Deceptive mailers in the 1st Ward Grand Rapids City Commission race are making unsubstantiated claims about Alicia Marie Belchak

For some people, saying that a candidate wants to Defund the Police is like calling them a Communist. Grand Rapids has seen such tactics being used to discredit candidates and to plant a seed of doubt about public safety matters.

At a candidate forum a few weeks back, the Community Owns Safety Coalition asked candidates from the 3rd Ward and the two candidates running for Mayor of Grand Rapids questions about reducing the GRPD budget and not one of them would answer the questions.

During the 2022 election cycle, Republicans used the Defund the Police claims against then candidate Hillary Scholten, even though they were completely false. During the same election cycle, a group calling themselves Safe GR made the same false claims about then GR City Commissioner Kurt Reppart, using mailers and billboards to sway public opinion in favor of Andrew Robbins. Robbins also relied on a shit ton of money, primarily from members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure.

In 2024, we are seeing the same type of deceptive mailers, this time targeting Alicia Marie Belchak. As you can see in the mailer shown here above, the group Fund for Safe Clean and Healthy GR, is suggesting that Belchak would not take public safety seriously. If you look at the Belchak’s campaign website, the candidate survey from MLive, the one done by The Rapidian or the Voter Guide done by the Urban Core Collective, none of those candidate surveys suggest that Belchak wants to Defund the Police. In fact, on her own campaign website, candidate Belchak states: “As a mom, I know that strong, safe, vibrant neighborhoods are essential. That means funding public safety….” This statement is accompanied by a photo of Belchak and a GRPD officer sitting in his cruiser.

Who is Fund for Safe Clean and Healthy GR?

I searched the Kent County Clerk’s campaign finance section and could find nothing on the Fund for Safe Clean and Healthy GR. However, at the Secretary of State’s Campaign Finance page, there is a filing for the group.

The Fund for Safe Clean and Healthy GR filed in July and October of this year. However, in both cases there were no contributions or expenses listed. Thus, the only information I could find was the people who are listed as the Treasurer and Designated Record Keeper.

The Designated Record Keeper for the Fund for Safe Clean and Healthy GR is Lisa Payton. Payton works for McAlvey Merchant & Associates, which is a political lobbying and consulting firm that has worked with groups like Grand Action 2.0, The Right Place Inc and the Michael Jandernoa Trust.  McAlvey Merchant & Associates also has a Political Action Committee, so they can direct funds to candidates who support their interests.

The name next to the Treasurer is Vaughn Miller, listed as living at 1675 Summerfield St in Kentwood. This address is also listed as the Fund for Safe Clean and Healthy GR committee. What is interesting is that Vaughn Miller is also the Treasurer for 1st Ward City Commissioner Andrew Robbins, according to the Kent County Clerk’s campaign finance page. However, the address for Vaughn Miller is different than the address on the Secretary of State records. 

There is a Vaughn Miller who works as a Senior Financial Analyst at Steelcase. The picture of that Vaughn Miller is the same person as the one with Miller and Andrew Robbins taken two years ago (shown here on the right) just before Robbins won his race against Reppart.  Lastly, Andrew Robbins is clearly supporting Alicia Marie Belchak’s opponent, Dean Pacific, based on recent posting from his Facebook page.

Regardless of which Vaughn Miller is involved in the Fund for Safe Clean and Healthy GR, their campaign is a deceptive, misleading and shitting attempt to attack another candidate. On the other hand, Dean Pacific’s campaign is being funded by pro-cop people and members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure, people who don’t give a damn about the well being of the working class poor, the unhoused and other marginalized communities.