UNDATED (WHTC-AM/FM, Nov. 7, 2023) – Voters will be asked to go to the polls on Tuesday to cast ballots in municipal elections in several Lakeshore communities.
Five seats on the Holland City Council will be contested. Incumbent Mayor Nathan Bocks seeks a third two-year term, challenged by Larry Shattuck. At-Large Council Member Lyn Raymond is looking to stay on the governing panel, but representing the Second Ward, challenged by Orlando Estrada as a write-in candidate. Kim Rowan and Mike Short vie for the Fourth Ward spot, while Ben Attama and Devin Shea contest for the Sixth Ward vacancy. Looking to replace Raymond as an At-Large council member are Michael Schultheis and Ryan Spencer.
There are no contested races in Zeeland, as Mayor Kevin Klynstra and Council Members Sally Gruppen, Phung Lam and Mary Beth Timmer are running unopposed.
There is one contested race for the Hudsonville City Commission, as incumbent Phil Leerar is challenged by Jeremy Kemp.
In Grand Haven, Andrea Hendrick and Bob Monetza vie for mayor, while incumbents Ryan Cummins and Mike Fritz are challenged by DeAnna Lieffers and Steve Skodack for two council seats. John David Groothuis, John Kinch, Kurt Knoth and Michael Welling are contesting for two seats on the Grand Haven Board or Light and Power, but residents also have to decide whether to dissolve that governing body and have the municipal utility be run by an Energy Services Advisory Commission under the control of the City Council in a city charter amendment proposal.
Due to a clerical snafu, voters in Ferrysburg must write in their candidates, with Rebecca Hopp and Richard Carlson running for mayor, and Lawrence DeWitt, William Montgomery, Todd Madison and Jerry Sias vying for three council seats.
In Coopersville, incumbents Tim Degeus and Renee Gavin, along with challengers Daniel Bowman, Michael Karasinski Jr., Jillian Poelma and Jason Tuttle, look to fill three council seats.
Fennville voters will also have to write in their choices for four city commission seats due to a clerical issue, with John Edwin Jamros, Carlos Lopez, Shawn Machan and Sarah Sliter submitting their names for consideration.
There is a contested race for three Wayland City Council seats, with incumbents Tracy Bivins and Steve Stepek challenged by Jerry Lee Jansen and Grace Sefranek.
As for ballot proposals: West Ottawa Public Schools is seeking $237 million in bonds, to be paid for through a 1.23 mill levy over 25 years; Jamestown Township is trying again to have its library millage renewed at .41 mills over three years; Grand Haven Area Public Schools is seeking two separate bond proposals, priced at $118 million and $28 million respectively, to be paid for through a 2.71 mill levy and a 1.76 mill levy, respectively, over 20 years; Martin Public Schools is seeking $17.1 million in bonds, to be paid for through a .98 mill levy over 30 years; the village of Hopkins wants a Headlee Override in order to restore a 10 mill levy; and Otsego Township wants a Solid Waste Disposal millage increase to half a mill over a five-year period.
Polls are open from 7 AM to 8 PM on Tuesday. Online links to a list of candidates and proposal language are available here for Ottawa County and here for Allegan County.
