08/28/2026
Did you know that I was only the third woman in history to serve Grand Rapids in the Michigan legislature? Notably, I was first woman from GR to serve on the House Appropriations Committee. During that time I oversaw a historic influx of funding to the state through COVID-era investments and brought historic appropriations to the City itself and to nonprofits. I helped save Blandford Nature Center with two $1.5M investments, secured $55M for the River corridor parks and trails investments, $3M for Grand Rapids Whitewater, $9M for the Kent Co Sustainability Park, $3M for the Butterworth Solar Project, $5M for the Diatribe, $25M for a fire station, historic early childhood and school budgets… I can go on. I helped win a historic trifecta, delivered civil rights and union rights and countless other legislative wins to the People of Michigan. I’ve never received a thank you from the City, Kent County, or most of the groups I mentioned above.
All of this, plus an impactful 15 years of service in the nonprofit sector before serving in the House.
But while I’m a leader to many, to others among GR’s leadership class, I am a person to be ignored.
When I was running, the GRPOA staff and then 3rd Congressional District chair decided that I wasn’t pretty enough to run for office and win, and talked about it widely in the community. I won that race by nearly 60%.
Subsequent races were tougher for a variety of reasons (midterms, new district, etc) but I still out-paced the data winning by 55%+.
Over the last year, an exec at DGRI laughed when I quietly asked for public recognition for my work to protect and then fund the River and corridor. This man, the Mayor, City Manager, and a Commissioner, apparently couldn’t make sure I had an invite to (any) ribbon cutting for park and trail projects on the River corridor. And a simple request I made about an installation at Riverside Park was ignored without notice.
My final race was won while caring for my parents with chronic diseases and losing them both in the course of a year (not to mention raising my daughters). During this time I struggled to stay afloat with my own mental health due to constant gas lighting and manipulation at the hands of colleagues from GR in Lansing. I lost friends and colleagues who were on one day, asking me to help them get millions, and the next day lying to me, undermining, and taking things that mattered to me and didn’t belong to them.
In response I left office to raise my kids and shake off the near constant abuse and toxic culture that aggregated into dynamics that were not manageable by any sane human. I took my life back, fearful of other less favorable potential outcomes, should I continue to give my career and life to public service.
Today I am in receipt of nearly daily requests to run again for one office or another. People are sick of the 1/2 truths, corporate and PAC give-a-ways, and racist language and actions from “leaders” who can’t seem to understand that immigrants are a force in our communities and economy, and deserve to be represented in our legislatures. They’re surprised when one of their brilliant sons runs for statewide office and makes history among Kent County voters once again. They are not paying attention, are they?
I am asking myself, is GR ready for someone who really stands up for them…Who really delivers? It makes me wonder how we might do better? How can we support women leading without causing harm? How can we remember women who lead?
As I see it, Grand Rapids will erase the history that bold, Democratic women are making in this city, if it can. Some of us are a direct threat to the patriarchy and the oligarchy that have existed here for decades. Our grandaughters deserve the real story. So I’m placing it here with a sweet Girl Scout who had admired my career and asked for a photo. That is a memory I want to keep.
I’m writing this so that Abbie and Lily, Kristian and (maybe someday) your daughter, don’t have to suffer because they stood up and acted without fear, or gave without need for constant credit and affirmation. I’m hopeful we all can be remembered for the trails we are blazing and the paths we carved out in a world and a city that continues to blindly serve the patriarchs and oligarchs over the needs of many.
