Rep. Hillary Scholten voted to prevent the US Government from citing the Israeli perpetrated death toll in Gaza
Yesterday saw a new low in the US propaganda war to deny what Israel is doing to the Palestinians.
Sixty two Democrats joined the Republicans in adopting Rep. Jared Moskowitz’s (D-Fla.) amendment to H.R. 8771, which bans State Department officials from using agency funds to cite any statistics from the Gaza Health Ministry. The Health Ministry’s figures are the only official death counts coming out of Gaza.
Rep. Hillary Scholten, who has made several posts about playing in a softball game for charity on her Facebook page in recent days, didn’t bother to share with her the people she claims to represent, that she voted with the Republicans to ban the State Department from citing the Gaza Health Ministry on official death counts coming out of Gaza.
I have been documenting Rep. Scholten’s complicity in the role that the US Government has played in the Israeli genocide against the Palestinians, beginning with her vote to deny that Israel is an Apartheid state, her AIPAC-paid trip to Israel in 2023, and her unconditional support for Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza.
Yesterday’s vote is just the latest demonstration of how complicit Rep. Scholten is on the matter of Israeli War Crimes, denying that it is even happening.
The new house 100 people in 100 days campaign is just the latest false solution to the current housing crisis in Grand Rapids
“In March, a delegation of public, private, and philanthropic stakeholders from Grand Rapids traveled to Houston to meet with leaders who helped lead a significant turnaround in homelessness outcomes over the last decade.”
This comment above was from the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce quarterly government affairs information. None of this was presented during this afternoon’s announcement of the house 100 individuals in 100 days campaign at the Grand Rapids Public Library.
Besides not providing any background information on how this effort came to be, the staged event from Thursday was just another private/public partnership that claimed to want to end homelessness, but offered no actual solution besides a partnership between housing providers, the governments of Kent County & Grand Rapids, along with private partners such as the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce (the same people who got Grand Rapids to adopt policies to criminalize the unhoused), the DeVos Family Foundation, the Frey Foundation and Trillium Investments (which owns apartments in Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon County – not the affordable kind.)
I’m not saying that some of the housing partners involved don’t do any good, but they can not and do not address the root causes of the current housing crisis. The house 100 people in 100 days might address some of what was referred to during today’s event as assisting those who are chronically unhoused, but it will only be another bandaid approach to addressing a systemic problem. It was a lovely performance, with comments from housing providers, government officials and those in the private sector, but since there was no opportunity for the news media or the public that gathered to ask questions, the housing crisis that plagues thousands in this city will continue.
The problem, as many people have pointed out for years, is fourfold.
First, the problem is not homelessness, the problem is housing insecurity, which impacts more than those who are unhoused in this city. Thousands of individuals and families are housing insecure, because they cannot afford the cost of rent or a mortgage.
Second, those who were in the room for today’s announcement, particularly those who were on stage, were primarily public policy decision makers, representatives of the Capitalist Class and those who work in the Non-Profit Housing Industrial Complex. This means that the 100 in 100 days campaign is being designed and implemented by those who are not affected by the housing crisis.
Third, is the fact that there is a widening gap between the haves and have nots, so much so that large numbers of people simply cannot afford the cost of housing in this city, as I noted in a post yesterday. This is in part because the minimum wage in Michigan is only $10.33 an hour. In fact, the National Low Income Housing Coalition has made it clear that in 2024, for someone to afford the average rental costs in Grand Rapids, they would have to earn no less than $25.50 an hour. No one on stage today mentioned anything about the wealth gap or the fact that people’s income level does not match up with the cost of housing.
Fourth, – which is very much tied to point three – is the fact that housing is driven by “the market”, that forces of speculative capital which only seeks to make profits and never sees housing as a fundamental human right. The market is exactly what the GR Chamber of Commerce created Housing Next organization operates in, as does Trillium Investments, along with the DeVos and Frey Foundations.
Therefore, the house 100 in 100 days might work, but it does nothing to solve the larger housing crisis. If we are serious about confronting and ending the current housing crisis, then we need to acknowledge and act on the four points laid out here. Failure to do so will just see an increase in housing insecurity, despite the performative false solutions being offered by those who have too much control in this city.
A recent study by the group Smart Asset showed that the cost of housing went up across the US, with Grand Rapids identified as having the 8th largest increase.
