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.
The US House of Representative passed the 2025 US Military budget, know as the National Defense Authorization Act, by a vote of 217 – 199. Several Democrats gave the GOP controlled House enough votes to pass the bill, despite the fact that it has additional components that caused many Democrats to vote no.
According to the site Breaking Defense, there were two provisions in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act that some people oppose, such as not allowing abortions for military personnel and not allowing trans people to serve in the military. While these two issues are important, most Democrats would have fully endorsed the US military bill as they always do.
Rep. Hillary Scholten, who represents the 3rd Congressional District, which include Grand Rapids, was one of the Democrats who voted no on the 2025 US Military budget. Scholten objected to the inclusion of anti-trans and anti-abortion provision, although she completely supports the massive US military budget, which she voted for last year.
Here is what Scholten posted on her website about the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act:
“We owe a never-ending debt of gratitude to the men and women who serve our country. That is why this bill, more than any other, should be free from partisan gamesmanship. Unfortunately, extremists in the Republican party have hijacked this bill. We won’t let them. They tried this last year and failed. Ultimately, we were able to come together last December to remove dangerous partisan provisions and pass a bipartisan compromise. The FY25 NDAA that came out of committee was a good, patriotic bill and would have had my support. But Republicans put an extremist wish list before our service members. It’s devastating. It is my hope that the House will work together with the Senate again and get a workable bill soon. I could not support this legislation in its current form.”
“Our troops deserve support from Congress – and this NDAA falls far short of that promise to those who defend and serve. At a time where democracy is at stake globally, I am calling on my Republican colleagues to come to the table to support a bipartisan bill that keeps America in the driver’s seat of global democracy in support of our allies.”
What Rep. Scholten is really saying here is that she fully supports a massive US military budget because she believes that the world needs to US military.
Such a statement is truly revealing, since Rep. Scholten, like most politicians at the federal level are committed to US Imperialism, which is US military and economic dominance.
When Rep. Schoten says she hopes the US Senate can provide a version of the 2025 US military budget that will be a workable bill, she means the following:
- The US will spend more on militarism than the next 9 largest country military budget combined.
- Maintaining the roughly 800 US military bases around the globe, which allows the US military to impose their will on other countries and protect US interests. See the history of US military interventions.
- The US military is one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels globally, which means they are a large contributor to Climate Change. See the excellent research done by the Institute for Police Studies and militarism and global warming.
- The sex trafficking of women and girls by U.S. military men remains an issue plaguing U.S. military bases overseas.
- The US is the largest weapons trafficker globally, arming some of the most repressive government in the world like Israel.
In a House Appropriations Committee Press Release regarding the FY 2025 US military budget it states: Supports our close ally Israel by:
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- Providing $500 million for the Israeli Cooperative Missile Defense Programs, to include Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow missile defense systems.
- Providing $80 million above the President’s Budget Request for U.S.-Israeli anti-tunneling cooperation.
- Providing $55 million above the President’s Budget Request for counter-UAS development and directed energy and laser technology cooperation.
- Prohibiting funds to withhold the delivery of defense articles and defense services from the United States to Israel, requiring that any defense article withheld from delivery to Israel be delivered within 15 days, and requiring the Secretary of Defense to obligate any remaining un-obligated balances for assistance for Israel within 30 days.
- Prohibiting funds for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
What this all means is that Rep. Hillary Scholten, like most members of Congress, fully support US militarism and US Imperialism. The FY 2025 US military budget will get bipartisan support, so don’t be fooled by the spectacle and start thinking and opposing why the US spends more on militarism than providing support to the most vulnerable and marginalized living in the US.
Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of June 17th
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
Complaints about Hamas using “human shields” are the worst kind of bad faith
When Israel Burned Refugees Alive, Establishment Media Called It a ‘Tragic Accident’
A Deluge of Pro-Israel PAC Donations in 2024 Elections
ISRAEL’S NEW AIR WAR IN THE WEST BANK: NEARLY HALF OF THE DEAD ARE CHILDREN
American Crawls Further Into Global Isolation by Backing Gaza Genocide
Analysis & History
You Can’t Turn Back the Clock on Genocide
More Voices From The Growing Anti-War Movement In Solidarity With Palestine
Local Events and Actions
Power to Palestine: Weekly Rally in Grand Rapids
Wednesday, June 19 12pm – 1pm, Monument Park
Graphic used in this post is from https://visualizingpalestine.org/visual/citi-banking-on-genocide/
An archival history of the early political organizing efforts by the Grand Rapids LGBTQ community – Part III
In Part I, I looked at the people from Grand Rapids who went to the LGBT march on Washington in 1987, how that was a catalyst for the creation of the Lesbian and Gay Community Network of Western Michigan. I also looked at archival records to show that one of the first priorities of The Network, was to organize a Pride Celebration in Grand Rapids.
In Part II, I looked at the archival history of how the Mayor of Grand Rapids refused to support the first few years of Pride, the exchanges between the Mayor and members of The Network, plus the ironic support they received from the Mayor of Holland, Michigan.
In Part III, I will look at the campaign to get the City of Grand Rapids to expand their anti-discrimination ordinance to finally include sexual orientation as something that could not be matter of discrimination.
Once the Lesbian and Gay Community Network of Western Michigan had firmly established the annual Pride Celebration in Grand Rapids, they next set their sights on getting the City government to included sexual orientation in the local anti-discrimination ordinance.
The campaign to include sexual orientation into the anti-discrimination ordinance began and 1991 and was finally won in 1994. There was a tremendous amount of pushback from people who saw the campaign as the LGBTQ community asking for “special treatment” instead of expanding civil rights. You can see from the video included here that there were huge public hearings held, along with a changed strategy after it was initially defeated.
Once the ordinance campaign was successful, the Lesbian and Gay Community Network of Western Michigan gathered for a celebration, which is reflected in the photos below.
In Part IV, I want to look at the AIDS organizing that was being done in the 80s and 90s in Grand Rapids, along with the obstacles that the LGBTQ community had to over come.
It has been 6 years since I last did a 10-part series on the Grand Rapids Power Structure. Some things have change, but the systems of power and oppression that exist in this city have only become more sophisticated and more nuanced.
I will probably follow much of the same pattern that I did in the 2018 10-part series, but with updated information and an expanded analysis.
I still believe that the graphic above holds true for Grand Rapids, where private wealth/economic power is at the top in the hierarchy of power for this city. I plan to explore more of that power behind the local government by looking at the people and the organizations that pull the strings regarding local elected officials.
In addition, I will provide some analysis of the sectors and movements that are more likely to challenge the systems of power and oppression in Grand Rapids, which will be explored in the last part of the updated series on the Grand Rapids Power Structure.
I also believe that it is critical that we come to terms with the Grand Rapids Power Structure and have a more robust analysis of who they are, especially if we hope to be able to not only expose them, but to challenge the influence that have over this community.
Lastly, I would like to re-post a visual depiction of the Grand Rapids Power Structure from 2018, since I understand the power of images can be just as important as the written word.
It is been known for years that there are many people and organizations in the US who do not believe that climate change is real.
Some of those people and organizations have been influenced by the fossil fuel industry, which has paid organizations to publicly deny that climate change is a reality. For example, in Grand Rapids, the Acton Institute, an organization that believes that Christianity and Capitalism are great bedfellows, has taken money from ExxonMobil to promote climate denial.
However, there is also another former of climate denial, one that is more subtle, but just as dangerous.
Since January 1st of this year I have been monitoring MLive, WOODTV8, WZZM 13 and WXMI 17 around several critical issues – the Grand Rapids Public Schools, Public Safety/GRPD, local elections and climate change/climate justice. The data above speaks for itself regarding what the local news focuses.
However, beyond the data, the other major issue with reporting on matters like climate change is how the news frames the issue.
Most of the local news coverage has centered around how mild the winter has been in Michigan, but rarely to they attribute the mild weather to climate change. In fact, in the 20 total stories that have been climate change related, only twice did the coverage actually use the phrase climate change when referring to the cause of the mild winter.
