While most Michigan residents awaited the outcome of the 2024 presidential race, Ottawa County Democrats waited to see if they would gain additional seats on the Board of Commissioners after two years under the leadership of the Ottawa Impact.

Instead of gaining seats, however, Democrats lost one of their two current board seats, with Chris Kleinjans — who won a special recall election in May — losing in the general election to Republican No. traditional Jordan Jorritsma.

Ottawa Impact, the far-right fundamentalist group formed in 2021 following county and state frustrations over COVID-19 mitigation measures, officially lost the majority for the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners in the August 6 Republican primary. However, progressives hoped to make greater gains in the general election.

OI won a majority vote on the board of county commissioners in 2022; During the group’s two-year term, the county commission has been sued six times in 20 months between 2023 and 2024 – three remain active as of publication, including one filed last month following allegations that the county is not properly following state transparency laws.

Several controversial hirings and firings, along with mounting legal costs, have spurred non-OI conservatives and Democrats to vie for public office, resulting in an unprecedented 33 people vying for all 11 seats of the commission.

A recall petition targeted an IO commissioner – Lucy Ebel – and Kleinjans ultimately defeated her by a 20% margin in May 2024. In the August primary, Ebel again lost to Jorritsma by almost the same margin. margin.