Long meetings and late nights are commonplace for journalists reporting on governmental bodies.
But “pack food, a phone charger and learn to play euchre” long? That’s all a part of the spectacle that has become Ottawa County government in the past year.
“That’s really tiring, when you’re talking about 60-plus public comments and an eight-hour meeting,” said Audra Gamble, lead reporter for MLive in Grand Rapids. “Sometimes my notes from board meetings are more than 20 pages, typed. My brain feels pretty fried after those meetings.”
Gamble is one of many MLive reporters tasked with covering the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners since an ultraconservative faction called Ottawa Impact took control in elections in 2022.
The longer meetings aren’t because the new commissioners are learning the ropes. In large part it’s because Ottawa Impact is doing much of its work in behind closed doors, out of the sight of media and the public, and only tipping its hand when it votes to enact policy or make personnel moves.
This is not an issue about ideology, even though enough Ottawa citizens are so concerned that they pack meetings, and a competing group, Ottawa Integrity, has sprung up to offer a political challenge. It’s about openness and transparency in government.
MLive and all other journalistic entities continually fight for access to government records and proceedings. It’s not a partisan issue, it’s a democracy issue. Most elected officials and governmental agencies follow not just the letter of the Opening Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act, but also the spirit of those laws.
In Ottawa County, the elected leaders are doing their deliberations outside of the open meeting forum, and then refusing to explain themselves to the media or the public. And the county has responded to routine FOIA requests with long delays and exorbitant fees – in one case, demanding more than $20,000 to fulfill a records request.
Michael Kransz, an MLive reporter in Grand Rapids who has played a key role in covering Ottawa County’s board, said a number of things about the task have been unprecedented in his eight years of covering government.
The biggest departure, he said, is “an unwavering refusal by Board Chair Joe Moss to talk with almost all local media on any issue. Never have I been completely shut out by a local elected leader or seen a local government so interested in playing to their political base.”
That’s shortchanging the citizens who want to know the rationale behind government decisions. And it also makes our job extremely challenging.
“To never once in 11 months be able to get a board chair on the phone for a quick interview is a new thing for me,” Gamble agreed. “I can’t put words in somebody else’s mouth. If all the Ottawa Impact commissioners decline to comment when I ask them questions, that’s really all I can do. I can sometimes find statements from commissioners on social media or their campaign websites, but that certainly isn’t the norm.”
County meetings have been unusual in just about every respect – length, contentiousness, the lack of openness and information. And that extends to the measures journalists have to take to do their jobs and adapt to the demands.
“I learned the hard way to bring snacks and a second, 24-ounce coffee,” said Kransz, who added that he fills the hours by transcribing statements from officials and public commenters and filing stories.
Gamble said a camaraderie has grown between journalists from what would typically be considered competing media organizations, right on down to sharing power cords to keep laptops and phones working through an entire shift.
“We’ve been through all these super-long meetings together and we do what we can to make them less arduous for each other,” she said. “There was discussion a couple weeks ago of teaching the Washington Post reporter how to play euchre so he could blend in with us Michiganders.”
Gamble said that jokingly – but the bottom line is, this is serious work in a challenging environment, for very important reasons. She notes that in addition to her professional need for open government, she also is a resident of Ottawa County.
“It truly doesn’t matter to me the political makeup of any municipal government that we cover – I expect the same commitment to transparency, good governance and service to their taxpayers from them all,” she said. “The key to a democracy is a well-informed electorate and it’s our job to inform them; I take that responsibility seriously.”
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