recently spearheaded a failed recall effort against two Ottawa County commissioners and previously won a lawsuit against the Ottawa County Road Commission. Patrick is a retired state administrator and graduated from Wheaton College.

In District 9, incumbent Republican Commissioner Roger Belknap of Grand Haven will face former Republican commissioner Phil Kuyers of West Olive in the primary election. The winner will face Spring Lake Democrat Angela Stanford-Butler in November.

Belknap, an Ottawa Impact member, is a small business owner and most recently worked for the Michigan Department of Transportation as a program coordinator. Kuyers was an Ottawa County commissioner from 2000-2022, serving as board chair for three years. He previously owned a dairy farm and co-owned Pigeon Creek Golf Course. Stanford-Butler is a marketing professional and recently served as downtown development director for the village of Spring Lake.

District 10 voters also do not have an incumbent on the ballot, as longtime public servant Roger Bergman (R-Grand Haven) announced his retirement last November. The Republican primary is between Josh Brugger of Grand Haven, who Bergman has endorsed, and Jason Koert of Spring Lake. The Democratic primary is between Douglas VanBennekom of Grand Haven and Oliver Shampine of Grand Haven.

Brugger is a small business owner and has previously served on the Grand Haven city council. According to his LinkedIn, Koert is a business owner and graduated from Spring Lake High School. VanBennekom unsuccessfully ran for the District 10 seat in 2022 and is a graduate of Grand Valley State University. Shampine is a youth ministry coordinator and graduated from Grand Haven High School in 2021.

In District 11, incumbent Republican Allison Miedema is being challenged by Republican Sara Bajema of Coopersville and Republican Richard Van Dop of Marne. The winner of that primary will face Democrat Keith Courtade of Conklin in November.

Miedema, an Ottawa Impact member, is a preschool teacher and leads a ladies Bible study group at her church. Bajema is a commercial real estate agent and has previously worked in banking. Van Dop is a pastor and previously served as a deputy chief of staff in the U.S. Navy Reserves. Courtade previously ran for the 28th District Michigan State Senate seat but lost in the general election to Republican Mark Huizenga.

The August primary election is set for Tuesday, Aug. 6, and the November election is on Tuesday, Nov. 5. To learn more about these candidates and more, Roebuck recommends voters keep an eye out ahead of Election Day.

“The League of Women Voters puts out general reads on what the candidates stand for and I would honestly direct folks to local media,” Roebuck said. “It’s a great opportunity to be more engaged.”

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