On the campaign trail, I frequently share with Ottawa County voters that my candidacy is the direct result of parental right violations by the local government. The lockdowns and remote learning of the COVID pandemic inadvertently allowed parents a glimpse of the progressive, hypersexualized curriculum in our schools. The forced mandates exposed the blatant disregard of parents’ fundamental right to determine and direct the care of their children. Let me illustrate with three examples:
Forced Mandates – County Commissioners
On August 24, 2021, over 1000 parents spoke out against masking their children in school at the County Commissioner meeting. Despite the overwhelming and compelling evidence presented, the commissioners voted to mask the children starting in September 2021. This meeting lasted 7 hours and is recorded.
Hypersexuality agenda – Health Department
On June 7, 2022, Libs of TikTok posted a tweet highlighting radical content promoted by the Ottawa County Health Department in their Family Planning Guide. This guide promoted early childhood sexuality and pro-abortion resources. After being exposed, Ottawa County deleted the pdf. from their website. For more information about the content being promoted by the Ottawa County Health Department, please read the Pro-Life Protection Assessment.
Illicit Book – School Board
On September 19, 2022 over 100 parents attended The Hudsonville Public Schools Board of Education Special Meeting to request the removal of a book titled, “Half A Yellow Sun”. Excerpts of pornographic content were recited for 30 minutes. Despite the evidence presented and parental direction, select Board of Education members voted to keep the book in the library, forcing the parents to accept the relocation to a “parental consent” section.
Sexual Transitions – Michigan Department of Education
It doesn’t end at Ottawa County! Just recently, Christopher F. Rufo of City Journal obtained videos and internal documentation that Michigan’s Department of Education encourages teachers to facilitate child sexual transitions without parental consent. These are not isolated incidents, but instead a coordinated attack that violates Section 380.10 of The Michigan School Code:
“It is the natural, fundamental right of parents and legal guardians to determine and direct the care, teaching and education of their children. The public schools of this state serve the needs of the pupils by cooperating with the pupil’s parents and legal guardians to develop the pupil’s intellectual capabilities and vocational skills in a safe and positive manner.”
Parents in our county are acutely aware of their children’s lost learning – some children are failing and must repeat a school year. Forced inoculations and the masking of children has caused severe developmental and psychological damage. Reading, writing, and arithmetic scores are declining rapidly in Ottawa County schools and across the country according to a 2022 study done by the National Center for Education Statistics. This leads one to ask, why are educators concentrating on pronouns, gender identity, CRT and DEI initiatives instead of preparing students to go to college or enter the workforce?
What Will I Do?
As county commissioner, I will not support forced medical mandates or medical practices / procedures without parental consent. I will work with my colleagues on the County Commission to redirect budget dollars from sex and gender activism to programs that promote reading, writing, arithmetic, and life skills. I will attend the appropriate school board meetings to ensure that I am listening to the parents of District 1.