Ironically, one of their complaints is that Hendrick has received funding from people who are not local to Grand Haven. This is ironic because “Conservative Michigan” is based in Holton, Michigan, not Grand Haven, and so is also an outside group seeking to sway the election. Top contributors include Malinda Pego, the co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party and someone who, with Zach Lahring, caused nothing but far-right hateful havoc in Muskegon County. Pego went so far as to compare vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany.
The claims in this leaflet are beneath anyone who is truly seeking to contribute to an informed and engaged electorate. They repeat the smears of former mayor Geri McCaleb, who claimed in this paper that communication between members of those working to change the structure of the Board of Light & Power and members of our City Council are evidence of a conspiracy. Because they communicated. If these claims were valid or were, perhaps, a violation of the Open Meetings Act or any other legal standard, then they should be adjudicated in a court of law. They should not be used to smear public servants seeking to engage and communicate with constituents on a variety of issues.
Former Councilmember Denny Scott repeats his continued accusation that he was attacked personally by Hendrick, claiming she said he was poisoning our children. What did happen is that Hendrick, as a mother, expressed her deep concerns about the potential for PFAS and arsenic leaching into our drinking water due to the contamination on Harbor Island. His own approach to Harbor Island, she believed (and rightfully so, in my opinion) would lead to increased risk of contamination and health consequences for all residents of Grand Haven, including our children. (Of course, Councilmember Scott also voted against the first Pride Worship Service my church put on three years ago, so it is unsurprising he wants to find ways to attack someone like Hendrick who has explicitly supported that service and the Pride Festival this past year.)
There are some horrific claims from someone who claims to be a licensed child-care provider. And yet, this person does not show up in the LARA database as a licensed child-care provider. Furthermore, if these claims were true this person is a mandated reporter who should have reported them. To attack someone’s character as a parent, and to do it so viciously, is shameful.
It is clear that the reasons for these attacks on Hendrick is because she has been transparent and clear in her opposition to the efforts of Ottawa Impact to influence the lives and future of Ottawa County. She is transparent that she is a progressive who believes progressive policies are the approach needed for the issues facing Grand Haven in our time. But instead of engaging with her policies, they are attacking her character.
This transparency can be compared to the other mayoral candidate, Benjamin Genser, who raised the second-highest amount of funds in his mayoral campaign. Those same people attacking Hendrick have insisted that claims that Genser is associated with Ottawa Impact are smears. Genser himself has repudiated the connection. And yet, when residents of the city asked Genser for his position on a variety of issues in that same post, he did not respond. When asked about the Grand Haven Pride Festival at a local meeting, he evaded and neither condemned nor endorsed the festival. And the former child-care provider who is now slandering Andrea Hendrick has social media connections with Genser. And, despite the outrage on the flyer that Hendrick has funding from outside the city of Grand Haven, only 2 percent of the money Genser has raised in his filing came from voters who are eligible to vote in the Grand Haven mayoral election.
If you follow the money and the energy, one thing becomes very clear: Supporters of Ottawa Impact want Genser to win this election. Campaign filings reveal that one of his largest donors is Robyn Brodie, who also donated to the Ottawa Impact Education PAC and to the campaigns of Ottawa Impact candidates in other elections. The Ottawa Impact candidate who failed to win the County Commission seat in Grand Haven, Jenni Shepherd-Kelley, has posted her own support for him on social media.
And you just have to drive through town and look at the signs – see how many “Genser for Mayor” signs used to have Ottawa Impact signs. Or, even more telling, see how many yards that have the “OI” crossed out sign – standing for “against Ottawa Impact” – also have a “Genser for Mayor” sign. Call me suspicious, but it seems bizarre that many of the people insisting he is not in any way affiliated with Ottawa Impact are often those who have defended the actions of Ottawa Impact.
Full disclosure: One of Genser’s supporters asked if I’d meet with him, which I agreed to. The appointment was then canceled, and rescheduling it was delayed until after the primary.
Is Hendrick a progressive who believes in progressive solutions? Yes, and she’s not afraid to say what she believes even as her opponent equivocates. As a progressive myself, I naturally support Hendrick: because my views are also public and always tied to my own name. And if you don’t believe in progressive solutions, there are other candidates on the ballot to choose from who are willing to make their views (and financial connections) clear.
We will see who Grand Haven has to choose from after the primary election today. Regardless, my own hope is that Genser (and all other mayoral candidates) will repudiate this attack on Hendrick as beneath what mayoral politics should be in our city.
About the writer: The Rev. Dr. Jared C. Cramer, Tribune community columnist, serves as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven. Information about his parish can be found at www.sjegh.com.
