Political Ads are designed to be vague, deceptive and to misinform the public: Part I
We are just under two months before the 2022 Elections, so get ready to be inundated with political deception, vague promises and lots of mud slinging, in the campaign ads that will be running through November 8.
Campaign advertising is detestable for numerous reasons. There is the obvious low hanging fruit, which is in the form of outright lies and deception. Then there are ads that use buzzwords and phrases like “the middle class”, “pro-life”, “health care access”, “family values”, and “fair wages.” These are generally meaningless terms that don’t provide voters with any clarity on where candidates stand. If a candidate says they will work towards medicare for all or work to win a minimum wage of $25 an hour, then you know where they stand. However, this rarely happens in political ads.
The other thing about political ads is that they consume the bulk of the money candidates raise in their campaigns. This means, when you donate to a candidate, they will spend the bulk of whatever you donate on advertising bogus, misleading, deceptive or vague messages. During the 2020 Election, there was a total of $2.5 Billion spent on TV ads alone.
Now, candidates and campaign managers will often say that political ads are an essential way for people to get their name out. This is simply not true, and would be increasingly unnecessary, especially if the following were to happen. First, if journalist were to practice honest, investigative reporting, the public would have plenty of information to make a well informed decision on where candidates stand on critical issues. I have been tracking election coverage for the past 20 years in the Greater Grand Rapids news market, which means I have seen how awful and how little election coverage there is with local news outlets.
In 2010, GRIID conducted a study of the Grand Rapids Press and compared their election coverage to their coverage of the art spectacle Artprize, which was happening at the same time. Here is a summary of our findings:
In 2004, we also conducted an election coverage study of the three Grand Rapids-based TV stations, looking at coverage for 30 days leading up to the November Election. The findings were astounding, especially considering it was a Presidential Election year. However, we noticed that local candidates/elections don’t get nearly enough coverage, not because they are not important, but because of what news agencies chose to focus on. We found that for the 30 days prior to the 2004 election, not one second of airtime was devoted to the 19 separate Kent County Commission races. During that same 30 day period, the three Grand Rapids-based TV stations aired 107 stories about a DC sniper. During that same election cycle, the WWE was in Grand Rapids at the Van Andel Arena, so we went down and interviewed people going in and asked them about why they liked professional wrestling, along with their thoughts about electoral politics, which you can watch here.
Since the study we did in 2004, news rooms have continued to shrink, resulting in even worse election coverage.
Second, if candidates want to get people to support them, instead of hosting events that are highly scripted and managed, candidates should be centering the community, listening to the community, advocating with the community. Instead of asking for money to run misleading or vague political ads, how about candidates who are out raising money for families experiencing poverty, those that are struggling to afford rent, and those that are food insecure. This kind of a strategy does two things. First, it would provide economic relief to people who really need it. Second, it would provide candidates an opportunity to talk about making a livable wage, like $25 an hour, or how landlords and property management companies are exploiting tenants, or it could be an opportunity to talk about the unjust food system we have. Unfortunately, these types of strategies are not practiced, so we are left with the painfully realities of political ads for the next month.
In Part II of this series, we will look at a current deceptive/attack ad, which is directed at a Congressional candidate.
Proposed soccer stadium in downtown Grand Rapids is a study in how the DeVos family gets what they want – ownership and massive profits
Do you ever feel like members of the Capitalist Class in Grand Rapids get to do whatever the hell they want to? Well, it sure seems that way, which is exactly why GRIID attempts to monitor and write about people and organizations that we identify as being part of the Grand Rapids Power Structure.
On September 1st, MiBiz reported that the group that is behind the soon to be realized outdoor amphitheater, Grand Action 2.0, is now looking to potentially develop land between Pearl and Bridge St on the near westside for a soccer stadium. A rendering of the potential site can be seen at the bottom of this article.
The MiBiz story also points out that the DeVos family (specifically DP Fox Ventures LLC) recently purchased 407 Pearl St. NW for $3.175 million. DF Fox Ventures LLC is one of the DeVos family holdings that is run by Dan and Pamella DeVos. The fact that Dan DeVos is behind the purchase of this property, which is one piece of a potential site for a new soccer stadium, makes complete sense, especially since Dan DeVos is the chairman of the NBA team, the Orlando Magic, is co-owner of the Grand Rapids Griffins and was owner of the now defunct arena football team, the Grand Rapids Rampage.
In Dave Zirin’s book, Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love, he discusses how wealthy sports team owners are constantly manipulating municipal governments and city residents to get them to provide massive subsidies for the construction of sports venues, like arena’s and stadiums. Zirin mentions how the DeVos family squeezed taxpayers in Orlando, when they wanted a new arena for their Orlando Magic basketball team. Zirin writes:
“And he’s (DeVos) is getting $1 billion in taxpayers’ money to build the arena. That sends a bad message. Indeed. At its core, the DeVos model could be characterized as theft of public funds that turns teams and arenas into slush funds for radical right politics.”
The MiBiz article cites Grand Action 2.0 spokesperson, Kara Wood, who used to work for the City of Grand Rapids. The article also cites Nick Wasmiller, who is the Director of Communications at RDV Corporation, even though the MiBiz article refers to him as a “DeVos Family spokesperson.” In addition, the article cites a memo about the potential soccer stadium, which was produced by the Right Place Inc., which has the current CEO of Amway on their Board of Directors and is a member of the Grand Rapids Power Structure.
