Tina Pawlak

I am proud to join the Ottawa Integrity Board because I believe our elected officials work for the people of Ottawa County. They have a responsibility to listen to their constituents with thoughtfulness and respect, assuming that voters with differing viewpoints are acting in good faith and want the best for our community. Our representatives should make themselves and their views accessible both during campaigns and while in office. Only responding to those who share their outlook is not acceptable. Compromise is not a weakness. It is the best way to accommodate diverse perspectives.

The Ottawa Integrity Board is a non-partisan group that supports candidates who live up to these standards, and I am honored to help encourage such leadership.

I bring seven years of experience with the League of Women Voters of the Holland Area, including five years as chair of the Voter Services Committee. In that role, I organized candidate forums and voter meet & greets, ensuring residents had the opportunity to hear directly from candidates. I also helped lead town halls to explain recent changes to Michigan voting rights.

Previously, I served fifteen years with the Holland Board of Public Works as an administrative assistant. Now retired, I remain active in the community through the Hope Academy of Senior Professionals and as a member of my church choir.

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.