West Michigan county drops "Where Freedom Rings" motto after pro-Trump majority loses power
"Where Freedom Rings" replaced "Where You Belong" in 2023 in Ottawa County, population 306,000, near Lake Michigan in the western part of the state. At the same time, the county board tried to fire the health officer over COVID-19 restrictions and eliminated a diversity office.
But the tide has turned somewhat. Republicans still dominate the board, though members of a pro-Trump group known as Ottawa Impact no longer have a majority, even while President Trump got 59% of the county vote in the 2024 election.
Board Chair John Teeples said "Where Freedom Rings" was divisive.
"For far too many people in Ottawa County and elsewhere, this motto has come to symbolize disunity and rejection, not genuine personal freedom regardless of what its authors may have intended," Teeples said.
The board voted 7-4 to drop it Tuesday. Commissioner Joe Moss, the former board chair, proposed "In God We Trust" as a new motto but it failed, MLive.com reported.
A county resident, Deb Cizek of Port Sheldon Township, spoke in favor of getting rid of "Where Freedom Rings."
The motto started "two years of continuous attacks on personal rights, parental rights, acceptance of those with different life choices, public schools, public libraries, Planned Parenthood, and most obvious, the Ottawa County Health Department staff and programming," Cizek said.
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Forbes
3 hours ago
- Forbes
Donald Trump's Cabinet Is The Richest Ever
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HEADER ILLUSTRATION BY YUNJIA YUAN FOR FORBES; PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES (6); WHITE HOUSE (11); BACKGROUND: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES More from Forbes Forbes 'The Most Hated Guy On Wall Street': The Unspoken Story Around Howard Lutnick, Trump's Pick For Commerce Secretary By Dan Alexander Forbes Here's How Much Pete Hegseth Is Worth—And It's Less Than You Might Think By Kyle Khan-Mullins Forbes How Pam Bondi Got Rich In Just Six Years Out Of Office By Kyle Khan-Mullins Forbes Here's How Much Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Worth By Chase Peterson-Withorn
CBS News
10 hours ago
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Hamtramck City Council holds meeting after two members face election fraud charges
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Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Michigan property tax relief on the horizon, Republican Speaker says
The Brief House GOP Speaker Matt Hall is considering some big tax reduction plans. Hall is looking at the Headlee Amendment, Proposal A and state property taxes. He said cutting property taxes altogether, saying you need to fund education and local governments. (FOX 2) - It was 31 years ago when then-Gov. John Engler and the state legislature put Proposal A on the statewide ballot to reduce property taxes. It passed, ending a three-decade-long battle to do that. And ever since, lawmakers and governors have left it alone. Now, plans are in motion for more property tax relief. The backstory In 1978 Dick Headlee, a Republican who ran for governor, pushed the Headlee Amendment. It provided its own form of property tax relief. Lawmakers and governors haven't touched it since. The reason why? It opens up a political can of worms with huge political ramifications. But that doesn't seem to bother House GOP Speaker Matt Hall, who surprised Lansing by saying he would revisit the property tax, the Headlee Amendment and Proposal A for the schools. "That's the next issues that I think's going to dominate this town: How do we do property tax and the potential of putting that on the next ballot if we can't do it all, legislatively," Hall said. Big picture view Trying to revamp the property tax system is a delicate assignment because local governments are dependent on that tax to pay for local services, and anything that reduces their revenue will not be welcomed with open arms. The same holds for K-12 educators. Proposal A is their main source of revenue and depending what changes are made, they could lose dollars, too. But Speaker Hall and others also hear the gripes about property taxes from voters. And since 2026 is an election year, what better time to address it as lawmakers run for re-election hoping to cut taxes to get your votes. "That looks at Proposal A and Headlee and tries to kind of modify those so that we can make property taxes more affordable," Hall said. "To prevent some of those long-term increases in property taxes that homeowners face." Complicating this debate is a proposed petition drive that seeks to eliminate all property taxes. If that gets on the ballot, there could be competing tax relief plans for you to decide. But the speaker has an ominous warning about a total repeal. "We need to properly fund education and local governments - that's why you can't get rid of the property tax," Hall said. "After the budget, our next focus is going to be how we tackle this issue and at that time I'll have a good read on whether that's something we can pull that together for this election. We're definitely considering it." The Source Information for this report came from an interview with House GOP Speaker Matt Hall. Solve the daily Crossword