Other stories have focused winter or tourist businesses, which have been negatively impacted because of climate change, plus numerous stories that have centered on nuclear energy in Michigan, because of the Governor’s energy policy, which will include funding to get the Palisades nuclear power plant back online. However, in climate change is not named in any of these stories.
The most recent climate change story to appear in local news was an MLive story from Tuesday entitled, ‘Excessive heat’ already being highlighted in extended forecast.
The MLive story provides graphics on upcoming days where excessive heat will occur, along with warnings to people about engaging in strenuous work outdoors. The MLive article goes on to state:
The heat index forecast for next Tuesday shows a feels-like temperature between 95 degrees and 100 degrees will be widespread across the southern half of Lower Michigan.
The MLive article also admits that we will experience, “an overall warmer-than-normal summer.”
Unfortunately, the MLive reporter never uses the phrase climate change in the story, meaning they never talk about the causes of the hotter than normal weather.
Now, I don’t know if MLive or the other local daily news stations have a formal policy on climate change and I don’t know if there are other internal or external factors that prevents local news from naming climate change or discussing the causes of climate change. Regardless of the reasons, to not name climate change or talk about the causes of one of the most critical issues of our day is nothing short of climate change denial.
On Saturday, MLive posted an article with the headline, Pedestrian bridge crossing Grand River envisioned for Grand Rapids amphitheater.
The article states that the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority, working with Grand Action 2.0, the City of Grand Rapids and Kent County officials submitted a proposal for $2 million in federal funds to be used for a walking bridge that would connect the future Amphitheater and the westside. The $2 million request was submitted to Rep. Scholten’s office, since it falls within her Congressional District. The article also states that the $2 million would only be a portion of the cost, although the article does not provide an estimated total cost for the walkable bridge.
There are several questions or thoughts I have about this proposal walkable bridge, but how about we start with Rep. Scholten role in all of this. In October, GRIID posted an article about the fact that the US has been providing $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel on an annual basis. Now, according to the fabulous tool that the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights has created, which allows you to type in your city or state, which provides an amount of the $3.8 billion annually in US military aid to Israel that could stay in your community. If we type in Grand Rapids, we find that on an annual basis, $2,815,720.00 of the $3.8 billion in US military aid to Israel could stay in our community. It’s also more than the $2 million requested by the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority. As you can see from the graphic below here, the $2,815,720.00 could provide very urgent funding for real community needs.
Next, there is the issue on why the walkable bridge is being proposed by the local power structure. The MLive article states that the walkable bridge would connect Williams St on the east side of the Grand River to Front Street on the west side. Certainly one of the most pressing issues surrounding the Amphitheater and the soccer stadium is that no parking structures are part of the plan. This begs the question of where people will park?
I would contend that the walkable bridge is being proposed to allow people coming to an event at the Amphitheater an opportunity to park on the west side and then cross over the Grand River. However, this does not really address the issue of where people will park, since it only means that more people who attend Amphitheater events will park on the westside near the river, where parking is also very limited. Ultimately, the walkable bridge will contribute to creating a parking nightmare for those who live on the westside. And since Amphitheater events will likely be in the evening, people who work during the day and live on the near west side will have to content with concert attendees, which adds another potential – and likely – problem to the 14,000 seat Amphitheater reality.
Lastly, while we don’t yet know what the total cost of the walkable bridge, it is safe to say that it will be at least another $2 million, which means the City and the County will spend public money to cover the costs. The total cost of the Amphitheater is listed at $184 million, with more than half of that coming from public dollars.
So the real question is, why is it that those in power can always find public funding for projects that benefit them, but rarely find public funding for projects that will directly impact that lives of thousands in Grand Rapids? The cost of the Amphitheater and the walkable bridge would easily be about $200 million. Imagine if $200 million of public money were invested in the 3rd Ward, the heart of the African American community. Imagine if $200 million was spent on providing relief to renters, for healthy food vouchers for families that are malnourished, or create a system of mass transit in this city and really address the climate crisis. This is why we need to collectively oppose these so-called transformational projects and see them for what they are……projects that put more money into the pockets of those who are already disgustingly rich in Grand Rapids.
