Andrea Hendrick's Marijuana Business Partner Gives Public Comment
Cummins accuses McNally of being disrespectful - The Local Marijuana Super-Team
Throughout American history, special interest groups have worked to place their representatives in key positions of government and industry. Although state, Federal and established governments in big cities have long since operated in this fashion, the strategy is now being implemented in lower-level counties and small municipalities. These government entities have great impacts on communities. Recently we wrote about Super-Teams of politicians and business leaders working together with the special interest of legalizing entheogenic plants. Key advocates for bringing the marijuana industry to Grand Haven appear to be following the playbook described.
To start, Grand Haven has a mayoral candidate whose primary business history centers around the marijuana and mushroom industries. Andrea Hendrick has been involved in assisting cannabis businesses find locations to open dispensaries and navigate the permitting process at the local level through I Site Consulting Group. Another business belonging to Andrea, Queen Leaf, LLC, was given pre-qualification approval to open a marijuana provisioning center in the City of Grand Haven. She is on the board and an administrator on the Decriminalize Nature Grand Rapids Facebook Group whose mission is to change laws regarding entheogenic plants and mushrooms by connecting politicians, businessmen, and activists.
But, Andrea Hendrick is not the only person on the Grand Haven Marijuana Super-Team. There appears to be several others, working together in government and business roles, behind the scenes, to change the Grand Haven ordinances in attempts to achieve personal power and financial success. Hendrick’s connections in the marijuana and mushroom industries, local happenings, along with public accusations made by current Grand Haven City Council members against other city council members suggests many activities are taking place behind the scenes, and that several Grand Haven leaders are working in their own self-interests rather than in the interests of the people of Grand Haven.
Andrea Hendrick’s business partner at I Site Consulting, Landon Bartley, is from Grand Rapids and has spoken at several Grand Haven City Council meetings in favor of legalizing marijuana. Landon Bartley is an expert in energy, difficult land use problems such as Harbor Island, and marijuana policy. He formerly worked for the City of Grand Rapids where he was involved with advocating for marijuana legalization and writing marijuana ordinances. He has spoken at several Grand Haven City Council and Planning Commission meetings advocating for ordinances in Grand Haven that would allow for the sale of recreational marijuana. After Landon Bartley spoke to City Council on June 6, 2022, Mayor McNalley asked him a few probing questions about his background, and why he was there. Grand Haven Council Member Ryan Cummins had an over-the-top reaction to Mayor McNally’s innocent questions. Must Watch! (47:29).
(To view the video, you must click below and go to youtube.)
Months prior to Council Member Cummins’ odd behavior during the June 6, 2022 meeting, at the February 7, 2022, Grand Haven City Council meeting, Mayor McNalley added an item to the agenda to hear a legal briefing on the topic of marijuana from the city attorney. At the beginning of the February meeting (3:00), Council Member Cummins made a motion to discontinue the marijuana legal discussion in front of the public, and direct the city attorney to prepare a written opinion for the planning commission, followed by a reconsideration of the attorney’s advice in closed session. The motion passed 3-2 with Council Members Ryan Cummins, Kevin McLaughlin, and Karen Lowe voting in favor and Councilman Fritz and Mayor McNalley voting against.
During the February 7, 2022, Grand Haven City Council Meeting, both Mayor McNally and Council Member Fritz were concerned with what had taken place. (2:39:00) Council Member Mike Fritz stated, “These emails I’ve been seeing and some of these council members coercing together with emails, is actually, if you listen tonight, is not legal. You guys going out and doing things ahead of time; I don’t care if you do two and then one, and the other two, whatever comes out you are still setting policy between the two of you. That is not right. I’m still upset with it. I got upset the last time and I’m still upset today. I’m tired of this.”
Mayor McNalley stated. (2:40:00) “I want to share some concerns by which the process we issue recreational marijuana sales is being addressed. In our December 6th meeting, supposedly from correspondence received from a local medicinal marijuana seller, [] city council chose by a 3-2 vote, to send the question of recreational marijuana sales to the planning commission for their consideration. [] At that December meeting, Council Member McLaughlin directed that this member be fast-tracked through planning commission.”
(2:46:00) Mayor McNalley continued referring to the attorney marijuana briefing Council Member Cummins had effectively hidden from the public. “All day Friday I was subjected to emails by Council Member Karen Lowe, that desperately sought to shut down this briefing. She threatened the city manager with a charge of delivered insubordination if he didn’t pull it off the agenda as she directed. She stated she had the support of the majority of council members in this direction, which is tantamount to admitting a violation of the Open Meetings Act. She tried to enlist support from the city attorney by insisting that he had no right to put this item on the agenda. Not true that I was doing this in contravention of his advice. Not true that I was exposing the city to liability with which he genuinely did not agree. She told him he was unethical. She told me I had exceeded my authority by asking for a 20-minute legal update, then spent hours of city attorney time scheming to stop it. She insisted this discussion of the legal framework should be done only after a legal written opinion which neither she nor any other council member who sent this issue to planning commission had seen fit to order in the first place. And only then behind closed doors. She called my actions not cautious, not careful, not the least bit collaborative, non-inclusive, and borderline reckless.”
New Standard Grand Haven is one of several stores owned under the name Argi-Med Exit 9 LLC. Aaron Smith is co-owner of New Standard. Just before Kevin McLaughlin was elected to the Grand Haven City Council, Aaron Smith donated $500 to his campaign. During the June 6, 2022, Grand Haven City Council Meeting, Council Member Mike Fritz accused McLaughlin of selling his vote. On June 20, 2023, McLaughlin voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana sales in Grand Haven.
(2:42:30) Fritz “As I was growing up my dad taught me that doing what is right had meaning to it. Also, that nothing is free. Somebody has to pay for it some way or another. So, if they give you something, it's not free. As I ran for all my campaigns, I didn't take any money knowing someday that a favor would haunt me. [] Today we have a council member accepting money from an individual who's an owner of a marijuana facility business which would benefit from the change that we're having here. After accepting and winning the election, such council member wanted it fast tracked through, showing that votes can be bought. [] That's the problem we have today with our whole political system. We have PAC groups. We have money being funneled in, and now it's funneled all the way down to city government. I mean this is small government here and we're letting them take control here. It's not good for us. [] They're dictating the policies that we have to go by. It's not good.”
Mayoral candidate Andrea Hendrick has a personal interest in marijuana, as does her business partner Landon Bartley. Bartley is an expert in energy, marijuana, and difficult land use and on the board of West Michigan Cannabis Guild. Growing marijuana takes a lot of energy. Before his resignation, City Manager Pat McGinnis was an advocate for bringing marijuana to Grand Haven because of the potential tax revenue that would be generated for the city. Council Member Cummins, Lowe, and McLaughlin have voted in lock step in opposition to Mayor McNalley and Council Member Fritz on almost every vote concerning marijuana. There are emails indicating Cummins, Lowe, McLaughlin and Hendrick have colluded behind the scenes concerning changing the charter of the City of Grand Haven. McLaughlin has accepted a campaign donation from a marijuana businessman. These same three council members have taken steps to hide discussions regarding marijuana from the public. Are they part of the Grand Haven Marijuana Super Team?
What exactly is happening behind the scenes? Why did council members Ryan Cummins, Kevin McLaughlin, and Karen Lowe shut down the city attorney’s public marijuana legal briefing? What is the true motivation for making these decisions? Who else is involved?