On Wednesday, MLive also wrote a story about the potential soccer stadium, although they didn’t really have any new information about the project. MLive did reach out to other contacts to get some feedback on this story, such as the PR firm Truscott Rossman. John Truscott was the Press Secretary for Michigan Governor John Engler, and he sits of the Board of Directors of the Grand Rapids Economic Club. Truscott Rossman also does PR work for the West Michigan Policy Forum, which is also a member of the Grand Rapids Power Structure.
Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. was also cited in the MLive article, as was a spokesperson for the City of Grand Rapids, along with Grand Rapids Mayor Bliss, who was quoted as saying, that “she was “excited about a project of this scale and the vibrancy it could add to our city and region.”
Now, we all know that whenever Grand Action does a project, that the public ends up paying a significant portion of the cost, whether that is tax breaks by the city or the State of Michigan. This has been the case with every major project that Grand Action has been behind since they were founded. Here is a list of the Grand Action projects that have received significant public funding:
- Van Andel Arena
- DeVos Place
- Meijer Majestic Theater
- MSU Secchia Center
- Grand Rapids Downtown Market
- Downtown outdoor Amphitheater project – still in process
Despite the fact that the public has contributed large sums of money to these projects, and will to the soccer stadium, the public has no say in the matter. There will be no public vote on whether a soccer stadium gets built, nor who will own it. If the soccer stadium get built on in the area between Pearl and Bridge St., it will certainly have an impact on traffic, the need to create additional parking, and the likely displacement of existing residents or small businesses in the area. This kind of displacement has happened before.
In the mid-1990s, when the Van Andel Arena was being built, that project took over existing City owned parking lots. At the same time, there was a development proposal in the works where the proposed soccer stadium might go on the westside. In the mid 1990’s, Jack Buchanan Jr. had the idea of re-developing the near westside. Buchanan bought up roughly 60 homes, continued to rent those spaces, but did nothing to maintain those properties. People were then forced to leave those rental properties, because Buchanan had plans to re-create that area, with office and residential space for members of the professional class. However, before all of the residents in the area had left, Chuck Peterson and myself, using equipment from GRTV, had interviewed a dozen different residents, all of which told us that Jack Buchanan Jr had not maintain the rental units. Some of those properties were so bad that when it rained, water would leak into the homes where people were living. People also told us that they were offered a 20 inch TV and one months rent if they agreed to leave and sign a non-disclosure agreement.
However, the project became too costly, so Buchanan ended up selling the land to the City of Grand Rapids, which constructed parking lots they needed because of the parking spaces that were displaced by the Van Andel Arena. Buchanan later tried to defraud the State of Michigan in another development project and went to jail in 2011.
The point of sharing this information is to say that the land that is being eyed as a potential site for the proposed soccer stadium, has a long history of rich people making bank, while screwing over working class families.
Downtown Grand Rapids has an interesting history, with its origins being Settler Colonialism and the displacement of Indigenous communities. Since then downtown Grand Rapids has been a major hub for those with political and economic power to make and remake that part of the city, regardless of what the public thinks. Downtown Grand Rapids is like a playground for the members of the Capitalist Class, where they get what they want or they’ll throw a temper tantrum. And what they want is to continue to get the public to pay for their playground projects, while they sit back and watch their wealth exponentially increase. We should see the proposed soccer stadium as just the most recent example of the Capitalist Con, with the DeVos family being the primary beneficiaries.
On Tuesday, the Grand Rapids City Commission voted to give a tax break to the developers of a new housing project at the far southeast part of the city, on 43rd St.
MLive had reported on this project on September 6th, noting that the City’s tax breaks are, “contingent upon the development receiving tax credits from the state.”
This housing development project is supposed to be affordable, with about one third of the units “to be permanent supportive housing serving people who are experiencing homelessness or have a disability.”
In addition, the MLive article also noted that the company developing this new housing project will be charging $667 up to $1,202 per month for a one bedroom apartment, and $801 up to $1,441 for a two bedroom. The lower end prices for both the one and two bedroom apartments might be feasible for those with disabilities and those who are transitioning from being unhoused, but after paying rent, it would not leave people with much for utilities, food, transportation, etc.
One other important bit of information from the MLive story is that the company that will be developing this new “affordable housing” project, is a national company, Woda Cooper Companies. In 2020, Woda Cooper Companies Inc, received $2,828,800 in PPP loans from the federal government because of COVID. Several months later that loan was forgiven. If Woda Cooper Companies Inc can benefit from nearly $3 Million of public money, they surely can afford to build houses without public subsidies.
Lastly, there have been numerous complaints about other Woda Cooper Company properties in Grand Rapids. The Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union met with tenants from Grand View Place Apartments last year and learned that there was all kinds of unfair and exploitative practices that the Woda Cooper Company was involved in. In fact, the tenants came up with the following demands:
- Security/Safety – Hire an Independent Security Contractor for 24 hour security, as numerous residents have been assaulted on the property, have witnessed illegal activities and have been threatened by other tenants with bodily harm.