Now, considering the fact that the housing crisis in Grand Rapids has been one of the most talked about issues over the last decade, the new study didn’t garner much attention. In fact, only WZZM 13 ran a story based on the Smart Asset study, but kept their coverage to the simple numbers from the study. In fact, the channel 13 story doesn’t even bother to talk about what this means for home buyers or renters.
The Smart Asset study also reported the data, which shows that not only did the average cost of housing go up by 12% over the past year, it went up 64.4% over the past 5 years.
Now, one would think that any reasonable person would ask the question, have people’s incomes gone up by 64.4% over the past 5 years? If the cost of housing has increased that much, then it seems like an important question to ask regarding the income level of people wanting to buy a home. Of course, we know that most people’s income did not increase by 64.4% over the past 5 years, except for the super rich, like the Meijer family.
Remember, the past 5 years would be 2019 – 2024, which included the COVID 19 pandemic, where many people lost jobs or couldn’t work because of the public health risks.
So, how is it that local news agencies failed to report on this increase in the price of housing, especially since housing is such a hot topic? Could it be that the local commercial news agencies have internalized the belief that the market dictates the price of housing, instead of housing by a right for everyone?
In addition, the price of rent in this city has gone up tremendously over the past decade, making the rental prices unattainable by many. In fact, the increases rental costs are so high that according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, for people to afford the average cost of rent in Grand Rapids they would have to earn $25.50 an hour with a full time job. These are the kinds of questions we need to ask and these are the discussions we need to have if we really want housing justice in this city.
Pro-cop group Back the Blue GR was collecting signatures at GR Pride last Saturday for a local ballot initiative
Someone sent me a copy of the ballot language that is being circulated in Grand Rapids, which I am including here at the bottom.
The Summary Ballot Language reads: The proposed Back the Blue Safety Priority City Charter Amendment, if adopted, would honor, better protect, and provide victim compensation for Fire and Police Officers, Emergency Medical Technicians and other First Responders, and their families.
What is most alarming about the ballot initiative to change the City’s Charter is point G, which reads:
“Victim Compensation. Victims have the right to pursue civil action against anyone who physically injures Firefighters, Police Officers, EMT and other First Responders during criminal acts. The perpetrator may be liable for treble damages to the injured or deceased officer or responders or their surviving dependents.”
According to Wikipedia: In United States law, treble damages is a term that indicates that a statute permits a court to triple the amount of the actual/compensatory damages to be awarded to a prevailing plaintiff. Treble damages are usually a multiple of, rather than an addition to, actual damages, but on occasion they are additive, as in California Civil Code § 1719. When such damages are multiplicative and a person received an award of $100 for an injury, a court applying treble damages would raise the award to $300.
Equally alarming about this campaign to collect petition signatures to put it on the ballot, the campaign to change the Grand Rapids City Charter is being organized by the group Back the Blue Michigan. According to their website, Back the Blue Michigan has chapters in Warren, Sterling Heights, Warren and Grand Rapids. This is rather instructive, since the only chapter is not in SE Michigan is Grand Rapids.
The person heading up the Grand Rapids chapter of Back the Blue Michigan is Cindy Amante. Amante garnered some attention last year when she was defending Ottawa Impact member, Commissioner Lucy Ebel, claiming that the effort to recall Ebel was an “attack on the Latino community.”
The MLive article cited above also mentions that Cindy Amante is executive director of Propósito of Michigan. The Proposito of Michigan website says this about this mission:
We are working with the Hispanic community to give you the tools to get engaged in the culture war to save The American Dream. God has given us all a purpose, and we are here to encourage and support you to achieve your full potential. We work with organizations and individuals throughout the State of Michigan to offer education and activities that will develop the skills needed to succeed and build your confidence. Come join us at a local monthly meeting to see what your “Propósito” is. You don’t have to be Hispanic to be a part of the movement!
From what I can tell from the Facebook page of Proposito of Michigan, that they are proponents of numerous far right ideas – anti-Abortion, anti-Critical Race Theory, anti-LGBTQ, etc. There are also numerous links to the Republican Party, which makes sense, since Cindy Amante was a candidate for the 83rd State House District, but then dropped out a few months ago.
