ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.

“In one-party system, you have one party. In two-party system, you have two parties. In multi-party system, you have… more than two parties.” — Dr. Sunjook Junn, GVSU professor

What the hell is going on with the Allegan County Republican Party?

The latest example is the unusual story of the candidacy for Third District County Commissioner from the northwest section of the county.

Because longtime incumbent Dean Kapenga died just before the Aug. 6 primary, the GOP selected Brad Lubbers as the candidate to appear alone on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. Republicans charged Allegan County Clerk Bob Genetski with placing Lubbers’ name , a virtual guarantee that Lubbers will be the next commissioner from that district for the next four years because Democrats are not competitive in a one-party system.

This flies in the face of the actions of the all-Republican County Board of Commissioners, who chose Tom Jessup to fill out the remaining four months of the late Mr. Kapenga’s term expiring at the end of this year.

Kapenga was picked among nine candidates who applied for the post, including Lubbers.

So Jessup was appointed to fill out the Third District term, yet he faces an uphill battle to win the seat in November because he is only a write-in candidate, a situation caused by the GOP’s appointment of Lubbers. Anybody who follows politics knows that it is indeed rare when a write-in defeats an opponent whose name is on the official ballot.

So Mr. Jessup very clearly is being thrown under the bus by his own party, even though he served nine two-year terms as a member of the Allegan County Board of Commissioners and won the support of his colleagues on the board to finish Kapenga’s term.

The GOP is almost totally in charge of Allegan County politics, so it can do almost anything it wants, like Vladimir Putin.

Let’s not forget State Rep. Rachelle Smit’s public relations oddity of presenting plaques of appreciation to the Null Brothers of Shelbyville and Plainwell after they were acquitted of charges of being involved in a plot to kidnap and kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. That’s like honoring O.J. Simpson for being acquitted of two murder charges.

The Republican Party showed cracks in 2019 when Chairman Kevin Whiteford, husband of State Rep. Mary Whiteford, resigned after a squabble with Secretary Jason Watts. Whiteford in 2022 accomplished the near impossible by losing to a Democrat in a race for a state representative’s seat.

These are indeed strange days for the GOP, which is showing cracks in its all-powerful stranglehold on Allegan County politics.

But the bottom line here is that Tom Jessup is getting a raw deal. Is he disliked by the county GOP so he was denied the free pass to serving another term as a commissioner? It just isn’t fair.