OTTAWA COUNTY – The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners has removed administrative assistant Jordan Epperson from his position. On Tuesday, December 10, he voted to approve a separation and release agreement.
The vote was that “the Clerk (Justin Roebuck) and the Chairman (Joe Moss) would sign and approve a separation and release agreement.” No further details were provided.
More: Heavily redacted emails suggest the Ottawa assistant’s appointment was disputed
There was no discussion prior to the vote, which passed 9-2, with commissioners Doug Zylstra and Jacob Bonnema dissenting. The vote came after a long closed session and during one of the last board meetings of 2024.
The closed session was convened “to consider the dismissal, suspension or discipline of, or to hear complaints or charges filed against, or to consider a periodic personnel review of, any public official, employee, staff member or individual agent, as requested by (Epperson).”
A late add meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, December 19.
Epperson and interim administrator Benjamin Wetmore, who discussed the board in a similar closed session as at the time of writing, were both hired by former Ottawa County Administrator John Gibbs, who was fired by the board in February.
Jordan Epperson sits at an Ottawa County board meeting on Tuesday, December 10.
Both employees brought their own controversies. Epperson led to a lawsuit against Ottawa County alleging age discrimination by an older, more qualified candidate. That case was settled in September for $225,000.
More: Ottawa County will pay $225,000 to settle the age discrimination lawsuit
The Sentinel is seeking details of Epperson’s severance deal, including the amount of any payouts.
Epperson started in his role as senior executive assistant on August 21, 2023, several weeks after Gibbs declined to publicly give his name during a meeting. The position was created in March 2023 by upgrading an existing role.
Epperson, 23 when he was hired, is a former legislative assistant to Northern Michigan State Representative Neil Friske. He has ties to several prominent far-right Republicans in the state, including Friske, former MIGOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock, and former Ottawa County GOP Chairman Joel Studebaker – who left his provincial position to become Kristina Karamo’s chief of staff during her time as MIGOP Chairman.
In the months following his appointment, news broke that Gibbs chose Epperson over a more qualified candidate: Ryan Kimball, 49.
Jordan Epperson sits and watches during the Ottawa County Board meeting on Tuesday, December 10 at the Fillmore Complex.
Kimball sued after alleged comments made by Gibbs were shared during a termination hearing for Health Officer Adeline Hambley in October 2023. According to testimony from former Deputy Administrator Patrick Waterman and then-Human Resources Director Marcie VerBeek, Gibbs wanted to hire Epperson because he “was young.” . ‘ and it could be ‘in charge of it’.
Waterman, who resigned in July 2023 citing a strained working relationship with Gibbs and a “lack of effective leadership” by the board’s new majority, said he was present during the hiring process for the assistant position and that he was concerned about Epperson because of “certain behavior.” he showed during his interviews.
“As far as I can recall, Mr. Epperson has expressed support for Ottawa Impact in his interviews,” Waterman testified.
Ottawa Impact was founded 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 — a decline as infighting caused at least one member to break his relationship with the group. Ottawa Impact will lose power when the new board takes over in January, with just four members remaining.
More: Moderate Republicans will return to power in Ottawa County government
When asked specifically what concerns he had, Waterman referred to a comment VerBeek made during her testimony that Epperson refused to shake hands with the women on the interview committee: VerBeek and Chief Financial Officer Karen Karasinski.
“That was one problem,” Waterman replied. “There was another issue about ethics. He said, ‘Ethics depends on who (you) work for.’ I thought that was a worrying answer.”
Waterman said he asked Epperson if the administration’s positions were political.
“He said, ‘Absolutely.’ There were also concerns about qualifications,” Waterman testified.
— Contact reporters Mitchell Boatman and Cassidey Kavathas at newsroom@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared in The Holland Sentinel: Ottawa County Board votes to ‘divorce’ assistant Jordan Epperson
