Former Grand Rapids City Commissioner Drew Robbins on Saturday called out the partisan process by which the three candidates to fill his former seat were selected.
Robbins in February vacated his seat representing Grand Rapids’ first ward in favor of a bid for state house. The Grand Rapids Committee on Appointments on Friday selected three finalists to serve out his term– Lindsey Perez-Plescher, Kurt Reppart and Dan Cope– from a field of ten applicants.
Robbins told The Grand Rapids Herald in an exclusive statement that while “anyone willing to step up and serve should be commended,” the committee’s nonpartisan selection process appeared to be influenced by partisan headwinds.
He began by addressing Perez-Plescher, who is registered with the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue and appears to have the support of Kent County Democratic Party. Robbins explained the commission’s selection of Perez-Plescher appears to elevate her as a future candidate for an elected commission seat.
“I was extremely surprised that the Committee on Appointments prioritized [Perez-Plescher] as the only finalist candidate who is actively running for the full-time Commission seat,” Robbins said. “If it were the Commission’s desire to prioritize candidates actively campaigning, I would have expected that multiple major candidates running for the full term would have been advanced for the interim consideration. Alas, this was not the case.”
When Robbins was elected to the City Commission in 2022, he ran against Reppart who was a vocal critic of the police at the time. Robbins argued the council’s selection of Reppart is a bid to rehash anti-policing sentiment in the city.
“[Reppart’s] public statements in favor of cutting GRPD’s budget to redirect funding to other organizations were my impetus to jump into politics as a total outsider,” Robbins wrote. “He hasn’t indicated any retraction of these statements in his interview responses or closing remarks, so I’m unaware whether he still asserts these values.”
“I would prefer to see an interim who moves our city forward with new ideas, rather than rehashing old ideas that voters democratically rejected, especially given that this role will have a direct influence over hiring our next Chief of Police,” he added.
Robbins also expressed disappointment that the committee did not select even one of the candidates that he considered shoe-ins, such as Paul Soltysiak or Steve Tibbe.
“[Soltysiak] is someone I would have certainly expected to be a serious contender for the final three candidates,” Robbins wrote. “For a candidate only looking to fill the interim role, Paul should have been a top choice. Really surprised not to see him on the final slate.”
“[Tibbe is] another example of a community-rooted resident from outside the establishment, partisan-endorsed circles,” he added. “Given Steve’s intention to run for the open seat this fall, I was surprised to see other formal candidates prioritized in the final selection while his candidacy was ignored.”
Robbins also called out Commissioner Marshall Kilgore, who asked each candidate during interviews to explain their previous involvement in public service. This, he said, was a “moot point,” adding that many good politicians come from humble backgrounds.
“Prior public service is not, nor should it be, a barrier to future public service in any capacity,” Robbins wrote. “To the contrary, I’ve learned the best public servants are everyday, hardworking residents whose diverse opinions can contribute to thoughtful solutions. I hope to see more political outsiders step up and express an interest in serving.”
Write to jackson@grherald.com.