Meet the man running to fill Roger Bergman's shoes in Ottawa County
GRAND HAVEN — Josh Brugger wants to return Ottawa County to being "boring, reliable and predictable" — and he says that's a good thing.
"County government should be operating quietly behind the scenes, supporting the community," he said.
Brugger, 46, is running as a Republican for the District 10 seat on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners. He was inspired to run after several controversial decisions were made by the current board, controlled by far-right fundamentalist group Ottawa Impact.
The group assumed a controlling majority in January 2023 and made headlines locally and nationally in the months after. The board's choices have resulted in at least four lawsuits, an investigation from Attorney General Dana Nessel, the pending recall of an OI commissioner and deep funding cuts to the county's health department.
"I believe that, at a time like this, we all have a responsibility to do something," Brugger said. "I happen to have experience that I've gained over the last 20 years that put me in a good place to benefit our county — and I think experience is very important at this time."
That experience includes previous time on Grand Haven's city council, planning commission, human relations commission and zoning board of appeals.
"I love it that people want to get involved — it's great — but do the time," Brugger said. "If you want to be the owner of factory production, you start out sweeping the floor, and then you graduate to cleaning the toilets, and then you graduate to working on the line, and then you graduate to managing the line.
"Then you get into receivables and payables and purchasing and everything else. Eventually, you work your way up where you've got enough of an understanding of how everything works, so that you're qualified and competent to run it."
"What we have right now is the exact opposite. We have a group of people who (came) in with very little experience, very passionate about one or two issues," Brugger added, referring to OI's roots in anti-COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
Brugger says he wants a return to normalcy, which "involves a certain level of grace and self-control."
"I want to stop the pendulum effect," he said. "What I worry about is an equal and opposite reaction. We had a group of people that were upset with a Democratic governor who possibly overstepped with some mask mandates. I get that and we all, in hindsight, would agree. But it was an awful experience that no one asked for, so let's proceed with caution. We've had an overreaction to one particular issue, which has been trumped up to represent other issues like a stamping on civil liberties.
"I want to make sure that we don't swing the pendulum back in a reactionary fashion. But that instead, we find ourselves back in common sense."
He pointed to a recent exodus of longtime county employees since OI assumed control.
"We have lost well over a combined century's worth of work experience when it comes to county-level administration," he said.
More: Ottawa County Health Department sees highest staff turnover in 10 years
Brugger has the support of current District 10 Commissioner Roger Bergman, who's retiring at the end of his current term after 12 years on the commission.
"I started looking for someone to run for my seat," Bergman told The Sentinel. "I've known Josh for many years and know, from his experience on city council and various local boards, what a conservative and moderate person he is — and that's why I'm working to get him elected."
The district represents Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ferrysburg.
Brugger aims to restore the county's former reputation "for our awesome festivals like Tulip Time and Coast Guard, for our manufacturing sector tied to automotive and furniture."
"That's what we were known for — that's what we used to be known for," he said. "I want us, as a county, to become known for those things again, instead of the headlines that we read in Politico and The Washington Post."
Brugger was first elected to Grand Haven City Council in 2015. He later ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Bob Monetza, who was recently re-elected after losing a term to Catherine McNally.
Subscribe: Get all your breaking news and unlimited access to our local coverage
Brugger graduated from Grand Haven High School in 1996, then graduated from Hope College in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in political science and pre-law.
He previously worked for Habitat for Humanity, Love in the Name of Christ, and has had several volunteer experiences overseas, including in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Mongolia. He founded his own home-building company, BruggerHouse Builders, with his father in 2004.
He said all eyes are on the county right now and he wants to deliver good governance.
"I believe we are at a very unique point in time and we have an opportunity," he said. "We will have a greater impact on the nation than ever before, because the spotlight is on us right now. ... Anything that we do in Ottawa County now will have ripple effects across the country, because the eye of the country is on us right now."
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: Meet the man running to fill Roger Bergman's shoes in Ottawa County