In addition, someone was circulating a Back the Blue Grand Rapids ballot initiative to change the City Charter at the Grand Rapids Pride Celebration this past Saturday. What is even more insidious than an anti-LGBTQ group attending Pride, was the fact that they were misleading people when asking for signatures. The person sent me the petition language below, followed the Back the Blue Grand Rapids person for sometime and heard them ask people to sign the petition using the following talking point – “this is to stop them from killing black kids and turning their cameras off.”
It goes without saying that you should not sign the petition to put this crap on the ballot. The Back the Blue group is run by people who are racist, transphobic a police apologists. Spread the word and tell others about this campaign, and remember ACAB!
GRIID Interview with Jessica Powell with Boycott John Ball Zoo: Paving over John Ball Park
GRIID – When did you find out about plans to expand the paved parking area in John Ball Park and how did the organized effort to oppose this come about?
Jessica – I found out about the zoo’s paving plans through a neighborhood group called “Save John Ball Park”. Their petition generated 1,346 signatures in opposition to paving John Ball Park. https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/save-john-ball-park This group surveyed the community and found that majority of the community members who took the survey opposed paving the park. The community generated many alternative solutions for the zoo rather than paving parkland including preferences as to where they should build their parking garage. We spoke at a couple Kent county commissioners’ meetings, asking them to stop the zoo’s construction plans to develop more of the park; paving 10-12 acres or more and building a road through the park. The majority of the commissioners sided with the zoo. The zoo and county are in this together. Its county land we are fighting for as the city sold this park to the county in the 80s. The community has always recognized this green space as John Ball Park. However the zoo and county have been slowly taking more and more of the parkland. In January after our last Kent County commissioners’ meeting it became clear to me that our local government would not protect our park. I saw a need for direct action. I think that businesses listen most when their revenue is affected. I saw on social media that other community members stated they were also boycotting the zoo because of their paving plans.
I rolled out our boycott on social media in April. The boycott is being amplified on FB, IG and X; search for “BoycottJBZoo” or #boycottJBZoo. We will have a protest on 6/27/24 at John Ball Park, 5:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. to amplify our boycott. Bring signs! We are meeting on West Fulton on the sidewalk near one of their entrances by the wooden JBZoo sign.
GRIID – What are the main arguments this campaign has been using for why they oppose more paved parking at John Ball Park?
Jessica – We are fighting for a 140 year old park that is free for the community to use. Paving the park would take away desperately needed green space for our community. A place for people to enjoy nature, have fellowship and recreation. There are many old growth trees in the park including a massive, 200 year old Gingko tree. This tree resides in the area slated for pavement. The zoo has told the community to come and say goodbye to their favorites trees. The construction would also displace the park animals who live there. It would deplete biodiversity which is essential to our health. The zoo touts itself as caring about the community and conservation. Paving the park does not demonstrate these core values that they claim to have.
We also cannot ignore the wild animals who live in small enclosures at John Ball Zoo. The zoo wants to expand by adding more wild animal exhibits in small spaces, including an aquarium. We just can’t stand behind this. There are already community members boycotting the zoo because of the zoo’s practice of keeping wild animals in captivity for profit. We are also concerned for their treatment of animals. Last year a sitatunga named Chopper was killed because of the zoo’s negligence. The zoo wanted to put a sitatunga and a hippo in the same exhibit. The hippo had 8 encounters with the sitatunga where it showed signs of aggression. The zoo had an opening party planned for their new exhibit and they put the two animals together despite the hippo’s signs of aggression. This sadly resulted in Chopper’s death.
We want to save the future animals that the zoo would purchase because of their planned expansion. Their expansion does not include a lot of space for the animals. More animals in captivity means more animals bred in captivity and then sold to zoos for human entertainment. We also don’t want the current park animals being displaced. We want to save the beautiful old growth trees from being torn out and replaced with concrete. And we want to stop the park from being paved so that future generations can enjoy it.
Map Description: Included here are 4 maps that our community member, Peter Carlberg put together. It shows the progression of the zoo’s takeover of our park. The lower right hand corner map labeled “per new master plan” shows the end result and how much green parkland the zoo intends to leave our community. The grey colored areas indicate parkland that the zoo has taken over.
GRIID – How much of the paved parking expansion push for the park driven by the proposal to add an aquarium to the John Ball Zoo?
