Gibbs, a Republican congressional candidate backed by former President Donald Trump, is currently under fire for making sexist comments, wiretapping his office, assaulting his lawyers and creating a hostile work environment. Citing unnamed sources, he says he is embroiled in a dispute with some commissioners. “Joe Moss for Ottawa County Commissioner,” Moss posted on his Facebook page, addressing the lawyer's letter.
He is currently on paid administrative leave while the board of directors determines his future.
“We're supposed to be doing the county's job, but we're not. We're spinning our wheels and everything else,” Bergman said.
Sylvia Rodea, vice chair of the Ottawa County Commission, did not respond to a message from Bridge seeking comment. Representatives from Ottawa Impact, the conservative advocacy group that Moss helped found and supported Moss and others' elections, were also absent.
Hanbly also did not respond to a request for comment.
The group was founded amid the coronavirus pandemic and culture wars over mask mandates. The group opposes what its members say are attacks on parental rights, efforts to “sexualize” children and overreach by a government it believes has turned away from God. .
Hambley was not the county's health officer at the time of the coronavirus mask mandate, but the public feud between her and the commissioners began shortly after the commissioners took office last year.
Several commissioners, led by members of the Ottawa Impact, attempted to replace them. Hambley and Nathaniel Kelly are self-described industrial hygienists and vocal critics of the Whitmer administration's pandemic orders. Kelly went so far as to mock the governor's press conference and the sign language interpreter there.
Hanbly sued to keep her job, with support from the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Michigan Local Public Health Association, which filed a court brief on her behalf.
