County Motto.

In January of 2023, I voted against the motto change because I believed the motto at that time ‘Where you Belong’, to be a meaningful statement which encapsulated well the sense of community that we have always striven for as Ottawa County government and was disappointed that we indeed made that change. 

I understand that many in the Ottawa County community favor the current motto. There is much to like about the current motto, with the idea of Freedom especially being a keystone of our country. However, I do believe that it has been perceived by many in the community, including myself, to be a politically charged and divisive statement, both in its implementation and subsequent usage, creating concern that it does not fully represent the broad and diverse community of Ottawa County. 

For those reasons, I will be supportive of the motion to remove the current Motto at Tuesday’s meeting.