Jessica – I think the aquarium is definitely driving this decision to pave the park. The CEO, Peter D’Arienzo stated that once they pave 10-12 acres or more of the park that this still wouldn’t be enough parking for their business. He said after they pave the park they plan on putting a parking garage into the wooded hillside on the southwest end of the park. Their parking strain was typically for their nighttime parties. During the week for normal zoo business hours, the overflow parking in the grass (now gravel) was sufficient. It seem obvious now that they want more onsite parking for the aquarium they plan to build.
GRIID – Parking is a growing problem in Grand Rapids, especially with the new Amphitheater and Soccer Stadiums in the downtown area. How are people like yourself who live on the near westside dealing with parking issues in general, and does your group oppose the hotel tax ballot proposal for the August Primary since it names the various development projects and the Aquarium has the recipients of the tax?
Jessica – Currently where we live, near John Ball Park, we have street parking and we have little issue parking on the street. However with these new developments that could change. Recently there was a proposal to have a portion of Grand Rapids, including the SWANN neighborhood, that would require residents to pay for an annual parking permit to park in their neighborhood. This was met with a pushback from the community and they have tabled this proposal for now.
We are encouraging everyone to vote no on the “Sports and Entertainment Facilities” proposal on August 6th, 2024. We the taxpayers do not want to fund the development of the aquarium, the soccer stadium or the amphitheater. Why should we? The hotel tax would also hurt those who seek shelter in hotels/motels due to being unhoused. The aquarium is just another place to keep wild animals in captivity for profit. The soccer stadium will most likely provide a lot of low paying, part time jobs. And the amphitheater will provide unaffordable concerts.
Map Description: Here is a map of John Ball Park. The area circled in red is where the zoo will pave. The area marked in yellow is where the zoo has taken over most of our main playing field by laying down a gravel parking lot, a road, and planting trees to border the parking lot and road.
GRIID – What is the campaign to oppose the expanded paved parking in John Ball Park proposing as an alternative?
Jessica – We want the zoo to skip paving the park entirely. We want the zoo to honor our community and preserve the park. Our community has already provided the zoo with many great alternatives to paving the park. They could, if they wanted to, incentivize public transportation or provide a shuttle from other, existing parking lots. The zoo states their customers just wouldn’t come to the zoo if they can’t park onsite. We’re saying if they truly need more onsite parking, we want them to build their parking garages on the already existing black top areas that they have, ideally where they have their maintenance building at the south end of the park or their existing parking lot or choose another location to build the parking garage that does not diminish any more of our parkland. They do have other choices. They do not have to destroy the park.
GRIID – Any other aspect of this issue that you want to address, and how can people support the campaign?
Jessica – We have a business that exploits wild animals for profit wanting to pave over our community’s park. This is a 5013c non profit that pays zero taxes. Once the park is paved there is no turning back. But the damage they have already done could still be reversed and the park can be restored. It’s not too late!
We need people to support us by joining our boycott and encouraging others to join. The zoo plans to start major construction in August. We need to create enough pressure to force them to stop their development and construction of the park. We also want the current damage that they have done to the park to be restored back to parkland. Please support us by following us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
Reach out if you have ideas to support the boycott and or have ways you want to volunteer to further our efforts. If you would like any fliers to distribute please DM Boycott JBZoo on social media.
Also please go and vote no on August 6, 2024 on the Sports and Entertainment Facilities proposal!
There have been numerous community-based efforts to get the City of Grand Rapids to take action on the Israeli genocidal campaign against the Palestinians.
In November, there was wide support from the community to get the Grand Rapids City Commissioners to adopt a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The City Commission refused and said that it was not relevant to the work that they do. In December, dozens of community members addressed the Grand Rapids City Commission with the demand to adopt a ceasefire resolution, and once again they refused.
What is interesting is that the City of Grand Rapids did listen to the community and took action back in 1982, when groups working on divestment from South Africa’s Apartheid regime got the City of Grand Rapids to divest.
Following that 1982 divestment model, several community organizers went to the Grand Rapids Community Relations Commission in April to present a proposal of divestment from companies that the City of Grand Rapids has, companies that are profiting from the Israeli occupation, Israeli Apartheid and the Israeli genocidal campaign against the Palestinians.