I have been tracking the local daily news media that is based in Grand Rapids (MLive, WOODTV8, WZZM13, and WXMI 17) since January 1st on a variety of issues, including reporting on local (GR and Kent County) elections.
The other three types of stories that I have been monitoring are the Grand Rapids Public Schools, Public Safety in Grand Rapids and Climate Change/Climate Justice. Since January 1st, there have been a combined (from all four news sources) 25 stories that are specific to local elections/candidates/campaign financing. Comparatively, Climate Change stories have numbered 29, the Grand Rapids Public Schools have been reported on 60 times, and the GRPD/Public Safety in Grand Rapids has garnered a total of 270 stories. From the data you can easily see what the priorities are with these four news agencies.
Besides what the local news is reporting, I look at what they are not reporting. For example, in February, GRIID reported that the DeVos family had contributed $264,000 to just four candidates running for positions in Kent County – Kent County Clerk – Lisa Posthumus Lyons, Kent County Treasurer – Peter MacGregor, Kent County Prosecutor – Chris Becker, and Kent County Sheriff – Michelle LaJoye-Young.
Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce PAC endorsed candidates
You also have probably not heard about the fact that one of the most power organizations in Grand Rapids – the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce – and whom they have endorsed for the August Primary in Grand Rapids and Kent County.
According to a recent GR Chamber of Commerce post on their website, they list all of the candidates and ballot issues for the August Primary. The post provides some criteria for how they decide on which candidates to endorse:
Endorsement considerations include policy alignment with Chamber priorities, voting record for incumbents, questionnaires, interviews and public statements of candidates. All endorsement decisions require a two-thirds majority vote of the PAC Board.
As someone who has been monitoring the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce for several decades it seems to me that Chamber priorities are:
- Influencing Public Policy to benefit their members, which are part of the Capitalist Class – policies such taxing working class people proportionately more than those in the Capitalist Class
- Getting local governments to use large sums of public money for development projects that will make some of their members even richer – Downtown Amphitheater, Soccer Stadium, proposed Aquarium, etc.
- Make sure that the monetary interests of GR Chamber members in downtown are protected from the unhoused, which resulted in getting the City of Grand Rapids to adopted two ordinances in July of 2023 that essentially criminalized the unhoused.
Here is a list of the candidates their Political Action Committee has endorsed for the August Primary:
- Mayor of Grand Rapids – David LaGrand (LaGrand is a business as usual candidate)
- Grand Rapids City Commission: First Ward – Dean Pacific (See who Pacific is endorsed by)
- Grand Rapids City Commission: Third Ward – John Krajewski (Krajewski is a former cop and the only white candidate in a race where all of the other candidates are BIPOC. The 3rd Ward has the largest African American population in GR)
- Kent County Commission 2nd District – Elizabeth Morse (Republican)
- Kent County Commission 10th District – Robin Halsted (Republican)
- Kent County Commission 18th District – Steve Faber (Democrat)
- Kent County Commission 19th District – Kris Pachla (Democrat)
All four of these candidates are candidates that will not threaten the interests of GR Chamber of Commerce members, especially on economic and development issues.
Lastly, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce is endorsing the Kent County lodging (hotel/motel) tax, primarily because the increase from 5% to 8% will be used to subsidize downtown development projects that will disproportionately benefit GR Chamber members. This is more or less what the GR Chamber website said on the hotel tax:
The proposed increase from 5% to 8% will generate the predictable revenue to support the public financing components of catalytic public-private projects. We have successfully done this before for projects such as DeVos Place Convention Center.
This goes right along with a recent social media post that I have been seeing, which reads:
Imagine being taxed to build a stadium, to have a billionaire charge you admission, all so you can cheer on millionaires playing a game, meant to divert your attention from being exploited by a ruling class who does things like, tax you to build a stadium.
This is what the GR Chamber of Commerce refers to as Public/Private partnerships. The public pays and the private sector profits.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 