Election Guide: All the candidates, proposals on the ballot so far near Holland

Yahoo

13-05-2025

HOLLAND — It's not yet June, but municipalities are already preparing for the August and November elections, where several seats in Holland and Zeeland will be contested.
Several towns in The Sentinel coverage area don't require primaries in August, and so have candidate deadlines in July. Those include Saugatuck, Douglas and Fennville. While Holland and Zeeland require primaries in their city charters, there aren't enough candidates in Holland to need one.
A primary election in most cities is necessary if the number of candidates filed for a seat is more than two times the number of available seats — for example, if five candidates filed for two open seats, a primary would be held to narrow the field to four candidates for November.
Zeeland, for example, will have a primary for candidates seeking to earn a place on Zeeland City Council.
Seven candidates have filed for three open at-large seats on Zeeland City Council, triggering a primary election Aug. 5. The top six vote-getters at that election will move to the general election in November.
Among the seven candidates, just one is an incumbent. Current Councilman Jim Broersma did not file for re-election, and Councilman Richard Van Dorp III is running unopposed for the mayor's seat, as Kevin Klynstra isn't seeking re-election.
More: Zeeland's Kevin Klynstra leaves behind a 30-year legacy of Zeel
Councilman Glenn Kass will seek another term on council. He was first elected in 2007 and has been re-elected three times.
There are also six newcomers vying for seats. They include Andrew Bult, Kylee DeBoer, Ericka Humbert, Amy Langeland, Hillery McAlpine and Rebecca Perkins.
Langeland and Perkins are currently members of other city boards. Langeland is a member of the Cemetery and Parks Commission, while Perkins serves on the Zeeland Planning Commission.
Several seats on Holland City Council will see contested races in November, plus the mayorship, where three-term Mayor Nathan Bocks will face Brian Everitt. The winner will earn a two-year term.
Bocks was first elected mayor in 2019 and was re-elected in 2021 and 2023. Everitt is a board member and past president of Holland Community Theatre. In 2023, Everitt announced a write-in run for mayor but never filed as a candidate for the seat, according to election documents.
Two additional candidates will face-off for a four-year, at-large seat on Holland City Council, to be elected by all city voters:. They include incumbent Quincy Byrd and challenger Abby Klomparens.
Byrd, an engineer and veteran, was appointed to a partial term in 2015 before earning election in 2017 and 2021.
Klomparens ran for Michigan's 86th House District in November, losing to Rep. Nancy DeBoer. She is a member of the Holland Human Relations Commission and the daughter of former Holland City Councilmember Wayne Klomparens.
The four-year seat representing Holland's Third Ward will also be contested in November, by incumbent Bylinda Sól and challenger Tim Marroquín.
Sól was elected to council in 2021. She is a veteran of the Army National Guard. Marroquín is currently the secretary of the Holland Public Schools Board of Education. He previously ran for council in 2017.
In Holland's First Ward, Councilman Tim Vreeman will run unopposed, pending write-in candidates, for his second term. Scott Corbin is also running unopposed in the city's Fifth Ward, where he is seeking election for the third time.
There are three, two-year terms up for election on Douglas City Council along with three, two-year seats on Saugatuck City Council and three four-year terms on the Fennville City Commission.
Those candidates still have more than two months — until July 22 — to file for the November election, Allegan County Elections Coordinator Daron Taylor confirmed to The Sentinel.
There will be several local proposals in August. The deadline for submitting language to local clerks is May 13. As of Monday, May 12, there were already five proposals set to appear on the ballot.
Three of those are in Allegan County's Manlius Township. Voters will be asked to renew a trio of taxes: 2 mills for road improvements, 1.75 mills for fire protection, and 1.5 mills for road resurfacing. Each of the three proposals would be levied for four years.
Holland Public Schools and Fennville Public Schools will both pursue bonds in August, as well.
Holland's proposal would generate $49,225,000 while maintaining the district's current tax rate. In Fennville, the proposal would result in a tax rate 0.5 mills lower than the current rate, while still generating $22,350,000.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Election Guide: Who's running for Holland, Zeeland councils?