Lenar and LaGrand are participating in the public mayoral debate two weeks before the election

Two weeks before the general election on November 5th Grand Rapids mayoral candidates Senita Lenear and David LaGrand took center stage Monday at the Wealthy Theater to take part in a formal debate on important community issues.

The debate topics — urban planning and development, public transportation, education, equity, housing and public safety — were shaped by a community survey The Rapidian conducted earlier this year.

In November 2020, Grand Rapids voters approved a charter amendment (Proposition 1) to move city elections, including mayoral elections, from odd to even years in hopes of increasing voter turnout. The 2024 mayoral election will be the first election under this change, coinciding with the presidential election.

The debate, hosted by The Rapidian and GRTV in collaboration with the Grand Rapids Community Media Center, was moderated by Allison Donahue, program manager of The Rapidian, and Whitt Kilburn, professor of political science at Grand Valley State University.

Monday’s event was the first time voters saw the two mayoral candidates discuss local policy issues in a debate format, but both have long been known in the community for their work in public service and local business.

Lenear was appointed to the Grand Rapids Public School Board of Education in 2007 and was later elected board president to a two-year term. She also served twice as Third District City Commissioner from 2014 to December 2022. Lenar is co-owner of Genesis Consulting Group, a nonprofit event planning and business consulting firm, and owner of Genesis Suites in the Alger Heights neighborhood. During the debate, Lenear noted that she is among the 5% of Black Americans who own shares in companies.

LaGrand served as city commissioner for the Second District of Grand Rapids from 2007 to 2010, but ended his term early to run for the 75th District of the Michigan House of Representatives, where he served as a Democrat from 2015 to 2022. He narrowly lost the 2022 election for the 30th Senate District to incumbent Republican Senator Mark Huizenga. Like Lenear, LaGrand served on the GRPS school board and is a small business owner, including Long Road Distillery and LaGrand Law, and owns several rental properties in Grand Rapids.

In her opening statement, Lenar outlined her qualifications and commitment to serving the Grand Rapids community.

“I have spent a lot of time in management, human resources and community affairs,” she said. “And I am the only mayoral candidate who has completed every single term you elected me to,” Lenear added, a subtle criticism of her opponent’s early exit from the City Commission.

“Because keeping my commitments is a value that is very important to me. I hope to take all of these experiences with me to serve the city as mayor,” she said.

LaGrand used his opening statement to discuss his campaign’s efforts in the city and emphasized his goal of alleviating partisan divides in local elections.

“My campaign has reached around 75,000 doors in the city, which means we have done our best to speak to everyone at home and that is a really important commitment for me and our team because we need to strengthen our communities” said LaGrand. “We are at a difficult time in American history and we need to remember what is truly important and more important than what divides us. It’s really important that we break through the bipartisan rancor that we’ve seen all around us and focus on things we can do together and ways we can make this city the best it can be.”

The first question of the night asked the candidates what plan they have for balancing downtown economic development with equitable neighborhood development and whether they think Grand Rapids has struck the right balance.

Lenear first responded by talking about her experience as a Third District commissioner and her role in establishing a $750,000 equity fund for the fiscal year 2019 budget to repair homes, revitalize and boost businesses and address lead hazards in the historically underfunded Third District to reduce. However, she acknowledged that the fund had not fully achieved its objectives.

“It was clear from the data provided by the city that we have underinvested in the Third District,” she said. “The fund was established and is currently funded at approximately $1 million per year. A million dollars is enough in my bank account, but that’s not necessarily enough when it comes to reversing inequalities across an entire region within the city. One way to reverse the underfunding is to fully fund the Third Ward Equity Fund to operate some of the existing programs.”

LaGrand responded, saying the stock fund’s origins were “totally understandable” but pointing out that poverty needed to be addressed in other parts of the city.

“It is also true that we have 11 census tracts in Grand Rapids that have acute poverty,” he said. “In fact, more of them were in the first district than in the third district. So it’s important that we talk about how we support everyone in this community and not focus on one particular district.”

Before the final speeches, a long line of members of the audience had 30 minutes to ask questions directly to the candidates.

An audience member asked about the candidate’s plans to hold developers accountable for recent downtown proposals and actions to ensure developers do not continue to limit affordable housing options downtown.

In Grand Rapids, downtown development has increased significantly. Recent multi-year projects such as the riverfront Acrisure Amphitheater, the newly approved soccer stadium, and large public use areas along the river have been implemented.

The riverfront development includes a 1.2 million square foot proposal to redevelop the six-acre vacant site formerly home to Charley’s Crab, which closed in 2020 and was demolished earlier this year. The area would house three high-rises towering over retail and restaurant space.

LaGrand responded with a focus on keeping the city and river accessible and affordable for residents.

“I’m not really interested in Grand Rapids being a playground for people coming into the city. I’m interested in seeing Grand Rapids benefit the people who live in the city,” he said.

In her response, Lenear acknowledged that downtown is currently inaccessible to residents in local neighborhoods in terms of affordability, parking availability and safety.

“As far as restoring the river goes, I’m pleased to see the project happen, but it can’t come at the expense of investing in our neighborhoods,” Lenear said.

After their closing remarks, Lenear and LaGrand remained to speak individually with participants after the debate.

A replay of the debate will be broadcast on GRTV’s Live Wire at 6:00 p.m. each day before the election complete recording is available for viewing GRTV’s YouTube Channel.

Information about the upcoming election and voter registration can be found here Here.