'An independent voice': Ottawa County's lone Democrat will seek a third term
OTTAWA COUNTY — Doug Zylstra is used to being an independent voice in county government.
The Democrat, who has represented District 3 on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners since 2019, said despite a year filled lawsuits and drama, he remains hopeful for dialogue — even if the Ottawa Impact majority on the board remains in control.
The far-right fundamentalist group, which formed in 2021 over frustrations with county and state COVID-19 mitigation measures, currently has a seven-seat controlling majority on the 11-member board and made a series of controversial decisions in 2023 that led to four lawsuits and a brief investigation from the state attorney general's office.
As the board's lone Democrat, Zylstra finds himself in a unique position to help foster dialogue.
"I guess that's my goal," he said. "I mean, as one commissioner, I can't dictate what the board composition will look like, but my hope is that we communicate and, if the composition stays the same, my hope would still be the same — that we need to communicate, because it's not serving residents to guess what's going on."
Is it lonely being the board's only Democrat?
"Not necessarily," he said. "People have talked to me about, 'Oh, you should run for Lansing.' I say, 'No, I enjoy being where I'm at because I'm a Democrat and people know that, but at the same time, I have really good relationships with a lot of Republicans and it's just a unique spot where I get to be me.
"I don't have to worry about going to a GOP luncheon and getting yelled at. I don't have to worry about any of these things because I have my caucus that supports me and my district that supports me. Some of my colleagues probably have more difficult positions than I do."
Zylstra represents the city of Holland. He said he loves the accessibility local government provides to constituents.
"That's the idea of local government. 'Oh, there's Zylstra in the park. I can go talk to him.'"
More: A year after the Ottawa Impact controversy, here's what the commissioners accomplished
That's why he's seeking a third term.
"I've always been focused on being an independent voice," he said. "I'm making sure I represent my district as best I can."
"I don't sign any contracts," he said, referring to Ottawa Impact's requirement that candidates sign a contract saying they agree to the group's core principles, including the belief the U.S. is an "exceptional" Judeo-Christian nation "blessed by God." Those who signed the contract received OI's financial backing, including campaign fliers, billboards and website support.
"My only contract is with the city of Holland, because that's my district, and trying to understand what the city of Holland residents might need from their local government."
Zylstra pointed to his habit of publishing post-meeting recaps on his X page, the site formerly known as Twitter, with his assessment of board issues.
"If anybody wants to know why I voted for something, they can either call me or check it out," Zylstra said. "I don't hide anything. I post my cell phone number, you can call me anytime and ask me. There are people who've done that and I really appreciate that."
Despite being taken off the county's housing commission last year, Zylstra said housing remains one of the biggest challenges for Ottawa County.
"We all know there's affordability issues, opportunity issues — people can't even find what they're looking for, much less at the price they need. ... I definitely think our county should be doing a lot more than it's been doing."
More: Ottawa Impact boots lone Democrat commissioner from housing panel he helped revive
Another big issue for Zylstra is healthcare. In the new fiscal year, the OI majority pushed through deep budget cuts to the county health department.
"We've seen so much pressure over the last year to kind of ... I wouldn't say marginalize public health, but definitely to knock it down, as far as its ability to be a positive force," Zylstra said. "I definitely want to be making sure that I'm doing all I can as a commissioner to make sure that our county continues investing in physical and mental health."
More: Layoffs begin at Ottawa County Health Department after millions in budget cuts
Despite being in the board's minority and receiving only one standing committee assignment from Board Chair Joe Moss in January, Zylstra said he's finding ways to be heard.
"Whatever we were going to say in committee, we can say in board meetings," he said. "And I think over the last three months or so, there have been actions and agenda items that were taken off. So, I think the next eight to nine months is more of just making sure that we're not making bad decisions and making sure that we're preventing negative outcomes."
As the only remaining incumbent on the board seeking re-election who also served on the 2020-2022 board, Zylstra acknowledged the former board could've done more with public outreach and understanding during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I will be the first to say that we didn't do the best job we could back in 2021 or 2022," Zylstra said. "We did institute live streaming during that time, which I think was a great plus — but I don't think we had the townhalls, the forums that we could've had, whether digital or non-digital. We didn't communicate with residents, so we put out that pattern that has unfortunately continued, kind of flipped, where now we don't have a ton of open communication with residents."
Zylstra said, as the county continues to grow, it means more diverse peoples and perspectives.
"When you go from a county that's 200,000 (people) that has a very traditional way — religious base or cultural base — to 300,000, it means more diverse people who have different thoughts. It's got to be tough to make that adaptation from a county that's been fairly homogenous in the past to a heterogeneous, diverse county with different opinions.
"Our job as the board is to channel that diversity."
As of publication, no other candidates have filed to run in District 3. Stakes for county elections are higher than ever across Michigan in 2024, after a change in state law lengthens terms from two years to four.
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Dates to know
Tuesday, April 23: Filing deadline for Ottawa County candidates
Tuesday, May 7: Special recall election for District Two
Tuesday, Feb. 27: Michigan presidential primary
Tuesday, Aug. 6: Michigan primary election
Tuesday, Nov. 5: Michigan general election
— Sarah Leach is executive editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: 'An independent voice': Ottawa County's lone Democrat will seek a third term
