ALLEGAN TWP., MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Aug. 21, 2024) – Tom Jessup is back on the Allegan County Board of Commissioners, at least for four months.
In a special meeting on Wednesday that took about five hours to complete, the governing panel for county government voted 3-1 in favor of the one-time Casco Township supervisor to replace the late Dean Kapenga to represent District 3, which comprises much of the southwest corner of the county. Jessup emerged as a finalist among nine who submitted applications by Monday’s deadline, and who presented their case while answering questions from the board in 15-minute interviews.
Jessup, who was first elected to the board in 2006, had won eight two-year terms before losing to Kapenga in the 2022 GOP primary, when redistricting that shrank the panel to its current five-district setup pitted the incumbents against each other. Jessup will now complete the term of Mr. Kapenga, who died earlier this month from complications following a stroke, in representing the cities of the Village of Douglas, Fennville and Saugatuck, as well as the townships of Casco, Cheshire, Clyde, Lee, Ganges and Saugatuck.
The Allegan County Republican Party’s executive committee is slated to meet this Thursday evening to name a replacement for Mr. Kapenga on the November 5th General Election ballot. He was the only candidate to file for the seat by the April deadline.
Jessup will be thrown right into the middle of county government, as the board is expected during its biweekly business meeting on Thursday afternoon to go over the proposed budget for 2025, as well as meet behind closed doors to discuss the ongoing lawsuit against the board by Treasurer Sally Brooks and Drain Commissioner Denise Medemar over moving their offices from the county courthouse in downtown Allegan to the County Services building off of 122nd Avenue in Allegan Township. Clerk/Register of Deeds Bob Genetski had been a plaintiff in the litigation, but he pulled out last month for financial reasons.
An online link to the meeting agenda and supporting documents is here. A link to the Allegan County YouTube Channel, which has complete video coverage of Wednesday’s meeting, is here.
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