The Community Relation Commission has enthusiastically supported a divestment resolution and adopted a resolution that was first drafted by community organizers, which you can read here. Just last week, the Community Relations Commission sent a copy of the resolution of divestment to the Grand Rapids City officials and a letter recommending they adopt the divestment resolution. The divestment resolution is calling for the City of Grand Rapids to:
- Terminate its current contract with Granicus by January 1, 2025;
- Ceases funding to Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. if it continues to utilize AmazonAW3 technology for its committees (Amazon’s services include cloud and AI support for the Israeli military targeting Palestinians) by January 1, 2025;
- Commits to refraining from entering into financial contracts with Caterpillar, Motorola Solutions, Hewlett-Packard, and G4S Corporation, until the Israeli government’s policies and treatment of Palestinians have been reformed and dismantled.
Community organizers are now asking for people to sign the linked Action Alert, which includes the divestment resolution, to send a clear message to Mayor Bliss, City Manager Mark Washington and the six City Commissioners to adopt the divestment resolution and end their contracts with companies profiting off the oppression and death of Palestinians. Please sign the linked Action Alert, then share it with others so we can generate thousands of messages to Grand Rapids City officials to Divest Now!
Sources used to identify Amazon as profiting off the Israeli occupation and current war crimes:
https://theintercept.com/2022/05/18/google-amazon-israel-military-nimbus/.
https://bdsmovement.net/IAW2024-Amplify-NoTechforApartheid
Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of June 23rd
It has been more than 8 months since the Israeli government began their most recent assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated to what the international community has called genocide, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing. We will also provide information on local events and actions that people can get involved in. All of this information is to provide people with the capacity of what Noam Chomsky refers to as, intellectual self-defense.
Information
‘Total Unchecked Impunity’: Netanyahu Plots Illegal Settlement Expansion in West Bank
The United States Is the Main Obstacle to Peace in Palestine
‘Another Day, Another Israeli War Crime’: IDF Kills 17 in Attacks on Nuseirat Refugee Camp
Blinken’s Lies About Hamas Rejecting a Ceasefire Reveal the Biden Administration’s True Intentions
How an Israeli colonel invented the burned babies lie to justify genocide
Former Official: Biden State Department Bending US Law to Send Israel Weapons
FOLLOW THE MONEY: HOW ISRAEL-LINKED BILLIONAIRES SILENCED US CAMPUS PROTESTS
Analysis & History
WAR CLOUDS OVER LEBANON AS HEZBOLLAH AND ISRAEL CLASH
The Night Won’t End: Biden’s War on Gaza | Fault Lines Documentary
Local Events and Actions
Power to Palestine: Weekly Rally in Grand Rapids
Wednesday, June 26 6pm – 7pm, Monument Park
Graphic used in this post is from https://visualizingpalestine.org/visual/citi-banking-on-genocide/
Earlier this week, the Destination Kent Committee kicked off their campaign to convince voters to support an increase of the hotel tax in Kent County in order to fund various development projects that Grand Action 2.0, the GR Chamber of Commerce and some politicians want to benefit the tourism industry.
This was exactly what Kent County Administrator Al Vanderberg said during the kickoff event, according to MLive.
“Tourism is the backbone for our local economy,” Vanderberg said. “The amphitheater, soccer stadium, aquarium will help keep West Michigan on the map and draw people from all over to our great county.”
Vanderberg was joined by Johnny Brann Jr., Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, the GR Chamber of Commerce, Grand Action 2.0 and several other members of the Capitalist Class and the politicians they have bought over the years. The Destination Kent Committee is heading up this campaign and the primary organizer of this effort is John Helmholdt, the president of SeyferthPR, which is the preferred PR firm of those in the Grand Rapids Power Structure.
The Destination Kent Committee is trying to convince voter to pass the ballot initiative on August 6th. The campaign’s website doesn’t have much information about the August 6th vote, but there are opportunities for people to contribute to the campaign, along with a list of people who are endorsing it.
According to the Kent County Clerk’s office, the actual August 6th ballot language states:
SHALL KENT COUNTY INCREASE THE RATE AT WHICH THE EXCISE TAX IS LEVIED ON ALL PERSONS ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS OF PROVIDING ROOMS FOR LODGING PURPOSES TO GUESTS STAYING LESS THAN 30 CONSECUTIVE DAYS UNDER PUBLIC ACT 263 OF 1974 AS AMENDED FROM 5% TO 8% OF THE TOTAL CHARGE FOR ACCOMMODATIONS TO BE USED FOR ALLOWABLE USES INCLUDING FINANCING OF THE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, IMPROVEMENT, ENLARGEMENT, REPAIR, OR MAINTENANCE OF STADIUMS, ARENAS, SPORTS COMPLEXES, AND AQUARIUMS STARTING JANUARY 1, 2025 AND TERMINATING ON THE SAME DAY AS THE COUNTY ORDINANCE ENACTED UNDER PUBLIC ACT 263 OF 1974 AS AMENDED.
