Ottawa County Administrative Health Officer Appointment--Reject the Application of Nathaniel Kelly

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Ottawa County Administrative Health Officer Appointment--Reject the Application of Nathaniel Kelly

Elizabeth Hertel, Director, MDHHS

Please sign the petition to record your opposition to the appointment of Nathaniel Kelly as the Administrative Health Officer of the Ottawa County Health Department. The department has already approved a qualified individual to take over this position. Because there is no current vacancy, Kelly’s appointment has the potential to financially burden taxpayers. His lack of experience, education and controversial viewpoints could lead to confusion surrounding COVID-19 and add to the distrust of public health officials and agencies across the state.

Sponsored by

Michigan Parent Alliance for Safe Schools

To: Elizabeth Hertel, Director, MDHHS
From: [Your Name]

January 6, 2023

The undersigned are calling on the State of Michigan to not approve the appointment of Nathaniel Kelly to Administrative Health Officer of the Ottawa County Department of Public Health. While we leave the decision to the reviewing authority at the MDHHS to review his qualifications for this position (which seem to remain undisclosed officially as of January 6, 2023), we hope that in addition to his resume, the state also considers Mr. Kelly’s advocacy against widely accepted and scientifically sound COVID-19 mitigations. Today, Americans are facing another COVID-19 variant that has the potential to be even more immune evasive. It would be irresponsible to allow a person to lead a health department who, over the course of his advocacy, has:

- Spread falsehoods that masks do not work to stop the spread of COVID-19 and should not be suggested to the public;

- Advocated for sending residents prophylactic kits to stop the spread of COVID-19 including items that are not proven to do so;

- Promoted the use of Ivermectin, despite numerous studies that prove this is not effective and could be dangerous;

- Criticized the use of testing for non-symptomatic individuals; and

- Appeared in a distasteful and publicly distributed video mocking an American Sign Language interpreter.

We have seen no evidence that Mr. Kelly possesses the temperament or the statutorily required experiential and educational qualifications. As such, we ask that his appointment not receive approval. It is for the above reasons that, in the opinions of the undersigned, Mr. Kelly’s appointment to this role raises concern not only for the future of Ottawa County but for the future of our great State of Michigan.