OTTAWA COUNTY — Less than two hours after voting to separate from Administrative Aide Jordan Epperson, the Ottawa County Board has also released Interim Administrator Benjamin Wetmore from his role.
The move was largely unexpected Tuesday, Dec. 10 — coming after a last-minute agenda posting that called for separate closed sessions “to consider the dismissal, suspension, or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, or to consider a periodic personnel evaluation of, a public officer, employee, staff member, or individual agent, as requested by (Epperson and Wetmore).”
Commissioners voted 7-4 for “the clerk (Justin Roebuck) and chair (Joe Moss) to sign and authorize a separation and release agreement” for Wetmore. As with Epperson, no further details were provided and there was no discussion prior to the vote.
More: Ottawa County Board votes to ‘separate’ from aide Jordan Epperson
Interim Administrator Benjamin Wetmore was released from his role Tuesday, Dec. 10.
Commissioners Doug Zylstra and Jacob Bonnema dissented, as they did with an identical vote on Epperson. They were joined by Commissioners Roger Bergman and Rebekah Curran. The decision came after a second closed session, and during one of the last board meetings of 2024.
An additional meeting for Thursday, Dec. 19, has been placed on the schedule. The Sentinel is seeking details for both severance agreements, including the amount of any possible payouts.
Who are Wetmore and Epperson?
Wetmore and Epperson were both hired by former Ottawa County Administrator John Gibbs, who was fired by the board in February. Both hires brought their own controversies.
Wetmore, an attorney, was hired in November 2023 as deputy administrator. He became interim administrator following the second resignation of Jon Anderson, who took over after Gibbs was fired.
Epperson and Wetmore have ties to lawmakers in Michigan’s Grand New Party. Wetmore is a former legislative aide to Rep. Matt Maddock.
Wetmore also has a past relationship with James O’Keefe, the controversial founder of Project Veritas, a conservative nonprofit that uses undercover video and staged encounters in an attempt to reveal media bias.
Wetmore started making waves as a political science and history major at American University, where he started a website blasting the university president’s spending habits.
He later attended law school at Loyola University New Orleans, and in 2010, he housed O’Keefe and three other men accused of plotting to tamper with the office phone system of then-Texas Sen. Mary Landrieu. O’Keefe was convicted of a misdemeanor for entering Landrieu’s office under false pretenses.
Wetmore was later counsel for the American Phoenix Foundation, a nonprofit led by Joseph Basel that aimed to secretly tape Texas legislators and lobbyists using guerrilla tactics similar to those employed by Project Veritas. The nonprofit has since been placed in receivership.
Wetmore is also alleged to have authored a 2010 plot to lure a female CNN reporter onto a boat where O’Keefe planned to faux-seduce her on camera in an effort to discredit the reporter and her network.
When asked for comment by The Sentinel on the allegation, Wetmore said it “wasn’t meant to be taken seriously.”
Administrative Aide Jordan Epperson was released from his role in Ottawa County on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
Epperson, meanwhile, started in his role as senior executive aide on Aug. 21, 2023, several weeks after Gibbs refused to publicly name his hire during a meeting. The position was created in March 2023 by upgrading an existing role.
Epperson, 23 at the time of his hiring, is a former legislative aide to Northern Michigan State Rep. Neil Friske. He’s linked to several prominent far-right Republicans in the state, including Friske, former MIGOP Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock, and former Ottawa County GOP Chair Joel Studebaker — who left his county position to become chief of staff for Kristina Karamo during her time as MIGOP Chair.
In the months after his hire, news broke that Gibbs chose Epperson over a more qualified candidate: Ryan Kimball, 49.
Kimball sued after alleged comments from Gibbs were shared during a termination hearing for Health Officer Adeline Hambley in October 2023. According to testimony by former Deputy Administrator Patrick Waterman and then-Human Resources Director Marcie VerBeek, Gibbs wanted to hire Epperson because he was “young” and could be “bossed around.”
Waterman, who resigned in July 2023 citing a strained working relationship with Gibbs and a “lack of effective leadership” by the new board majority, said he was present during the hiring process for the aide position and had concerns about Epperson over “certain behaviors” he showed during his interviews.
“To my recollection, Mr. Epperson raised support for Ottawa Impact in his interviews,” Waterman testified.
When asked specifically what concerns he had, Waterman referenced a comment VerBeek made during her testimony that Epperson refused to shake the hands of the women on the interviewing committee: VerBeek and Finance Director Karen Karasinski.
“That was one issue,” Waterman replied. “There was another issue about ethics. He said, ‘Ethics depend on who (you’re) working for.’ I thought that was a concerning answer.”
Waterman said he asked Epperson if government positions were political.
“He said, ‘Absolutely.’ There also were concerns about qualifications,” Waterman testified.
The lawsuit over Epperson’s hire was settled for $250,000 in September.
Ottawa Impact was formed in 2021 in response to school mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. OI currently has a six-seat majority on the 11-member board — down since infighting caused at least one member to sever his relationship with the group.
District 3 Commissioner Doug Zylstra speaks during a meeting of the Ottawa County Board on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
The separation agreements come only weeks before Ottawa Impact is set to lose power, with just four remaining members after a tense election. The board recently took steps to protect the longevity of an agreement with Kallman Legal Group, shortening the firm’s contract but pre-paying for 10 months.
The move, in essence, discourages new members of the board from terminating the agreement with KLG outright upon taking office in January. Because Epperson and Wetmore now have approved severance agreements, they, too, seem to be protected from being dismissed for cause.
When will Ottawa County have a permanent administrator?
The county’s separation from Wetmore further complicates an already fraught search for a full-time, permanent administrator.
Gibbs was hired in January 2023, after the incoming Ottawa Impact majority fired former Administrator John Shay without warning. Gibbs, who is now embroiled in a termination lawsuit against the county, was hired without a public interview, a public job posting, or the use of a recruitment firm.
After the firing of Gibbs, the resignation of Anderson and the appointment of Wetmore, the board majority was aggressive in its search for a permanent replacement. Commissioners created an Executive Transition Committee along faction lines in September.
The committee is entirely comprised of Ottawa Impact members, and quickly voted 5-0 to select W Talent, the only firm proposed, after it was backed by Moss. There was no request for proposals issued, Moss seemed to confirm during a meeting Tuesday, Nov. 12, in which the board was criticized for not following its own policies.
More: Ottawa County administrator search spirals as finalists withdraw, accusations spread
Four candidates received second interviews, and the field was eventually narrowed to two: Sparta Village Manager Jim Lower and Port Huron City Manager James Freed. Both candidates withdrew before their final interviews, upending the schedule and seemingly leaving the administrator decision to the new board.
For now, upon the execution of Wetmore’s separation and release agreement, the county remains administrator-less.
— Contact reporters Mitchell Boatman and Cassidey Kavathas at newsroom@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Wetmore ‘released’ from administrator role in Ottawa County