The actual ballot language is significantly different than the PR created tag lines from Destination Kent, which refers to the August 6th vote as “visitor funded community assets” and “the tax you don’t pay.” These tag lines are slick, but they are nothing short of misinformation. First, when I think of community assets, I think of public libraries or public parks, which our tax dollars do pay for, but I can use them pretty much whenever I want at no cost. The Amphitheater, the Soccer Stadium, the Aquarium and any other sports or entertainment venue will always require the public to purchase tickets. In addition, the City and County governments have already signed off on providing public tax dollars and public subsidies to fund these projects, even though the public has no say in how they are run, since the public won’t own them.
Under the About Us section at the Destination Kent site it says that if the ballot initiative is passed it will mean that the hotel tax will generate $24 million per year. Now, if that amount of money could be raised from an 8% hotel tax, then why the hell can’t we use that money for affordable housing or rental assistance? Imagine how many families could benefit from $24 million going towards housing. For example, if a working class family is paying $1500 for rent a month, 12 months would be a total of $18,000 per year. This means that $24 million would provide rent coverage for 1,333 families for an entire year.
So the real question is, why do we keep funding projects that will primarily benefit the super rich instead of funding housing for those who can’t afford the ridiculously high rent costs in Kent County? Let the people from Grand Action 2.0 and the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce pay for these projects, especially since it would be a drop in the bucket for their members, especially the ones who have their names on buildings across the city. VOTE NO on August 6th for the SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT FACILITIES PROPOSAL!
Updated Grand Rapids power analysis: Understanding the GR Power Structure – Part II: The DeVos family
Last week I began an updated version of a Grand Rapids Power Analysis, which lays out the ground work for what the Grand Rapids Power Structure looks like and what it means for this community.
When I use the phrase, the Grand Rapids Power Structure and who has power, it is important to note that I mean power over. A local power analysis is designed to investigate who has power over – who oppresses, exploits and engages in policy that benefits them to the exclusion of everyone else – the majority of people living in Grand Rapids.
As I noted in the previous post, I believe that private power – individuals and organizations – have the most power over people in this community, based on the hierarchy of power chart. Private power primarily relies on economic and political power and the family that has the most of that kind of power is the DeVos family. Now, the Meijer family might have more wealth (although the DeVos family does a better job of keeping their collective wealth more hidden), but the DeVos family is more involved in local politics, the local economy, as well as social and cultural dynamics.
One thing that is different about what I wrote in 2018 about the DeVos family is the fact that both Richard DeVos Sr. and his wife have died, which changes some of the dynamic, but only on the margins of how the DeVos family continues to wield tremendous power in this city.
DeVos family wealth
It is safe to say that most of what the DeVos family does and the influence they have in this community and beyond begins with their wealth. The graphic above provides some of the major assets and businesses and investment firms that the DeVos family controls. However, the graphic is limited in that it doesn’t provide all of the names of the subsidiaries they own, nor the vast amount of investments they have at any given time. For example, the public got a glimpse of the investments that Betsy DeVos has when she was going through her nomination process for Secretary of Education in 2017. She was required to reveal a list of investments, which was published for a brief time, so I saved the document of investments, which you can see here, which is 108 pages of investment information.
For the DeVos family, owning the Amway Corporation, the RDV Corporation, Fox Motors, the Windquest Group, Ottawa Private Capital LLC, CWD, CDV Properties, DP Fox, Boxed Water, Wakestream Ventures and a whole host of other entities is never enough for this family. Since 2018, I have continued to track their business investments and expanded assets, which include the two restaurants and hotel that will open this summer in Ada, the acquisition of Muskegon’s convention center along with six hotels and restaurants in the city (which will be under AHC Hospitality, the acquisition of Peacock Limited power sports, their investment into a Michigan boat dealership, becoming a near monopoly in the auto dealership business in Grand Rapids and the CDV5 Properties getting involved in the housing market.
