Lenear, LaGrand participate in public mayoral debate 2 weeks before election

With two weeks left before the Nov. 5 general election, Grand Rapids mayoral candidates Senita Lenear and David LaGrand took center stage at Wealthy Theatre Monday to participate in a formal debate discussing key 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 (Proposal 1) to move city elections, including mayoral elections, from odd-numbered to even-numbered years in hopes of increasing voter turnout. The 2024 mayoral election marks the first election following this change to coincide 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 for The Rapidian and Whitt Kilburn, a political science professor 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 later elected board president for two years. She also served two terms as Third Ward City Commissioner from 2014 to December 2022. Lenear co-owns Genesis Consulting Group, a nonprofit firm for event planning and business consulting, and owns Genesis Suites in the Alger Heights neighborhood. During the debate, Lenear noted she is a part of the 5% of Black Americans who own business equity. 

LaGrand served as Grand Rapids City Commissioner for the Second Ward from 2007 to 2010 but ended his term early to campaign 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 Republican incumbent Sen. 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, Lenear detailed her qualifications and investment in serving the Grand Rapids Community.

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

“Because honoring my commitments is a value I hold near and dear to my heart. I am hoping to take all of that experience with me to serve the city as mayor,” she said. 

LaGrand took his opening statement as an opportunity to discuss his campaign's effort in the city and emphasized his goals to mitigate partisan divisiveness in local elections.

 “My campaign has knocked about 75,000 doors in the city, which means we’ve done our best to talk to everyone at their homes, and that’s a really important commitment for me and our team because we need to strengthen our communities,” LaGrand said. “We are in a rough patch in American history, and we need to remind ourselves what unites is really important and more important than what divides us. It’s really important that we cut through some of the hyper-partisan rancor that we saw all around us and that we focus on things we can do together and ways we can make this city the best that it can become.” 

The first question of the evening asked the candidates their plan to balance the economic development of downtown with equitable development of neighborhoods and if they thought Grand Rapids has found that right balance. 

Lenear responded first by speaking about her experience as Third Ward Commissioner and her role in establishing a $750,000 equity fund for the Fiscal Year 2019 budget to repair homes, revitalize and uplift businesses and reduce lead hazards in the historically underfunded Third Ward. However, she acknowledged the fund did not fully achieve its goals.

“It became apparent through the data the city offers that we have under-invested in the Third Ward,” she said. “The fund was established and is currently being funded at about $1 million a year.  A million dollars goes a long way in my bank account, but it does not necessarily go a long way when we’re talking about reversing inequities in an entire region within the city. One of the ways we can reverse underfunding is by funding the Third Ward equity fund fully to be able to do some of the programs that exist.”

LaGrand responded, saying the origins of the Equity Fund are “perfectly understandable” but noted the need to address poverty in other areas of the city. 

“It’s also true that we have 11 census tracts in Grand Rapids where there’s acute poverty,” he said. “As a matter of fact, more of those were in the First Ward than the Third Ward, so it’s important we have a conversation about how we lift everyone up in this community and not zero in on one particular ward.”

Before closing statements, a long line of community members from the audience were allotted 30 minutes to ask questions directly to the candidates. 

An audience member asked about the candidate’s plans to hold developers accountable for the recent proposals and operations downtown, ensuring developers don’t continue to reduce affordable housing options in the downtown area.

Grand Rapids has seen a marked increase in development downtown with recent multi-year projects like the riverside Acrisure Amphitheater, the newly approved soccer stadium, and major public use areas being implemented along the river. 

The riverside development includes a 1.2-million-square-foot proposal to redesign the six acres of vacant property formerly home to Charley’s Crab, which closed in 2020 and was demolished earlier this year. The area would house three high-rise towers sitting above retail and restaurant space.

LaGrand responded with an emphasis on keeping the city and river accessible and affordable to residents.

“I am not really interested in Grand Rapids being a playground for people who come into the city. I am interested in Grand Rapids being beneficial for the people who live in the city,” he said.

In her response, Lenear acknowledged the current inaccessibility of downtown to residents in local neighborhoods in terms of affordability, parking availability and safety. 

“As it relates to the river restoration, I am happy that the project is happening, but it can not be at the expense of investing in our neighborhoods,” said Lenear. 

Following their closing remarks, Lenear and LaGrand stuck around to engage with attendees individually after the debate. 

A rebroadcast of the debate will air on GRTV’s Live Wire every day before the election at 6 p.m. and a full recording is available to view on GRTV’s YouTube Channel. 

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