Those who own the City of Grand Rapids have made it clear: They want Grand Rapids City Commissioners to vote in favor of the proposed ordinances that will criminalize the unhoused

This Tuesday makes it two weeks after the Public Hearing the Grand Rapids City Commission held on July 11th regarding the proposed ordinances that many people, community-based groups and the ACLU believe would further criminalize the unhoused.

At the upcoming Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, Grand Rapids City officials will be discussing some slight revisions to the language of the proposed ordinances. According to the Committee of the Whole Agenda Packet – page 7 – the language now reads:

Note that the wording changes are both the result of push back from the community, but these ordinances will still negatively impact the unhoused who are not welcome in downtown Grand Rapids.

Grand Rapids Capitalist Class endorses the proposed ordinances – Profits over People

Included in the Agenda Packet for the July 25th Grand Rapids City Commission meeting, are numerous communications both for and against the proposed ordinances in question. As we reported during the July 11th Public Hearing, the overwhelming majority of those who spoke were opposed to the two ordinances.

In the July 25th Agenda Packet (beginning on page 59) there are several letters from those who support the two proposed ordinances. Not surprising, those who endorse the ordinances are either members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure or representatives of this elitist group. Here is a list of those elitists:

• Nick Wasmiller – RDV Corp, which is a DeVos-owned company. 
• Michael Nelson – Chief Operating Officer for the Amway Corporation 
• Robb Mungerm – CEO of the Exodus Place, which we wrote about last week.
• Michael Ellis – President of Ellis Parking, which has made millions from the public and has significantly benefitted from the ongoing transformation of the Grand Rapids downtown to a tourist destination. 
• Thomas Tooley – Ghafari Associates is a global architecture, engineering, and consulting firm that only moved into Grand Rapids in 2018, when they acquired Concept Design Group. 
• Paul W. Boehms – Executive Director for Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, which is the preferred law firm for the rich and powerful in Grand Rapids. 
• Paulus C. Heule – CEO Eenhoorn, LLC, which is a Property Management Company that owns Real Estate in 6 states, including Michigan. 
• Greg Schierbeek – President/CEO of Eikenhout Inc., a building materials supplier with 10 locations in Michigan, including Grand Rapids. 
• Jerry Kooiman – who works for Michigan State University’s Grand Rapids location, also a former GOP State Legislator, GOP Kent County Commissioner and former staff worker for Rep. Pete Hoekstra and Rep. Paul Henry. 

It should also be noted that most of the people on the list above or the organization(s) they represent, also signed onto the letter in support of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce cruel and criminalizing ordinance proposal presented last December. 

There were also several letters opposing the two proposed ordinances, along with a list of names (118) that sent digital letters to Grand Rapids City Officials on pages 98 – 101 of the July 25th City Commission Meeting Agenda Packet.

Grand Rapids City Commissioners WILL Vote on the two proposed ordinances endorsed by local elites and opposed by working class people

In looking through the Grand Rapids City Commission Meeting Agenda Packet for July 25, it seems pretty clear that there will be a vote on the two proposed ordinances. 0n page 4 of the Agenda Packet it states clearly – Ordinances to be Adopted, which include the two that were part of the July 11 Public Hearing, identified here with Red Stars.

What seems pretty damn clear from the information that the City has sent out before the Tuesday, July 25th Grand Rapids Commission Meeting, is that not only are they going to adopt these ordinances that will further criminalize the unhoused, they are doing so at the behest of the members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure and members of the Capitalist Class, who in no uncertain terms do not want their ability to make money threatened by people who are unhoused and those who are the victims of Capitalism.