Having a seat at the table
A second way that the DeVos family exercises power over others is by having their people sit on the boards of numerous entities in this city, all of which have tremendous influence on the political, economic, social and cultural dynamics of Grand Rapids. This list below, along with the graphic here, are just some of the organizations/entities that the DeVos family has a seat at in order to influence outcomes on all levels. This is what I like to refer to as interlocking systems of power. These interlocking systems of power dictate a great deal of local government policy, economic policy and social and cultural aspects of Grand Rapids. Again, these are just some of the organizations/entities the DeVos family has influence with.
DeVos family intersecting systems of power:
- West Michigan Policy Forum – Dick and Doug DeVos
- Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce – Michael Nelson, Chief Operating Officer at Amway
- Economic Club of Grand Rapids – Tim Gortsema President Grand Rapids Griffins, Michael Nelson, Chief Operating Officer at Amway
- The Right Place Inc. – Michael Nelson, Chief Operating Officer at Amway
- Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority – Richard A. Winn AHC Hospitality
- Experience GR – Jenifer Cutter AHC Hospitality, Ross Bartlett Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Richard Winn AHC Hospitality
- Downtown Development Authority – Greg McNeilly Windquest Group, Richard Winn AHC Hospitality
- Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. – Richard Winn AHC Hospitality
- Grand Action 2.0 – Dick DeVos, Rick DeVos, Doug DeVos, Richard Winn AHC Hospitality
- Talent First – Brian Kraus Chief Supply Chain Officer at Amway
Corewell Health – Doug DeVos - GVSU Board of Trustees – Randall Damstra Ottawa Avenue Private Capital, LLC, a division of RDV Corporation
- Grand Rapids Symphony Board of Directors – Pamella DeVos
- Grand Rapids Art Museum Foundation – Pamella DeVos
Election campaign contribution and public policy influence
A third area of influence that the DeVos family has is their longstanding interest to influence who gets elected to public office and what kinds of public policy gets adopted.
It is well known that the DeVos family has contributed over $100 million for political campaigns in Michigan since 1990, based on data from the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. The DeVos family is the single largest political contributor in Michigan, which demonstrates how much influence they have.
If we look at how much of their wealth they have spent just since the 2022 election, even that amount is pretty staggering. In the 2022 election GRIID documented that the DeVos family contributed $12,304,750.00 to candidates running for office and for ballot initiatives.
When it comes to Kent County election campaign contributions in 2022, the DeVos family spent $60,900.00, which was also the largest amount from any one group in Kent County. In addition, for the Grand Rapids City Commission races, the DeVos family contributed $9450.00 to one candidate in the 1st Ward and $9450.00 to one candidate in the 3rd Ward.
So far in the 2024 election, the DeVos family has contributed $264,000 for just 4 Kent County candidates, which include the County Clerk, County Treasurer, County Prosecutor and the Kent County Sheriff, all of which are running as Republicans. Now, the amount of campaign contributions that the DeVos family will give for the rest of the 2024 election cycle will grow exponentially. In addition, it is always important to keep in mind that the public policies adopted at the state and federal level will also impact people in this community, along with policies implemented in Kent County and this Grand Rapids, all of which GRIID will be documenting throughout the year.
Recent public policies that have been adopted in Grand Rapids and Kent County, where the DeVos family has had a role in are, the ordinances adopted last year by Grand Rapids to criminalize the unhoused, and the various development projects that Grand Rapids and Kent County have collaborated on such as the Amphitheater and the Soccer Stadium.
The ordinances adopted by Grand Rapids last July, were influenced by the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, which put forth their own proposal that was endorsed by 120 people, which included 3 DeVos family members and 13 other people who run one of the entities that the DeVos directly controls. The Amphitheater and the Soccer stadium project were both proposed by Grand Action 2.0, which the DeVos family helped to create several decades ago. Dick DeVos is one of the current co-chairs of Grand Action 2.0, along with Doug DeVos who is on the advisory committee. The DeVos family has been involved in all of the Grand Action 2.0 projects, since they will benefit tremendously since they own most of the hotels in downtown Grand Rapids and several GR sports teams.
DeVos family foundations
A fourth major way that the DeVos family influences what happens in Grand Rapids is through their numerous foundations. GRIID has been monitoring those foundations for years, which is linked here.
