GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Monday night at the Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids, residents had their eyes on two performances, but they're not a part of any act.
The theater was the site of the final Grand Rapids mayoral debate, where candidates David LeGrand and Senita Lenear addressed voters and shared their visions for the city. The two candidates are looking to replace longtime Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, who has hit her two-term limit after being voted in back in 2016.
Both candidates have strong political backgrounds, which have gotten them prepared up until this point.
Legrand served on the local school board, as a city commissioner for the Second Ward for three years, and as a state representative from 2015–2022. He did it while running businesses around the area, which he believes helps with the job at hand.
"I've opened a lot of neighborhood businesses, and that's certainly good preparation," LeGrand said. "The fact that I'm an attorney means that I think I've got a good handle on the ability to do good policy.”
Lenear has served as a member of the school board and a city commissioner for the Third Ward for eight years. She also cited her unique set of skills that she could bring to the table.
"The corporate experience that I have, the human resources background, being a business owner, negotiating on the UAW side of a current of a contract, is valuable."
The two debated on a handful of topics ranging from education, infrastructure, public safety, transportation and housing issues that have plagued the city. Those in attendance at the theater usually aren't supposed to chime in, but it was a point of emphasis for both candidates to listen to the voters.
One of the major topics on most minds was the housing issue.
"For me it's housing," said Peter Skipper, a resident of Grand Rapids. "Especially housing for just unhoused people and how they're going to tackle that situation."
A recent zoning assessment suggested the city would need 14,000 unitsto meet the growing needs of the Grand Rapids community.
For Lenear she would address the housing issues in two ways.
"We have to encourage developers to build housing because the city doesn't build it itself," Lenear said. "I think some of what I talked about was partnering with schools to get some of those empty buildings in order to incentivize housing, because the footprint is a lot of land for us to be able to build some housing on."
Legrand issued similar sentiments.
"We need to build a lot more housing," LeGrand said, "in a world in which 10% of the housing units in town are up for rent, not 0%. Maybe landlords have to knock their prices down."
Both candidates used their past experiences with the school boards to address current issues, with 41% of GRPSstudents being chronically absent for the 2023–24 school year, which both candidates believe starts by solving issues at home.
"Thirty percent of the kids who went to Union High School had more than one address during the school year," LeGrand said. "It's really hard to study for your calculus test if your home's out on the curb."
"You have children who are becoming breadwinners or caregivers in families because of the name, because of what's happening right now with the economics in our city," Lenear said.
With Election Day just 15 days out, the candidates will continue to campaign in the neighborhoods they call home.
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