Roger Bergman is a long-time Grand Haven resident who has been an elected leader since 1999. He served on the Grand Haven City Council for twelve years, was mayor for eight years, and has been an Ottawa County Commissioner representing the City of Grand Haven, City of Ferrysburg, and Spring Lake Township, for eleven years. He seems to be well-liked by many people, but he is currently under recall. Why?
The petition language for his recall reads: “On 6/27/2023, Roger A. Bergman voted no on Resolution B/C 23-120, also known as the Resolution to Protect Childhood Innocence.” Here is the resolution he voted against.
Commissioner Doug Zylstra also voted against this resolution and is likewise being recalled. Commissioner Bergman claims to be a Republican, while Commissioner Zylstra is a Democrat. Regardless of their stated political affiliations, they often vote together on issues and have been endorsed by the same extreme progressive organizations such as Ottawa Integrity and Vote Common Good.
Roger Bergman was also endorsed by the Rev. Jared Cramer of St. John’s Episcopal Church and sponsor of the Pride Day in Grand Haven, as well as Field Reichardt, spokesman for the Board of Light and Power Charter Change Coalition (BLPCCC).
In addition to Bergman’s failure to protect children, many of his constituents are not satisfied with other actions he has taken. Bergman was not only a supporter of the county’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DIE) office, but a member. In his effort to spread DIE ideology, he partnered with the Director of DIE, Robyn Afrik, to train county commissioners throughout the state in Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity.
On his Ottawa County Commissioner Candidate Questionnaire for the Grand Haven Chamber of Commerce Bergman stated, “I feel strongly that our motto of ‘Where you belong’ is more important today than ever before and I want to make sure that we not only say it but mean it.” Commissioner Bergman’s actions tell a different story. When roughly one thousand county citizens attended a commissioner meeting in August 2021 to present concerns of government overreach, these citizens learned that they only “belong” if they agree with the decisions of the leaders, by embracing progressive ideals.
During the end of October 2023, the Ottawa County Commissioners held a hearing to determine if Health Officer Adeline Hambley had displayed incompetence and misconduct and should lose her job. It appears Commissioner Bergman was busy on social media during the hearing.
Once the testimony was complete, the commissioners were able to discuss the charges against Hambley. Commissioner Bergman was concerned with truth and made the following statement. (8:14:30)
“Truth. What is truth? Looking it up Googling it, truth is a quality state of being true. Do you know what truth is? Do any of you even care? Do you care about what truth is? If you hear lies long enough, do they become truth? Each of you will have to answer for that today based on how you vote. Most of the public citizens know what the truth is. The question is do you know what the truth is before you vote today?
And one other thing I just wanted to bring up is, that it's interesting that we have four Kallman attorneys here today and yesterday. Pretty interesting that we need four attorneys charging us by the hour.”
Attorney David Kallman jumped in to correct Commissioner Bergman.
“Not true commissioner and you know it. We're charging for one attorney and you know it. I'm not gonna sit here and let you besmirch our firm. You know we're only charging for one attorney. So don't you lie about us.”
I find the juxtaposition of Bergman’s two statements very telling. He began by giving a lecture on truth and then provided a second thought in which he was immediately caught in a lie. He did not refute Kallman’s statement, nor did he speak much during the remainder of the meeting.
Commissioner Roger Bergman is a public figure in the City of Grand Haven; he has a reputation as a friendly businessman, upstanding church member, public servant, city council member, mayor, and commissioner…. But now he is being recalled. Another juxtaposition.
Have you taken a close look at his actions? Do you believe they match his public image?