- Repairs/ general sanitation – Make necessary repairs that tenants have contacted management about in a timely fashion. In addition, the sanitation of the buildings is unacceptable, with urine, blood and even vomit in the hallways, stairways and elevator that is left for days. Management needs to make sure that common spaces are clear and sanitary at all times, but especially now with COVID.
- Transparency and consistency with funds – residents have noted that they are being charged excessive rent fees, along with over-charging people who have a fixed rental fee. In addition, WODA Cooper Companies has not been transparent about the use of COVID relief funds they have received from the Federal Government.
- NOISE Violation Enforcement – Tenants are demanding that management enforce noise violations, as numerous tenants have to constantly put up with unnecessarily loud noises at all times of the night, making it difficult to slept or have a sense of peace in their own space.
- Stop threats of Eviction and Retaliation – Numerous tenants have been threatened with eviction or retaliation by management when they file a complaint about illegal drugs, prostitution, excessive noise or other security issues inside and on the apartment property. It is illegal to threaten or retaliate against tenants for wanting fairness and security where they are living.
- MSHDA Oversight – Tenants would like to see the Michigan State Housing Development Authority have some oversight in management for the Grand View Place, which is owned by WODA Cooper Companies. This oversight would create more accountability and provide a sense of relief for tenants who have been mistreated and threatened over the past year.
These are serious issues that tenants are facing at one of the many Woda Cooper Company’s properties in Grand Rapids. The tenants from the Woda Cooper Company-owned Grand View Place apartments, also organized a press conference to make their grievances public. The Woda Cooper Company staff were so threatened by the Press Conference, that they called the GRPD. Just minutes before the press conference was to take place, 5 separate GRPD cruisers showed up and one cop told the tenant union that if they chose to stay on the property of Grand View Place apartments, they would be arrested.
The Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union then wrote a letter to Grand Rapids City Officials, communicating their dismay at the fact that 5 GRPD cruisers showed up to prevent a press conference being organized by tenants who were standing up for their rights. Grand Rapids City Officials never responded to the letter, which you can read here.
To review, the Woda Cooper Company, which is set to receive tax breaks from the City of Grand Rapids; has received nearly $3 Million in PPP funds, which they never had to pay back; and has a history of mistreating and exploiting tenants; plus when tenants sought to organize they were threatened by the GRPD for holding a press conference. Who else thinks such companies shouldn’t receive any sort of tax breaks or public subsidies?
Another letter calling for the criminalization of the unhoused: The failure to address the root causes of Neoliberal economic policy in Grand Rapids
During yesterday’s Grand Rapids City Commission, it was announced that they had received a letter from Matthew Wikander, CEO of Smith, Haughey, Rice & Roegge, a law firm located at 100 Monroe Center NW in downtown Grand Rapids.
The content of that letter is on pages 33 & 34 of the Agenda Packet for the September 6th Grand Rapids City Commission meeting. This letter from a downtown law firm is similar to the letter the Grand Rapids City Commission received in the second week of July, a letter sent from the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, which we wrote about.
Both letters address issues of public safety, illegal activity and homelessness. This most recent letter from law firm of Smith, Haughey, Rice & Roegge, begins with a little bit of the history of the law firm’s presence in Grand Rapids. The letter also states they have recently renewed a lease until 2033, thus demonstrating their “commitment” to Grand Rapids. By all accounts, Smith, Haughey, Rice & Roegge, is a corporate law firm, which has offices in three additional cities in Michigan, besides their office in Grand Rapids.
Beginning in the second paragraph, the law firm makes a veiled threat, where they question whether or not they want to continue to operate out of downtown Grand Rapids, stating:
With that context, developments around our building risk changing our attitude towards working downtown. We are questioning our decision to stay. Monroe Center and connected streets have become unsafe, unhealthy and unsuitable for client service. I write imploring the city to proactively correct the situation (I recognize that some aspects of the situation are rooted in problems caused by homelessness, however the incidents summarized below are unrelated to homelessness or are illegal and need to be corrected immediately).
The law firm’s CEO seemingly contradicts himself, by first acknowledging that the root of the problems might be caused by homelessness, but then in the very next sentence says the “illegal” activity is unrelated to homelessness and needs to be corrected immediately. The list of issues/incidents make up the bulk of the letter, which includes people drinking, smoking and listening to loud music on public benches; solicitation of sex; public urination/defecation; their well-connected clients having to use a secondary entrance to the building; plus loud and lewd behavior, which is causing some of their staff to not come into the office.
The letter then ends with the following statement:
While homelessness is complicated and requires humane solutions, the situations described above should be addressed as unacceptable (and often illegal) behavior, not an inevitable consequence of homelessness. It is in both the business community and the city’s interests to address this because downtown’s culture, safety and business climate are at stake. Smith Haughey is willing to participate in effective solutions, but time is of the essence.
Again, the CEO of this law firm acknowledges the complexity of the issue of homelessness, but then quickly shifts to “unacceptable behavior.” More importantly, the sentence that we highlighted is really the crux of the matter, since the business community is negatively impacted. It’s also interesting that the CEO of this law firm equates the business community and the City’s interests as the same.
