County board votes down resolution recognizing U.S. rep’s work

TRAVERSE CITY » Elected officials in northern Michigan have voted down a resolution to recognize the service of a Republican congressman to his district.

The seven-member Grand Traverse County Board voted 3-3 Wednesday on the resolution for U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported Thursday. A seventh commissioner abstained.

The board is comprised of five Republicans and two Democrats. Both Democrats voted against the resolution. It was presented by Republican county board Vice Chair Ron Clous, who displayed a rifle last month during an online meeting in response to a citizen’s comments against a far-right extremist group. Bergman, who was elected to a third term in November, gave the invocation at Wednesday’s meeting. Commissioner Bryce Hundley voted against the resolution, pointing to Bergman’s support of a Texas lawsuit that challenged the results of November’s presidential election in Michigan and three other states, in addition to Bergman’s Jan. 6 vote to overturn the election results.

“It actually steps over the line is when it’s brought to the county meeting,” Hundley said. “I think everything about this resolution is garbage.”

Republican Commissioner Darryl V. Nelson abstained from voting and said the resolution supporting Bergman’s work for the state’s 1st Congressional District should not have been on the agenda.

“An abstention was intended to send the message that I do not wish to partake in this motion at all,” Nelson said after Wednesday’s meeting. “I’m not on the board of commissioners to give my personal political opinions.”

Republican Commissioner Brad Jewett said similar resolutions supporting two Republican state senators passed unanimously in 2019.