The petition language to recall Commissioner Ebel was approved on July 17, signature gathering began at noon. The recall petition reads “On Feb. 28, 2023, Commissioner Lucy Ebel voted for a motion to correct the previous board of commissioners’ December 13, 2022, resolution that appointed Adeline Hambley as administrative health officer for Ottawa County. Commissioner Ebel voted for the motion after Ms. Hambley challenged in court the commission’s designation of her status as interim health officer.” Commissioner Ebel has the right to appeal within 10 days. We expect Commissioner Ebel to file an appeal at the latest date possible to delay the process. Once an appeal is filed, signature gathering stops during the appeal. The minimum number of signatures required to get the recall on the ballot is 2481verified signatures from DISTRICT 2. Only residents of District 2 may sign petitions, and they must be filled out correctly matching the Secretary of State’s Qualified Voter File. If you are a resident of District 2 (Park Township Precinct 4, Holland Township Precincts 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,11) please sign a recall petition and ask your neighbors to do the same! Joseph Spaulding is running signature gathering for the Recall Team, check his Facebook for information and watch Ottawa Integrity Facebook page for petition signing information and locations. Message us if you need help signing a petition. Integrity PAC provides financial support and directs volunteers to the Recall Team. We will be holding a Special Fundraiser just for Recall efforts – if you want to contribute directly now, do so online here:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/tooextreme

Why Aren’t We Recalling all Impact Commissioners?
  The margin for success. Recalls are expensive and extremely time-consuming. Successful recalls are rare and only work in districts where the original vote margin was close enough to indicate the possibility of flipping the seat. Ebel won her seat by just 578 votes. The Commission is frequently divided 6-5 with the Impact Commissioners in the majority, replacing Ebel gives the non-Impact Commissioners the opportunity to control the agenda and return the Board to normal activity for a year. Commissioner Ebel has voted consistently as a devotee of Joe Moss, not a representative of her district. She voted to fire John Shay, County Administrator and replace him (without posting the position or interviewing candidates) with John Gibbs, she voted to remove Doug VanEssen as Corporate Counsel and replaced him with the considerably more expensive Kallman Group, she voted in favor of the “Constitutional County” resolution and the resolution that purports to be a protection of children resolution. District 2 deserves a true representative of the people.

Ottawa Integrity PAC is pleased to announce its partnership with newly formed Livingston Integrity PAC. The two groups have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, aligning their missions and agreeing to operate under the same principles of integrity. 

The partnership was born when Livingston County activists Julie Ohashi and Cori Charbonneau, who founded the grassroots group Hartland Truth, approached leaders of Ottawa Integrity PAC earlier this year with a desire to join forces in pursuit of good governance. 

Ottawa Integrity PAC Founder and Interim Executive Director Kim Nagy said, “We are thrilled to partner with citizen leaders in Livingston County who are facing the same challenges we have in Ottawa: extremists with no actual desire to govern, but who seek to impose a far-right agenda on our communities.” 

Ohashi said, “Hartland Truth has been watching our Board of Education and administration be on the receiving end of agenda-fueled attacks. We recognized the need to organize and move forward as a PAC to keep extremists from taking over our local government. We connected with Ottawa Integrity because they have been facing the same issues. We wanted to utilize their expertise in being received by moderate voters, who share a concern about where our local politics are headed. We need to reach out to those not necessarily aligned on all the political issues, but who want to see consensus in government in a way that works for the people, not for political ideology and culture wars. 

“We look forward to working with Ottawa Integrity and are excited about partnering with those who share our vision. Hopefully other communities across the state, especially in deep red rural districts, will realize that they are not alone and reach out to connect for resources and support.” 

Ottawa and Livingston PAC adhere to the Principles of Integrity: 

-Commitment to democracy and democratic solutions

-Commitment to honesty, transparency, and insight

-Commitment to the dignity of individuals, families, and the natural beauty in our community

and agree to work on behalf of their communities to support candidates, institutions and initiatives that reflect these principles. Both are nonpartisan political action committees authorized by the State of Michigan, and both will maintain local control and focus on issues particular to their county, sharing best practices and strategies. More information can be found at ottawaintegrity.org and livingstonintegrity.org.