What is really at issue here is the decades long effects of domestic austerity measures, within the larger Neoliberal Capitalist project. This includes, but is not limited to, the dismantling of the welfare state, stagnant wages, the elimination of public services, the privatization of previously public services, using public money for private interests and the push to make downtown Grand Rapids a playground for the rich and destination for tourists.
The CEO of Smith, Haughey, Rice & Roegge wants to have the public benches removed because people are drinking smoking and listening to loud music. Downtown Grand Rapids is literally a place the thousands of people go to on a weekly basis to drink, smoke and listen to loud music. Just because some people pay to access spaces to do those things, while others don’t, shouldn’t be cause for removing public benches. In fact, the removal of benches is just one more way to wage a war against the “undesirable class,” along with the fact that it is the direct result of adopting austerity measures in Grand Rapids.
In addition, the more than we criminalize people for sex work or homelessness, just means that we as a society refuse to deal with the root causes of the problem(s), which is economic inequality. The economic inequality will also lead to increased calls for more policing and other punitive actions that are not only short sighted, but fail to address the economic inequality that Grand Rapids is known for. A document prepared by the Urban Core Collective states:
A report produced by the Economic Policy Institute (2018) revealed that the average income of the top 1% of families in Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI is 25.9 times higher than the average income of the bottom 99% of families in the area, with average incomes of $1,219,262 and $47,150, respectively.
Until the business community and the City of Grand Rapids comes to terms with the realities of embracing Neoliberal economics, we will always have unhoused people in this city, an expanding housing crisis, and we will perpetuate government violence by advocating for more cops to deal with those who are most affected by the consequences of Neoliberal Capitalism.
According to the Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association, it is a waste of tax payer money for a Black person to seek justice in this city
On Friday, it was reported that the GRPD cop Gregory Bauer, was was found not guilty of discharging his firearm, while confronting someone he believed to be a suspect in a stolen car.
Daevionne Smith, a Black man, was getting out of his car, when the GRPD cop stopped him, then fired his gun, which hit a house. The GRPD cop claims he tripped, which is what caused him to fire his gun. This all happened in December of 2021.
In February of 2022, Daevionne Smith, who had agreed to do an interview with FOX 17, was driving with a carload of people, when arriving to do the channel 17 interview. FOX 17 reported:
“I’m in fear for my life every day. Every day I walk outside the house and I don’t know if it’s somebody on the side of the house waiting for me again. Like, I’m scared. I’ve actually hired a security team to transport me from place to place.”
In late April, Daevionne Smith then filed a lawsuit against the Grand Rapids Police Department and the city of Grand Rapids after an officer accidentally fired his gun. He says the incident has caused him emotional distress, according to a story on WOOD TV 8.
During the court proceedings to determine if the GRPD cop who fired the shot was guilty of negligence, Daevionne Smith was not allowed to speak, nor offer testimony. The Judge said, his testimony would “distract the jury.” In response, Daevionne Smith was quoted as saying:
“This is one of the first times I’ve ever felt so powerless, to sit back and actually watch this go on and not able to do nothing about it. Y’all made me feel like I don’t matter. My life don’t matter. Everything that I went through and I’m still continuously going through doesn’t matter.”
Cop Union Response to the verdict
The Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association (GRPOA) didn’t waste any time responding to the verdict. They posted a link to the WOOD TV 8 story, but provided their own narrative at the top, which read:
Never a doubt Officer Bauer would be acquitted. What a waste of tax payer dollars. Way to go Becker!! Officer Schurr will be the next to be acquitted.
Even though the statement from the GRPOA was brief, it said a great deal.
First, by saying that there was never a doubt that the cop who forearmed his weapon while confronting Daevionne Smith, would be acquitted, demonstrates, 1) a certain level of arrogance that cops are never in the wrong, and 2) an understanding that the laws involving cops in this society, almost always protect cops or give them the benefit of the doubt.
Second, the cop union claims that the trial was a waste of tax payer dollars. This statement is basically saying that someone who is seeking justice for the harm they have endured, is a waste of tax payer dollars. Seeking justice for a Black man, who has been traumatized from the GRPD cop firing his weapon and has repeatedly stated that he fears for his life is not a waste of public money. The fact that the GRPD union thinks it is a waste of public money, shows their ignorance and their complete disregard for the well being of Daevionne Smith.
Third, the Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association ends their statement by asserting that the former GRPD cop Christopher Schurr will be the next cop to be acquitted, despite the fact that he shot and killed Patrick Lyoya, after Lyoya had been stopped because his car plates had expired. Again, the GRPOA demonstrates their arrogance, but also their belief that the cop who shot Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head will be acquitted because the law is in Schurr’s favor, especially around use of force laws in Michigan.
Lastly, it is worth noting that the same lawyer who got the GRPD cop who fired his weapon while confronting Daevionne Smith, is the same lawyer who is part of the defense team for Christopher Schuur, Mark Dodge. In June, the legal team representing Schuur released the following statement:
We were disappointed to learn that Officer Schurr has been charged with murder by the Kent County Prosecutor. Officer Schurr is a decorated member of law enforcement who has dedicated his career to helping others and protecting the citizens of Grand Rapids. The evidence in this case will show that the death of Patrick Lyoya was not murder but an unfortunate tragedy, resulting from a highly volatile situation. Mr. Lyoya continually refused to obey lawful commands and ultimately disarmed a police officer. Mr. Lyoya gained full control of a police officer’s weapon while resisting arrest, placing Officer Schurr in fear of great bodily harm or death. We are confident that after a jury hears all of the evidence, Officer Schurr will be exonerated.
