Is the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce behind the Protect Grand Rapids campaign?

Last Friday, I came across a Paid Ad on Facebook (shown here on the right), by a group I have never heard of called, Protect Grand Rapids. The text that accompanies the sponsored ad reads:

Grand Rapids City Commissioners have delivered common-sense solutions that will help ensure a clean, safe and healthy city for all. Click the link below to THANK THEM for leading with GRit! 

When you click on the link in the ad it takes you to the website https://protectgrandrapids.com/. At this website, there is a slight variation of the Paid Ad text which reads: 

Grand Rapids City Commissioners’ thoughtful work has led to the adoption of new ordinances that will help ensure a clean, safe and healthy city for all. Fill out the form below to THANK our City Commissioners for putting PEOPLE FIRST!

Putting PEOPLE FIRST! That is rich. Actually, to clarify, I think what Protect Grand Rapids meant to say was, putting RICH PEOPLE FIRST! Or putting those who make you RICH FIRST! The truth is that unless you are coming to downtown Grand Rapids to spend money, to shop, spend money in the bars, restaurants, entertainment venues, or cough up cash for parking, you are not really welcome in downtown Grand Rapids. 

In a recent GRIID post, we noted that one of the ordinances passed last Tuesday, was revised to read: 

Apparently, we need to have a purpose to be downtown, so we can’t just “hang around.” Of course, by purpose, the City’s ordinance means that you have to spend money in some capacity. Resting is not a purpose, day dreaming is not a purpose, listening to the birds is not a purpose, nor is people watching. You have to spend money!

The https://protectgrandrapids.com/ page only has the pre-crafted message for you to send to Grand Rapids City Commissioners. This pre-crafted message reads: 

Who is behind the Protect Grand Rapids group and their Social Media Ad?

Not surprising, there is no way to know who created the Protect Grand Rapids website, since there is nothing more than the pre-crafted massage for City Commissioners. In fact, there is no About section or a way to contact those involved. Protect Grand Rapids also has a Facebook page, but the only information there says that it is a Political Organization and that the content was all created on July 20th, five days before Grand Rapids City Commissioners voted to adopt the ordinances that will further punish and criminalize the unhoused.

My suspicion is that the website and Facebook page for Protect Grand Rapids was created by the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce. Remember last summer, when the group SafeGR went public with attacks ads and billboards saying that Grand Rapids has a crime problem? Josh Lunger, who is Vice President of Government Affairs at Grand Rapids Chamber, says he was merely doing some volunteer work for the SafeGR group. And according to MLive, He (Lunger) said the Grand Rapids Chamber as well as the chamber’s political action committee have not had any involvement with Safe GR. 

Josh Lunger was the person who sent the initial proposed ordinance to the City of Grand Rapids last December, writing as a staff member of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce. Lunger later lobbied the City to adopt the two ordinances in July, and he  attended both the July 11th Public Hearing and the July 25th City Commission meeting (where the ordinances were adopted), one could reasonably draw the conclusion that the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce is behind Protect Grand Rapids.

The fact that there is no transparency with Protect Grand Rapids, is also another reason to believe that the Chamber of Commerce is behind it, since transparency is not a high priority for the GR Chamber, an organization that serves the interests of the most powerful businesses in this city.