Andrea Hendrick, a member of the Grand Haven Board of Light and Power (BLP), is running to be the mayor of Grand Haven. On August 23, 2022, a complaint of discrimination was filed against the members of the BLP and its administrative staff. The complaint alleged that BLP board member Andrea Hendrick suffered discrimination and that intimidation, ridicule and mockery were used to silence her voice during the August 3, 2022, BLP meeting. The complaint was investigated by the Grand Haven Human Relations Commission and they concluded there was not sufficient evidence to prove discrimination. Ironically, the legal response to the complaint found that Andrea Hendrick had in fact used tactics similar to those that were alleged to have been used against her.
The August 3, 2022, meeting of the BLP was heated. The J.B. Sims plant had been removed and the anticipated environmental clean-up effort of coal combustion residue (CCR) on Harbor Island was no longer straight forward. PFAS had just been discovered on the island, complicating the clean-up effort. Before Harbor Island became the home to the power plant, it served as the city dump, and that is the most likely source of PFAS contamination. The discovery of PFAS indicated the City of Grand Haven, in addition to the BLP, would be responsible for environmental remediation.
The BLP wanted to negotiate a written agreement with the City of Grand Haven and they wanted their own legal representation. During the August 3, 2022 meeting, a resolution was proposed which included those two items. The resolution stated; “The Board of Light and Power desires, before moving forward further on the former Sims site environmental remediation, to establish a clear mutual written agreement and understanding of the Board’s governing roles, responsibilities, and funding obligations, and those of City Council and the Administrative Service of the City, with respect to the joint environmental remediation and redevelopment project of the former Sims Power Plant site between the Board of Light and Power, City Council, and other departments and administrative offices of the City.”
In addition, the resolution stated, “The Board of Light and Power approves and appoints Varnum as its special legal counsel for utility matters.”
Three members of the BLP were in favor of this resolution, one was absent, and Andrea Hendrick was opposed. The meeting discussion regarding these topics was heated and political, and it was within this meeting that the alleged discrimination occurred. You can view the board meeting here.
To address the allegations of gender discrimination, the legal firm representing the BLP prepared a written response. The response states, “This is a dispute that involves clashing personalities, a disabled former Board chair who suffers from profound hearing loss (and who has since resigned), and difficult behavior by a relatively new Board member – Director Hendrick – who has made repeated personal attacks on other BLP board members and staff, even threatening the livelihood of a female staff member and mocking the age, gender, race, and disability status of other Board members and staff.”
The response claimed that Andrea Hendrick made public Facebook posts repeatedly mentioning the “age, gender, and race” of BLP members, showed a “lack of empathy” toward a board member suffering from hearing loss, seemed to “mock Director Kieft’s disability”, and was “condescending”, “demanding”, “hostile”, and “dismissive” towards BLP staff and proceeded to provide several examples.
According to the response, “In past public Facebook posts, now-Director Hendrick repeatedly mentioned the age, gender, and race of other members of the Board of Directors. She implied that such protected characteristics somehow rendered them no longer qualified to serve on the BLP, despite the fact that each one of them was elected by the voters of the community.”
The response further states, “Director Hendrick has also shown a lack of empathy toward a fellow Board Director with a disability. In February 2022, then Board Chair Larry Kieft informed Renee Molyneux, the Administrative Services Manager for the BLP, that he was suffering from profound hearing loss, and had lost 85 percent of his hearing. He asked that the BLP accommodate him by reorganizing the seating at Board meetings so that he would be able to see each Board member’s lips while they are speaking, as this would allow him to follow the discussions and fully participate in Board meetings. All of the other Board members readily accepted this new seating arrangement, except Director Hendrick, who was upset she would no longer be as visible on camera under the new configuration (all BLP meetings are now livestreamed). Seeming to mock Director Kieft’s disability, she said in front of BLP staff, ‘my disability is not being seen on camera.’”
Finally, Tabs I, J, K and L of the response includes several emails between Hendrick and BLP staff further demonstrating proof that she was the one who was condescending, demanding, hostile, dismissive and discriminatory, not the BLP staff.
Andrea Hendrick is running to be the mayor of Grand Haven. This incident demonstrates the use of false claims being used to achieve political goals. What’s more interesting is that this claim was filed by Elizabeth Pell, reported girlfriend of Grand Haven City Council member Kevin McLaughlin. If you are a resident of the City of Grand Haven, ask yourself if this person demonstrates the qualities of someone you want in charge.