“And Mr. Anderson is the selection.”
“Alright, thank you. Welcome, Jon.”
With that, Jon Anderson became Ottawa County’s Interim Administrator, filling the role John Gibbs left after he was fired last month due to complaints about his behavior in the workplace.
While four board members voted to hire fiscal services director Karen Karasinski, it was Board Chairman Joe Moss who cast the deciding vote for Anderson.
Commissioner Allison Medema, who voted for Anderson, said that while she had the utmost respect and trust that Karasinski could handle the job, due to the political climate within the county and its government
“It is in the best interest to have a non-current staff member come in from the outside to fill this interim role of County Administrator.”
According to Moss’ website, Anderson had a 30-year career in law enforcement, including 10 years in administrative leadership. He’s worked for Spectrum Health, Livingston County, General Motors and the Detroit Tigers.
Commissioner Doug Zylstra, who voted for Karasinski, stated that he had only been aware since Friday that the board was considering external candidates and wished more time had been given to considering them.
“I would have preferred that if we were going to go down that route, that we would have made that known to folks, and maybe that was known to folks, but it wasn’t known to me at least. I think we have a number of people in this community who could have applied and should have applied and I think would make great candidates.”
Moss stated that long term, the board will develop a search process for a permanent Administrator.
