OTTAWA COUNTY — Tim Meyer knows that running for state office is not a sprint, but a criterium.

The founder of Rock ’n’ Road Cycle is running as a Democrat for the state’s 88th District seat in House of Representatives. He ran in 2016 for what was then the 89th District, but district lines redrawn in 2021 made it more appealing for Meyer to try again.

“I've had my eye on this seat for years. I did run for the seat eight years ago, but it was really an impossible district for a Democrat to win in the way the district was drawn,” he said.

The 88th now is comprised of portions in southern Muskegon County and northern Ottawa County, including the tri-cities — Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ferrysburg.

The district is currently represented by Republican incumbent Greg VanWoerkom, who is seeking a third term in the state House and a second term representing the district after districts were redrawn in 2021.

Meyer, 67, said the redrawn lines make the district much more competitive.

“Two years ago, this was a winnable district, but our county party was not finding a candidate to run,” he said. “And then our opponent was wishy-washy on whether he was going to even run for re-election. And those things kind of pushed me over the edge to think, ‘OK, I'm retired. I've got time to do this. I know how it's done.’ And so here we are.”

He said historical under-representation of Grand Haven — Ottawa County’s seat — helped fuel the decision.

“We typically have had a state representative out of Park Township for 12 years in a row who was really just an additional state representative for the Republican Party out of Holland. My point to the redistricting commission is we should have a district drawn around Grand Haven, and that's exactly what we got.”

He said he’s tired of having representatives who just serve as placeholders.

“My biggest thing is, I tell someone I'm running. And they look at me with a blank stare. People do not know who their state representative is,” Meyer said. “And that is because, for decades, we haven't had a representative from here. Then someone new gets elected and we never see him.”

But that’s about to change, Meyer said.

“People know who I am, because we've had our family bike shop here for 40 years.”

Meyer, a native of Delaware, Ohio, founded Rock 'n' Road Cycle, a full-service bicycle business in Grand Haven in 1985. The business, now operated by his son, Matt, boasts an additional store in Holland.

Meyer has been embedded in the community for decades, serving on the Downtown Development Authority, working as a substitute teacher in the local school district and promoting bicycle events throughout the area. He attends First Presbyterian Church.

He said that his local profile and passion for political campaigns will make consituents more comfortable seeking him out for conversations.

“I'm known so if there's something that comes up In Lansing, and there's an issue, and it's legislation that might affect you, I'm here,” he said. “You can get a hold of me. I can go to work on it; I can get back and be responsive to people.”

Meyer said the Grand Haven area has a lot to discuss in terms of development. For example, the area needs to secure state and federal monies to help with the environmental cleanup on Harbor Island, the former site of the coal-fired J.B. Sims plant, which closed and was demolished in 2021.

Meyer said residents are frustrated because they don’t feel like they’ve been heard.

“I want to be a listener to hear what people would like,” Meyer said on the potential redevelopment possibilities for the site. “There’s a bunch of state monies coming to redo Harbor Island out here. Now the power plant’s gone … our state representative … where's he?”

He said that lack of availability and responsiveness by elected officials has led to a disengaged citizenry.

“You send in a letter or you leave a comment and you get some boilerplate back that clearly lets you know that you weren't listened to,” Meyer said. “That affects government on all kinds of levels. We do that to the detriment of everything.

If elected, Meyer said he wants to bring commonsense solutions to long-standing problems.

For instance, making sure families have access to family planning tools, such as birth control, to reduce unwanted pregnancies — helping to de-escalate the tensions surrounding the abortion debate between conservatives and progressives.

But that’s not where the conversation should end, he said.

“So we can have safe sex, because people are gonna have sex and we can plan a family. And we can do that properly, and reduce the number of unwanted pregnancie,” he said. “Now the next thing is you're pregnant, if we’re going to have the babyw, there isn't any childcare … how are we going to go to work? There's no pre-kindergarten education. So those things all need to be funded and encouraged that discourage abortion and is having things in place to make having a child a good experience.”

Meyer said he views himself as a moderate and wants to avoid some of the polarizing politics.

“Lansing is not so much one side or the other,” he said. “I'm certainly in favor of a woman's access to reproductive health care, and her decision should be made with her and her doctor. But, beyond that, there's so many things that just get overlooked in this debate. And that's where I think as a Democrat from Ottawa County, I can I can have the ear of more legislators in Lansing and work for common solutions that benefit us.”

Meyer is a graduate of the College of Wooster in Ohio, where he studied economics, political science and urban housing. Meyer came to Holland in 1981 to work in Hope College’s food services. He was studying for a master’s degree in management at Aquinas when he decided to open the bike shop.

Meyer also has son Reed, who manages a bakery in downtown Grand Haven. He and his wife, Patty Sutherland, married in June.

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He said being a small business owner was one of the best experiences to prepare him for public office.

“There were plenty of ups and downs I've learned in business that I know my opponent hasn't ever experienced, so when we talk about business and who understands business, and who will advocate for business, that would be me,” he said. “I know the challenges, how you go out of business, how you can expand, how you try to expand and fail, and how you can grow.  I've done all those things.”

To learn more, visit timmeyer.vote/welcome or visit his campaign Facebook page at facebook.com/ChooseTimMeyer.

— Contact Sarah Leach at SentinelLeach@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach. Subscribe to her content at sentinelleach.substack.com.