Such a statement is not only consistent with what the Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association believes, it is reflected in comments from white people in this city, which we documented during the August 23rd City Commission meeting public comments. Daevionne Smith is right to feel like his life doesn’t matter. The City of Grand Rapids and the GRPD continues to affirm that reality, especially when it comes to Black residents in this city.
More Cops won’t keep us safe: Biden announces even more funding for cops, despite national movement calling for defunding the police
On Tuesday, while speaking in Pennsylvania, President Joe Biden laid out his Safer America Plan, which includes $37 Billion in funding for policing and a commitment to add an additional 100,000 more cops across the nation.
Biden’s comments were similar to what he said during the 2022 State of the Union address, when he said:
You know, I call it the Safer America Plan, and both your members of Congress voted for it. It’s based on a simple notion: When it comes to public safety in this nation, the answer is not “defund the police,” it’s “fund the police.”
Such statements from Biden should not come as a surprise, as he campaigned in 2020 with the intention of increasing funding for cops. In addition, we need to remember that when Biden was the Vice President and a Senator he has always supported policing, and the Senator was instrumental in passing the 1994 Crime Bill, which not only increased police funding, it led to what Michelle Alexander calls Mass Incarceration.
Over the past few weeks, we have written that the Democratic Party is equally committed to supporting and defending policing in this country, despite the calls from millions to defund the police. Biden’s speech on Tuesday affirmed his administration’s commitment to expanding the police, even though there is plenty of evidence that more cops does not translate into safer communities, nor less crime.
Take for instance the 2021 report from Interrupting Criminalization, Cop’s Don’t Stop Violence: Combating Narratives Used to Defend Police Instead of Defunding Them. The report states in its introduction:
Police are facing one of the greatest crises of legitimacy in a generation. In the wake of the largest uprisings in U.S. history, sparked by police violence, bloated police budgets, and the deadly impacts of a failure to invest in community health and safety laid bare by the pandemic, pro-police forces are on the defensive. So they are reaching for one of their most reliable weapons — fear.
This is nothing new — cops and policymakers have always used fearmongering to push “law and order” agendas and pour more and more money into police departments. Now, with police budgets under scrutiny by campaigns to defund the police and refund our communities all across the country, lawmakers and the media are once again recycling old talking points about increasing violence and crime, claiming that campaigns to defund police are responsible.
The Cops Don’t Stop Violence report is well researched and full of data, that is presented in a very readable fashion. The report concludes with the following statement:
It’s time to recognize that decades of pouring more money, resources, and legitimacy into policing in an effort to increase safety have failed — because policing is functioning as it is intended to: to contain, control, and criminalize Black and Brown communities rather than to prevent and reduce violence. It’s time to invest in meeting community needs and building non-police community safety strategies. It’s time to invest in just recovery.
While Biden’s commitment to providing more funding for cops and increasing the sheer number of police across the county is somewhat disheartening, it is expected that those committed to protecting power and privilege would continue to maintain a system of repression and State violence, policing. What has been happening in Grand Rapids over the past several years, is no different.
We know we have our work cut out for us, just as all abolitionists have experienced of the centuries. We need to continue to resist and to radically imagine a world that is not subservient to capital, and a system that is rooted in White Supremacy. We need to continue to educate ourselves and use resources that can be used as tools of popular education. For example, I encourage people to read and share this fabulous zine, Police Abolition 101, which you can download here. The more we can share these tools, self-educate, resist State violence, and create real conditions for community safety, then we can work to defund and abolish the GRPD.
Our latest update to the DeVos Family Reader: Monitoring the most powerful family in West Michigan
In Howard Zinn’s monumental book, A People’s History of the United States, he constantly juxtaposes the amazing things that people did to fight for liberation and the people behind the systems of oppression that social movements were fighting against.
This is exactly why I have spent years monitoring, investigating and critiquing the DeVos Family. They are the most recognizable and powerful manifestation of the systems of power and oppression in West Michigan. Now, I know there are plenty of people who share the belief that without the DeVos Family, Grand Rapids wouldn’t be where it is today. I fully agree with that belief, but for reasons that are the exact opposite of those who hold the most powerful family in West Michigan in high regard.
Three times a year we try to update our DeVos Family Reader, a collection of articles that looks at the family’s history, the influence on election & public policy, their foundations, how they are reported on in the news media, ArtPrize and the section entitled Betsy DeVos Watch.
This updated version of the DeVos Family Reader includes information and analysis on a variety of topics, since our last update, which was 4 months ago. There a total of 10 separate articles we posted having to directly with the DeVos family. The first post in mid-May was an article about the anti-Abortion Cartel in West Michigan, which has at the top of it the DeVos family. This article looks at the level of funding, both to political candidates and through their foundation, the DeVos family has contributed that essentially has led to the criminalization of abortion. In July, we posted another article with some of the same information, but it was also the beginning of a Wanted Poster series we began, looking at the families and organizations that have funded the criminalization of abortion.
