Adam London, PhD, RS, DAAS

Administrative Health Officer

Kent County Health Department
700 Fuller Avenue Northeast
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
adam.london@kentcountymi.gov

August 24, 2021

Administrative Health Officer London:

It is abundantly clear that thousands of our constituents are gravely disappointed in your decision, announced late
last week, mandating mask use in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in school buildings throughout Kent County.

As we stated in a letter to you earlier this month, it is our belief that your efforts should be focused on administering
our county’s existing public health system and advising policymakers rather than crafting new restrictions. Public
policy is designed to be formed through consensus. While you have cited your purported legal authority to make
the type of determination you are proceeding with, from the perspective of principle and basic good governance, it
is crystal clear that an unelected official should not be making these sorts of decisions affecting the daily lives of
the people of Kent County.

Your unilateral decision to completely reverse course on your statement against mask mandates — made shortly
before schools were scheduled to open, and after those decisions already had been made by local school boards —
has added to the confusion and divisiveness surrounding mask mandates. We respectfully request you reconsider
your decision and leave it to those who should be making it — local school boards and parents, working in tandem
with their communities and local health officials. We must trust the public to make these types of decisions for
themselves.

Our offices have been flooded with phone calls and emails from parents displeased with the department’s course of
action in this matter. We have actively encouraged community members to contact you and share their concerns,
and to attend the next County Board of Commissioners meeting scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 26 to make their
views known. As state legislators, we will continue to explore all available options to address this situation and do
our part to connect you with the views of our constituencies.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Representative Thomas Albert Representative Mark Huizenga

District 86 District 74

Representative Steven Johnson Representative Bryan Posthumus

District 72 District 73