Several current and former City of Grand Rapids employees have held positions on the board of Seeding Justice, a cannabis equity nonprofit accused of acting as an unlawful taxation scheme.
A February lawsuit accused the City of Grand Rapids of using its Cannabis Social Equity Policy to violate state limits on municipal cannabis fees. That policy pressured cannabis sellers either to make social equity commitments or contribute a portion of sales to a fund managed by the city-funded nonprofit Seeding Justice.
Plaintiffs claimed the “voluntary” program was actually coercive extortion tied to their licenses and that millions of dollars collected as fees have gone missing.
Several current and former city employees have links to the nonprofit.
Joe Jones
Jones formerly served as a city commissioner representing the Second Ward for nearly seven years. He sat on the commission at the time of Seeding Justice’s founding in July 2022.
Jones is listed as both president and treasurer of Seeding Justice.
He appears to be the only remaining active member of Seeding Justice, having given interviews and statements to several publications during the onset of the lawsuit. Jones is currently listed as CEO of Hekima Group, a business created to “provide sound wisdom + strategy to a myriad of industries.”
He was formerly President and CEO of the Urban League of West Michigan, a group that aspires to lead West Michigan to “diverse and abundant resources to redress racial injustice and promote racial equality.”
Jones did not respond to a request for comment from The Herald sent to his Ferris State University email address, where he works as the vice president of West Michigan engagement.
Stacy Stout
Stout served as director of Grand Rapids’ Office of Equity and Engagement. She is now listed as president and CEO of Blandford Nature Center and works with the Latina Network of West Michigan.
Stout identified herself as a board member of Seeding Justice in a 2024 Linkedin post. She did not respond to a request for comment from The Herald sent to her Blandford email address.
Molly Clarin
Clarin currently serves as CFO for the City of Grand Rapids and served as treasurer for Seeding Justice. She has been employed by the city for 11 years, according to her Linkedin profile.
Clarin has been embroiled in Comptroller Max Frantz’s lawsuit against the city, which alleges the city illegally stripped the comptroller’s office of most of its authority and staff, reassigning most of the comptroller’s employees to a new fiscal services department run by Clarin.
She did not respond to a request for comment from The Herald sent to her city email address.
Rosalynn Bliss
Former Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and longtime Kent County Democrat associate served as secretary for Seeding Justice.
She did not respond to a request for comment sent to her Michigan State University email address, where she serves as assistant dean of external relations.
City Response
Media Relations Manager Steve Guitar said the city had no comment in regard to any of the employees’ involvement in the group.
“Because Seeding Justice is an independent nonprofit, the City of Grand Rapids isn’t the appropriate spokesperson for its internal structure or board roles,” Guitar wrote. “All information the City has regarding its involvement is already reflected in the public record and other records outlining how the nonprofit was initiated and how interim directors served until the full board was seated in July.”
“For any details specific to Seeding Justice’s board titles, responsibilities, or membership beyond what’s already public, the nonprofit would be the best source,” he added. “We are unable to provide any additional comment at this time due to the pending litigation.”
The Herald could not find any publicly available contact information for Seeding Justice.
Write to jackson@grherald.com.