A second article, which was post in the 3rd week of May, was written because of the pressure being put on the Kent County Prosecutor to recuse himself in the Patrick Lyoya case, since he took money from the Grand Rapids Area Police Officer’s Association. The GRIID article was pointing out that during the County Prosecutor’s time in office, he has received 23 time more campaign money from the DeVos family, than the cop union.
In June, we posted four articles about the DeVos family, with the first focusing on the role they are playing the proposed outdoor amphitheater project, which will be located in the southwest part of downtown along the Grand River. The article centers on how much public money is being used without any public input.
Another article in June looks at one the guests that Doug DeVos had on his podcast show, called Believe, while another article looked at an interview that Betsy DeVos did on the Acton Institute’s radio show, which focused on her recently released book.
There was one final post in June about the DeVos family, which was a critique of the Amway Corporation’s decision to pull all of their operations out of Russia.
In early August, right around the time of the Michigan Primary Election, we posted two stories on the DeVos family’s role in campaign financing. One article centered on the fact that the DeVos family, along with other members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure, dominated campaign contributions to candidates from West Michigan in the primary. The second post was about the fact that the DeVos family was the single largest campaign contributor to the GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon, who won the GOP primary and will face Gov. Whitmer in November.
The last article we posted in our updated version of the DeVos Family Reader, was a mid-August piece looking at the upcoming art spectacle in Grand Rapids known as ArtPrize. We have written a great deal about ArtPrize over the years, but this year decided to ask the question, How do we justify ArtPrize with all the horrible shit the DeVos family does?
With these new additions to the DeVos Family Reader, we are now up to 681 pages of information and analysis on the most powerful family in West Michigan.
Two weeks ago, I read an excellent piece posted on the Jacobin website, entitled, Bigger Police Budgets Could Be Used for Abortion Crackdowns. The article is essentially arguing that the Democratic Party’s decision to support more funding for cops and abortion rights is inherently problematic. Once anti-abortion laws are put into place in many states, police departments will be called upon to enforce anti-abortion laws, thus targeting the very people that the Democrats claim they want to defend.
In thinking about the clash between being pro-police and pro-abortion, I came across a new brief published by the group Interrupting Criminalization, Abortion Decriminalization is Part of the Larger Struggle Against Policing and Criminalization. This important publication begins with the following overview:
The expanding surveillance and criminalization of mutual aid, self-managed care, and bodily autonomy, and the growing attempts to criminalize pregnant people, parents, and health care providers have far-reaching ramifications beyond abortion criminalization that require us to join together to collectively resist!
Hundreds of restrictive bills have been proposed, many passed, including the Texas law (SB8) that not only bans abortion after six weeks, but deputizes civilians to police each other’s reproductive decisions. Such laws are just the latest examples in a long history of criminalizing bodily autonomy, especially for Black, Indigenous, migrant, disabled, queer, and trans people, and people with low incomes who will experience the harshest impacts of anti-abortion legislation.
This important brief gets us to look at how the movement to defund policing and the movement to defend access to abortion intersect. In fact, these issues intersect in two ways. First, both issues deal with the carceral system of criminalization and policing. Second, both defunding police and defending abortion access disproportionately impact BIPOC communities, migrant communities, disabled communities, and trans and queer communities.
The Interrupting Criminalization document then goes on to say:
Organizers and advocates sometimes fail to consider the criminalization
of abortion and reproductive care within larger campaigns against the violence of policing and criminalization. Similarly, organizers sometimes exceptionalize expanding restrictions on abortion and reproductive care as a new or unique type of criminalization, rather than understanding them as a part of a larger web.
It is important to broaden and deepen our collective analysis of the culture of punishment that makes such criminalizing legislation possible, following the lead of Black and Indigenous women, women of color, and trans reproductive justice activists who have made critical connections between multiple movements. Solidarity among anti-criminalization and reproductive justice organizers is essential to dismantle the culture of carcerality and control, and to prevent more laws targeting people existing at precarious intersections of race, gender, sexuality, disability, class and migration. Communities organizing for gender justice, migrant justice, economic and racial justice, sex workers’ rights, disability justice, and other movements for liberation should view abortion criminalization as a site of shared struggle.
Imagine what it would look like for those involved in the fight to defund the GRPD and those fighting to demand that abortion should be legal and accessible to all? How would this alliance impact the work of each movement, and how would it make these movements stronger if they saw the benefit of collaborating to combat policing in all of its manifestations?
Lastly, the Interrupting Criminalization publication provides three overarching strategies to resist the criminalization of reproductive autonomy:
- Amplify and lift up the history, framing and demands of the Reproductive Justice (RJ) movement, and an intersectional framework that extends beyond “choice.”
- Divest from mechanisms and sites that criminalize reproductive autonomy; Invest in affirming care, bodily autonomy and reproductive justice.
- Destigmatize abortion.
Criminalization of abortion providers, abortion seekers, and their communities does nothing to prevent unplanned pregnancy. Organizing for full decriminalization is the only way forward, while we continue the grassroots work to build and strengthen our capacity for mutual aid and communities of care. Another World is Possible!
