OTTAWA COUNTY — Ottawa County Administrator John Gibbs is under investigation for "threatening" behavior, according to a complaint filed in March by one of the sitting county commissioners.
In an email filed March 21, District 4 Commissioner Jacob Bonnema requested Human Resources Director Marcie VerBeek open a disciplinary investigation into Gibbs after what Bonnema described as a "threatening outburst" at the board's March 14 meeting.
The exchange was overheard by a reporter from local ABC affiliate WZZM 13, which reported on it the same day.
Bonnema told VerBeek that "if Gibbs is willing to speak to commissioners in this way, then he is very likely to treat the employees and citizens of Ottawa County in similar fashion."
The Sentinel obtained a copy of the complaint through a Freedom of Information Act request and subsequent appeal.
Bonnema declined The Sentinel's request for comment for this story. Gibbs did not respond.
The confrontation came one day after Bonnema publicly announced he was severing his relationship with Ottawa Impact, the far-right fundamentalist group that helped get him elected last fall. When citing his reasons for departing the group, Bonnema said he ran to serve the people in his communities and that Ottawa Impact no longer aligned with his values.
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