GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Reflecting as Ottawa Impact’s controversial tenure controlling the Ottawa County Board of Commissions comes to an end, one of the exiting commissioners said she hopes the next board will prioritize building relationships and working together.

Come next year, the board will have 10 Republicans and one Democrat. Ottawa Impact will no longer have a majority on the board, with four commissioners affiliated with the conservative political action committee remaining. Six Republicans will sit on the board who are not affiliated with Ottawa Impact.

Commissioner Rebekah Curran, a Republican unaffiliated with OI, chose not to seek reelection after she declared a run for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat. 

Curran, who worked in the hospitality industry for most of her career, first got involved in politics in Virginia. She later moved to Houston and worked for a super PAC for Ben Carson’s 2016 presidential campaign. She said she later felt a calling to run for office in Michigan and ran for the Ottawa County board in 2022. Curran originally signed an Ottawa Impact campaign pledge when she ran for the board.

“I really felt like it was gonna be a great opportunity for OI to make some changes that needed to be made,” she said.

While she said she agrees with the group’s principles, she pulled out in the spring of 2022, before she was elected. She said she never took campaign money from Ottawa Impact, though she was endorsed by the group at one point.

“I could tell I felt like it wasn’t going to be a good fit in the long term,” she said. “I was very independently minded and I thought we were going to look at things in a more collaborative and group fashion.”

In her last two years on the board, she said she tried to bring everyone together. Looking back, she wishes there was more communication and compromise.

“It doesn’t matter who it is,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a Democrat, Republican, independent. Everyone’s voice matters.”

Curran specifically cited the board’s decision to oust former County Administrator John Shay and replace him with former congressional candidate John Gibbs (who was also later fired). She said she would have tried to work with Shay first.

“They were very aggressive in their approach,” she said. “I would’ve been a little more tempered and measured — hopefully still getting the same outcomes, just bringing along people with you as I did it.”

That being said, Curran believes things have improved over the last year on the board, specifically mentioning board chair and Ottawa Impact co-founder Joe Moss.

“I felt like there was a softening in the board chair,” she said. “I felt like he was trying to listen more.”

She believes the election results will create a new opportunity for the board to start over.

“I hope they choose to capitalize on this. … Take time to build relations, talk to each other and work together,” Curran said.

Earlier this month, Moss and Commissioner-elect Jordan Jorritsma, a Republican not affiliated with Ottawa Impact, both told News 8 they believe both sides can work together well. As Curran prepares to step down, she gave her own advice to the board.

“Do as much as you can to make people feel respected and cared for and that their voice counts, even if you can’t give them what they want,” she said.

The new board will be sworn in Jan. 2. Curran didn’t rule out another run for office in the future.