Michigan Freedom Fund campaign seeking to associate Gov Whitmer with the Defund the Police Movement is false and misleading
Two weeks ago I wrote a piece about how there is a public perception that the Democratic Party is in favor of defunding the police. This reality is simply not true, despite the far right’s attempt to label the Democrats as being anti-police.
A recent example of this kind of misinformation, can be found on the August 26th from the DeVos-created, pro-GOP blog, Michigan Freedom Fund. The Michigan Freedom Fund post creates a false narrative, both with video and written content that is simply dishonest.
The video created by Michigan Freedom Fund attempts to make the claim that it is Gov. Whitmer’s fault that Michigan cities are seeing a rise in crime. The video uses a montage of news clips from various Michigan-based TV stations, a few graphics and audio of Whitmer saying over and over, “I’m riding with Biden.” The video is sophomoric and is a longstanding tactic used to blame politicians for violent crime.
The written commentary that the Michigan Freedom Fund (MFF) uses isn’t much better, but it’s worth looking at in greater detail. Here is what the MFF blog post says:
Governor Whitmer supports the “spirit” of defunding the police. The Whitmer-Biden inflation has exhausted law enforcement budgets and taken police off the streets, and lockdowns like the ones Whitmer implemented here in Michigan led to a spike in violent crime. But with your help, we can stand up to the Whitmer-Biden agenda, and make Michigan safe again!
First, the claim that Governor Whitmer supports the spirit of defunding the police is completely out of context. The source for such a claim is the far right news source, Breitbart. However, a basic function of journalism is to question what politicians say and them compare it to the actual policies they have adopted. In this case, even if Gov. Whitmer agrees with the “spirit of defunding the police,” her actions are completely the opposite.
Last December, the Michigan House of Representatives passed a nearly unanimous bill that would provide an additional $300 Million for policing, legislation that was supported by Gov. Whitmer. In fact, two months before the legislation was passed, Gov. Whitmer’s office released their own Media Statement fully endorsing an additional $32 Million for policing in Michigan. In addition, if Gov. Whitmer is so opposed to funding the police, why has she been the recipient of $3,000 in police union funding?
Second, the Michigan Freedom Fund blog post makes the claim that Whitmer/Biden inflation has depleted police budgets and taken cops off the streets. The source used for this claim is a Fox News story that only references one Sheriff in Isabella County who says that the cost of gas has hurt their department’s budget. Now, I can’t speak to every community across the state, but in Grand Rapids, the City Council voted to increase the GRPD budget and at the most recent Public Safety Committee presentation the Grand Rapids Chief of Police made it clear that they just had several new recruits complete their training, along with more new recruits that will be started their training in the coming months.
Third, the Michigan Freedom Fund blog post claims that Gov. Whitmer’s decision to lockdown the state in 2020, led to a spike in violent crime. Again, the source used is Fox News, which says nothing about an increase in violent crime in Michigan. In fact, the Fox News story only references New York, California and Chicago as examples of where crime has spiked.
Lastly, it is important to talk about the purpose of this Michigan Freedom Fund piece, especially since its primary purpose is to get their supporters to equate Gov. Whitmer with not only the rise in crime here in Michigan, but to equate her with the defund the police movement. This effort by the DeVos-created organization has been effective, since most GOP supporters embrace the “Back the Blue” mantra. It doesn’t matter that the claims are false, only that it paints the Democrats as soft on crime and undermining the cops. Equally important is the fact that the Democrats have not questioned or responded to misinformation campaigns like this one from MFF. The Michigan Democratic Party could challenge the claims found in the MFF smear campaign, especially since the claims are false and that the Democratic Party does support policing, even the increase in policing funding. However, it is my suspicion that the Democrats are choosing to not contest the Michigan Freedom Fund misinformation, because they still want to appeal to the Black Lives Matter supporters and other more progressive and radical voters whom they will need in the November Election, regardless of the fact that Democrats are equally committed to supporting the police, as has been demonstrated by their policies to increase funding for police departments across the country and in Michigan.
Grand Rapids is facing a housing crisis. Few people would deny this fact. Grand Rapids City Officials are well aware of this fact and are doing what they think is needed to address to problem.
On August 18, the City of Grand Rapids posted the following under the news section of their website:
Over the past decade, more than 100 Grand Rapidians have volunteered their time serving on groups such as the Great Housing Strategies and the Housing Advisory Committee. Each initiative prompted revisions to City policies and ordinances that promoted creation and access to all levels of housing, but primarily affordable housing.
Despite advancements to remove barriers and make housing development easier in Grand Rapids, the demand for housing is outpacing development.
Housing remains a key focus of the City – something that’s imbedded in its strategic plan. In July 2020, the City commissioned a study that showed nearly 9,000 housing units — apartments, condos, single-family homes — were needed by 2025 to meet demand and avoid displacing residents. Progress is being made toward that goal – 1,045 new housing units have been added since that time, with more than 1,000 additional units reserved for low- to moderate-income residents currently planned and in various stages of pre-development. In the wake of the pandemic, developers are struggling to meet demand due to labor shortages, high material costs, rising land acquisition costs and inflation.
