Fired administrator Gibbs sues Ottawa County, Moss for wrongful termination, defamation

OTTAWA COUNTY — Ottawa County is facing its fifth lawsuit in 14 months after former administrator John Gibbs filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in federal court Monday, April 8.

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners fired Gibbs on Feb. 29, one week after placing him on paid administrative leave. The board fired Gibbs "for cause" after Deputy Administrator Ben Wetmore and administrative aide Jordan Epperson — both controversial recent hires by Gibbs — made allegations that Gibbs acted inappropriately and neglected his job duties.

More: 'The damage they've done': Gibbs will pursue legal action against Ottawa County

More: Gibbs fires back against allegations, says staffers 'fabricated' claims

“The board has determined that Mr. Gibbs, in connection with the performance of his duties under the employment agreement, has been dishonest, committed gross misconduct, and/or committed willful malfeasance,” Board Chair Joe Moss said at the Feb. 29 special board meeting.

Gibbs has refuted the allegations, saying the board retaliated against him for questioning the competency of the Ottawa Impact-hired county corporation counsel Kallman Legal Group, with which Moss has personal ties.

"They've decided to go on a warpath, which is what they do to everybody, including me," he told The Sentinel on Friday, March 1.

"For them, you have to absolutely agree with everything in lockstep, or else they will attack you. It's a little bit dictatorial, like school bullying, where if you're not with them, they'll try to shove you in a locker. When I raised questions about (Kallman Legal Group), they thought I wasn't being a team player or that the devil got to me or something."

The lawsuit was expected after Gibbs' attorney, Noah Hurwitz, indicated Gibbs would sue shortly after his client was fired.

"We'll be filing a lawsuit alleging breach of contract, whistleblower retaliation and First Amendment violations within 90 days," Hurwitz told The Sentinel in February.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court's Western District, names the board of commissioners and Moss individually, alleging Moss "abandoned rational governance and maliciously published on his own Facebook page a litany of provably false statements about (Gibbs) that lack factual support" and that Moss "knew that the defamatory statements were false."

Gibbs is asking federal Judge Jane M. Beckering to make the board adhere to the contract he had with the county in the eventuality that he be fired for no cause, which requires the county to give 90 days notice to Gibbs, then pay him for nine months — essentially one year of annualized salary amounting to $210,000 plus benefits.

Although a monetary figure for damages is not specified in the lawsuit, Gibbs is seeking "compensatory, economic and noneconomic damages" and well as punitive damages to be determined by a judge.

Ottawa Impact, a far-right fundamentalist group, assumed a controlling majority on the county board of commissioners in January 2023. Shortly after being sworn into office, the group made a series of controversial decisions. They included firing former administrator John Shay and hiring Gibbs, a former Republican candidate who lost to Democrat Hillary Scholten in 2022 for the state's third congressional district race.

Gibbs, a Kent County resident, previously worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under former President Donald Trump. He saw a tumultuous tenure in the year he was employed with Ottawa County.

In March 2023, Commissioner Jacob Bonnema — who ran for election with Ottawa Impact, but left the group in March — filed a complaint against Gibbs following a verbal altercation. After an investigation by an outside legal firm, the county's HR department concluded there wasn't enough evidence to support the claim.

Later, the hirings of Epperson and Wetmore sparked their own controversies.

After hiring Epperson in August, Gibbs was accused of age discrimination after a more qualified finalist for the position went unselected. That finalist, Ryan Kimball, filed a lawsuit against Gibbs and Ottawa County in October.

In his interview for the aide position, Epperson allegedly told the county's hiring committee he believes ethics “depend on who you’re working for” and said government positions like his are “absolutely” political, according to former Deputy Administrator Patrick Waterman.

Waterman also said Epperson refused to shake hands with the women on the interviewing committee. Waterman resigned in July, citing a strained working relationship with Gibbs and a "lack of effective leadership" on the board.

In November, the county announced the hiring of Wetmore, who has an extensive history in conservative political activism and has taken part in several political stunts over the past 20 years, including staging undercover encounters on video for right-wing nonprofit Project Veritas.

Wetmore recently made headlines for a 2010 plot to lure a female CNN reporter onto a boat where another conservative activist planned to faux-seduce her on camera.

Gibbs seemingly had a good relationship with Moss and other OI commissioners, but signs of tension arose in November while a lawsuit filed by Administrative Health Office Adeline Hambley reached fever pitch after a $4 million settlement was reached between Hambley and the commissioners — only for the commissioners to back out later.

Gibbs said he saw pushback when he advised commissioners against the multi-million-dollar settlement — a deal Moss insists the board never agreed to; a circuit court judge ruled the board reached a deal, but the following vote to approve it was too vague to be legally enforceable.

"I was definitely against it," Gibbs said of the $4 million settlement. "Joe (Moss) was going around saying it was fake news and it wasn't fake news. They actually did agree to it and the judge even said it."

On Feb. 22, commissioners voted to place Gibbs on paid administrative leave after spending time in closed session "considering new complaints" against him. The next day, Moss made those allegations public on his campaign Facebook page.

The allegations against Gibbs include disparaging comments about female members of the board, derogatory comments about commissioners' faith, and threats of violence against county attorney Jack Jordan. The complaints were summarized in a report compiled by outside legal counsel Brook J. Bisonet, who was hired Feb. 13.

The Hambley litigation was settled on Feb. 26, under an agreement that leaves Hambley and Deputy Health Officer Marcia Mansaray in their respective positions.

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The board went on to fire Gibbs three days later.

Hurwitz told The Sentinel that Wetmore and Epperson intentionally manufactured the allegations to discredit Gibbs; Epperson called the allegations false, while Wetmore did not respond to The Sentinel's request for comment.

"Mr. Moss publicly released a number of statements cloaked in anonymity that were obtained solely for the purpose of undermining Mr. Gibbs’ whistleblower activities," Hurwitz said.

"The timeline is simple. Mr. Gibbs brought his concerns (about Kallman Legal Group) to the (board) and only then did Mr. Moss start gathering dirt."

— Sarah Leach is executive editor for The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Gibbs sues Ottawa County, Moss for wrongful termination, defamation