There are at least five DeVos foundations, all of which provide massive tax havens, since foundations are a way for the super rich to hide their money from being taxed. Each of the five DeVos foundations have millions in assets and only give out a small percentage on an annual basis.
In addition to be tax havens, the DeVos foundations also contributed to entities which allow them to influence policies. For example, Grand Valley State University received lots of money from the DeVos foundation, plus they have someone on the board of trustees, both of which provide them with leverage to influence university policy.
The DeVos family foundations also make contributions to far right entities like the Acton Institute, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy or the American Enterprise Institute, all of which influence public policy and public debate. The DeVos family foundations do the same with conservative christian groups, which also promote far right ideologies.
Lastly, the DeVos family foundations make contributions to local social service agencies that provide some form of charity to individuals and families that are housing insecure or food insecure. Of course, the non-profits that the DeVos family foundations contribute to do not address structural or root causes of social problems. In fact, the social charity that these non-profits provide to people are often the direct result of public policies that the DeVos family has paid for in campaign contributions, which forces people to then rely on social services that the DeVos family contributes to. In turn, the same non-profits will not question or challenge the influence that the DeVos family has, since they don’t want to risk losing the foundation money. It is what I like to call hush money.
You can see all of they ways that the DeVos family is influencing political, economic, social and cultural realities in Grand Rapids, which is why they are the most powerful family.
For a more complete account of the history of the DeVos Family and their influence of the political, economic, social and cultural realities of Grand Rapids, check out the GRIID DeVos Family Reader.
Betsy DeVos was in Grand Rapids to promote anti-trans hate and the local news media didn’t really question it
Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos showed her face in Grand Rapids to talk about Title IX and the anti-trans movement that exists within women’s sports.
It is interesting that Betsy DeVos is now critical of Title IX policies during the Biden administration, when she provided cover for men who were accused of sexual assault on US campuses by defending “their rights.”
Betsy DeVos was in Grand Rapids as part of the Our Bodies, Our Sports advocacy tour. Several of the local news agencies reported on DeVos speaking in front of the Ford Museum, along with several female athletes that condemned trans women for being allowed to compete in NCAA and high school sporting events that are for women and girls.
MLive had the most detailed coverage compared to how WOODTV8 and WZZM 13 covered this story. However, only WZZM 13 sought out a critical perspective on what DeVos was saying. Channel 13 got a written response from the Grand Rapids Pride Center, which stated in part:
Title IX was enacted to ensure that no person, on the basis of sex, is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Using Title IX to exclude transgender athletes contradicts the very essence of this law, which is about providing equal opportunities for all students, regardless of gender identity. Excluding transgender athletes from sports harms not only the individuals affected but also the broader community. Transgender youth who are denied the opportunity to participate in sports experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Sports can be a crucial avenue for developing self-esteem, teamwork skills, and a sense of belonging, all of which are vital for the healthy development of young people.
However, the more egregious aspect of the local commercial news coverage was their failure to explore which groups are participating in the Our Bodies, Our Sports tour.
Above is the list of organizations that make up the coalition involved in the Our Bodies, Our Sports tour. There are some groups listed here, specifically the Women’s Liberation Front, the Women’s Sports Policy Working Group, the International Consortium on Female Sports, and the Women’s Declaration International, all of which are Radical Feminist groups. Radical Feminists groups are also known as TERFs, trans-exclusionary radical feminist, which are working with conservatives to push their anti–trans agenda.
However, the rest of the organizations in the coalition are far right entities that are not only anti-trans, they are anti-Critical Race Theory, they are anti-Abortion, anti-Public Education, and unconditional support for Israel. The groups that embrace a more far right platform in the Our Bodies, Our Sports coalition are the Independent Women’s Forum, the Independent Women’s Network, Champion Women, Concerned Women for America, Young Women for America, the Independent Women’s Law Center and the Independent Women’s Voice.
Interestingly enough, one of the advisors & partners with the group Champion Women is Richard Lapchick. Lapchick is the Chair of DeVos Sport Business Management Program, which is located in Florida.
By not reporting on the coalition involved in the Our Bodies, Our Sports coalition, news consumers in West Michigan were denied a full account of who is behind this movement, along with their far right ideology. Once again, Betsy DeVos gets a free pass from the local commercial news media.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 