In addition, there is also a 50-page report entitled, Redefining the Path Home: System Building for Housing Stability in Kent County, which was produced in 2020 and has some good data on the current housing crisis. This report came out of a group of people working to create that document and was facilitated through KConnect. The housing sector of KConnect states:
We are a committed network of community stakeholders creating a more comprehensive housing system driven by community data that prioritizes equitable housing access in Kent County.
Our community-based approach focuses on The Path to Housing Stability that moves from “No-Housing” to “Housed by Choice” and aims to develop an equitable housing system for all people in Kent County.
This brief statement from KConnect uses the term “stakeholder,” a term which has always confused me at some level. But is we want to see what stakeholder means to the Housing Kent people, here are the names of the Board of Trustees:
- Tasha Blackman – President and CEO of Cherry Health
- Rosalynn Bliss – Mayor of Grand Rapids
- Michael Bohnsack – President Bohnsack and Associates
- Eric Brown – President and CEO Urban League of West MI
- Lynn Ferrel – Program Director Frey Foundation
- Raquel Guzman – Partner Avanti Law
- Brad Kessel – President and CEO Independent Bank
- Josh Lunger – Senior Director of Government Affairs Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce
- Pamela Parriott – Director of Philanthropy DeVos Family Foundations
- Al Vanderberg – Kent County Administrator
- Mark Washington – City Manager/City of Grand Rapids
In addition, there was a group of community partners who developed the 50 – page report we mentioned earlier, which we can read on page 4 of the report.
In looking at the Board of Trustees for Housing Kent and the community partners group, it is very apparent that most of those listed are people who operate within systems of power – government representatives, business owners, Non-Profit Directors, Law Firms, etc. What you do not see listed are people who represent those directly affected by the current housing crisis – people who can’t afford to buy a home, those who are renters, those facing eviction, those living in homeless shelters and the unhoused.
This isn’t a new dynamic, where those making the decisions or creating a strategic plan about an issue are not made up of those most affected by the issue being addressed. In the 1980s, I was part of the Homelessness Task Force, which was part of the work being done by the Grand Rapids Area Center for Ecumenism (GRACE). Now, in the 1980s, I was living at Koinonia House, which was a community house that practiced radical hospitality. We had two rooms in our house, which were used for hospitality for those who were unhoused, had fled domestic violence or were refugees. Between 1984 and 1998, we offered hospitality to over 300 people who were in need of temporary housing, until they could find something more permanent. Sometimes people just needed a few days to figure out what to do and sometimes people needed 6 months to find housing stability. Doing radical hospitality work, certainly sensitized me to those who were experiencing a housing crisis, especially the unhoused. If there was anything I learned from that experience, it was that those who are most affected by a housing crisis need to be the primary people making decisions or coming up with ideas about how to achieve housing justice.
The entire history of social movements is predicated on the fact that they are led by those most affected. The Abolitionist Movements was led that those who were formerly enslaved, the labor movement was led by workers, the LGBTQ movement was led by those in the LGBTQ community, and the immigrant justice movement is being led by immigrants. Therefore, the current housing crisis should be led by those that are the most affected – people who can’t afford to buy a home, those who are renters, those facing eviction, those living in homeless shelters and the unhoused.
Unfortunately, this is not happening. So, what if the City of Grand Rapids and the Housing Kent would provide the space for those most affected to meet, plus they would need to provide transportation, refreshments and a stipend, since those most affected are struggling to survive. Now, I don’t expect that this is what will happen, since this would be a significant paradigm shift for those working in systems of power, even though it is possible. What we do know is the most effective housing justice efforts across the US are led by those most affected. Take for example the national movement known as Homes for All. Homes for All, which is part of the Right to the City Movement, is rooted in the belief that, “housing is a human right and that every person deserves a safe, affordable and permanent home.” This national movement is led by those most affected from the current housing crisis.
Therefore, since the strategic plans that the City of Grand Rapids and Housing Kent have developed to address the current housing crisis do not center those most affected and are not led by those most affected, their plans will likely fail, or at best they will continue to perpetuate the same inequities. This has to change.
However, there is another glaring problem with the strategic plans of the City of Grand Rapids and Housing Kent, which is an economic justice problem. One critical problem for those who are seeking to buy a house or rent in this area, is that people do nor make a living wage. If the goal if for people to have housing stability, housing that is affordable, whether we are talking about owning a home or renting, then people need to make a living wage.
The current housing market in Kent County is through the roof, which makes home ownership extremely difficult, unless you have a household income that is comparable with the cost of housing. In the graphic above, which was produced by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, you can see that people in the Grand Rapids/Wyoming area need to earn a minimum of $20.02 to afford the average cost of rent. Now, we know that there are literally thousand of individuals and families who are not earning $20 an hour, and thus cannot afford to pay rent. Yes, there are rental assistance programs, but they are all temporary. In both the City of Grand Rapids and Housing Kent’s strategic plans, there is no mention of the need for people to earn a Living Wage, which ultimately means that their strategic plans will once again fail.
From my own reading of history, those is positions of power rarely ever make decisions to do things like make housing a human right, unless of coursed they are forced to do so by grassroots social movements. If we are being honest with ourselves, the only way we can get out of the current housing crisis is to have a housing justice movement that is led by those there are most affected and to guarantee that everyone living in Kent County earns a livable wage.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 