by Cynthia Price
Legal News
Candidates for both Kent County Clerk and Kent County Drain Commissioner are seeking positions where there is no incumbent.
Bill Byl’s decision not to seek re-election as Drain Commissioner has opened the position up for candidates Rachel Hood and Ken Yonker.
“This is a really important time for this office,” says Hood. “Because of climate change significantly increasing the intensity and frequency of storms, because federal stormwater permits are expected to change, because the role of drain commissioners in protecting the Great Lakes basin is being deeply considered, we need an individual who is more than just your average drain commissioner — someone who is able to navigate systems change, someone who is able to lead innovation.”
Hood, who most recently was Executive Director of West Michigan Environmental Action Council, has worked closely with the city and other local government units for ten years on various projects to both protect the county’s water resources and capitalize on “100-year investments in water infrastructure” through careful development.
A graduate of Michigan State University’s James Madison Honors College, Hood has been on the steering committee for Grand Rapids River Restoration, the community advisory team for Green Grand Rapids, and was a founding board member for Friends of Grand Rapids Parks and the Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds.
Hood was voted an Exemplary Executive by the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Grand Rapids in 2012, and was named one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan that year, among other honors.
“While my opponent has a background in landscaping and excavation, those skill sets do not qualify him for the drain commissioner role which is far more complex in its connections to water policy and water quality,” she says.
Hood would love to see the Drain Commissioner become more of a Water Resource Commissioner, and has been exploring models in other counties. “Byl has really done some work to set the groundwork for that,” she says.
Ken Yonker, who could not be reached for comment by press time, is currently serving the final of six years in the Michigan House of Representatives, representing Kentwood and Gaines Township as well as parts of Allegan County. He was born and raised in Kent County and owned Yonker's Landscaping for 28 years, after receiving his degree from Michigan State University College of Agricultural Technology.
His website, on the Kent County GOP page, says, “Ken is committed to pristine waterways protecting our natural resources and working with residents on flood protection and storm water management.”
He has elsewhere said that his degree in Horticulture, for which he studied such topics as soil hydrology and ecological systems, has prepared him well.
Lisa Posthumus Lyons and Chris Reader are the two candidates for Clerk/Register of Deeds, a position held for 16 years by Mary Hollinrake.
Like Yonkers, Lyons is a State Representative wrapping up her last term; she chairs the House Elections committee.
She is a member of the American Legion Auxiliary Post 305, the Alto Lions Club, the National Rifle Association, and the Kent County Farm Bureau, and is Vice Chair of the Kent County Republican Party. Lyons is married to Brad, a Kent County Sheriff’s deputy, and they have four children.
She is proud of her work in the legislature to sponsor a bill allowing no-reason absentee voting, which has passed the House. “My bill would allow those Michigan voters who do not meet the requirements for the existing reasons to request an absentee ballot, to apply for, in person, and receive an absentee ballot at their... clerk’s office after meeting the same identification requirements as when voting in person on Election Day,” she says.
Aware that the office interfaces with the public frequently, she says, “I approach this new endeavor with the same focus that I’ve taken in Lansing, guided by a servant’s heart. My goals for the office will be to continue top-notch customer service; to ex-
pand on the modernization of the operations of the office, bringing about increased transparency and online accessibility; and to continue working closely with local clerks and elections officials.”
Chris Reader, who says he has created many “public-facing web applications” during his 20-year IT career, most in the health care industry, wants to make the Clerk’s office as user-friendly as possible, though he says that may not always be through the web.
“I’m out in the community learning about people’s needs, and I hope to keep that up. I’ve found out that some people don’t have the Internet and even some of those who do don’t want to be online, but they also don’t have the time to come downtown. So I’m thinking about overnight document delivery, possibly a mobile clerk’s office — there are a lot of innovative solutions that I could put into place,” he says.
A native of Manistee, Reader lived in Byron Center from the age of five until he moved to Texas to get his B.S. in computer science with a major in math. He returned to Grand Rapids, where he says he has lived his entire adult life. His master’s degree was from Grand Valley State, in Computer Information Systems — “that was really fun,” he says.
In addition to the advantages offered by his IT background, Reader has been a community activist and leader. He founded Save Garfield Park, which resulted in both preserving a large section of park land and finding an excellent alternate location for the Salvation Army Kroc Center. He chaired the GR Forward River Corridor committee and co-
chaired the Green Grand Rapids Master Plan Committee, among many other leadership roles.
Reader says he would like to publish a best practices manual for clerks in Kent County, and adds, “Assuming I win, I’m really excited about the opportunities to work with everyone.”
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