Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand is the lone member of the City Commission to back U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in a critical upcoming U.S. Senate race.
Among the major positions up for grabs on Aug. 4 are party nominations for state governor and a U.S. Senate seat, which could decide control of that chamber. Apart from the mayor, each commissioner that chose to make a public endorsement has backed Abdul El-Sayed.
In a video filmed with Stevens, the mayor highlighted their cooperation while working to save the auto industry during his time as a state legislature.
“I know that she can deliver,” LaGrand said of Stevens. “I know that she is a pinch hitter, clutch hitter, somebody who, in a crisis, can rise to the occasion and we have a crisis in America right now. We need action.”
LaGrand also shared a statement on Stevens’ website touting her as the right pick to help execute his city’s priorities at the federal level.
“One of my top priorities as Mayor of Grand Rapids is strengthening our economy by lowering costs and creating jobs,” Lagrand wrote. “I look forward to working with Congresswoman Stevens when she’s in the Senate to continue making Grand Rapids the very best place to live.”
Stevens has also picked up endorsements from Democratic Michigan politicians Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Hillary Scholten, and Sen. Gary Peters.
No other member of the commission has come out with direct support for Stevens.
Commissioners Lisa Knight and Marshall Kilgore each took the stage during a rally for U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed last week. Also present at that event were progressive icons U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Knight, who is running for reelection for the Second Ward seat, energized the crowd by singing “A Change Is Gonna Come” before lauding Al-Sayed as a leader who will ensure “everybody has a seat at the table.”
“Abdul is not just a politician who waits for polls to tell him what to believe,” Knight said. “He’s a person who understands that true power comes from integrity, integrity, integrity, vision and the willingness to fight for the people who are too often ignored.”
Kilgore in his remarks highlighted his identity as an openly LGBTQ+ Black man and said El-Sayed would advocate for the south side of Grand Rapids.
“We need somebody that understands frontline communities are not campaign talking points,” Kilgore said. “We need someone who will fight for the people who are too often ignored, too often overlooked and too often told that their problems are simply too big to solve.”
Also backing El-Sayed is First Ward Commissioner AliciaMarie Belchak who wrote via social media that she met personally with him to discuss his campaign.
“He said many things I said in my own campaign and he told a story of his own kids and the future he envisions for them — exactly why I ran for office as well,” Belchak wrote.
Commissioners Milinda Ysasi and Kelsey Perdue do not appear to have made public endorsements in the U.S. Senate race.
Kilgore and Belchak, however, have sided with LaGrand in his endorsement of state Rep. Phil Skaggs for Michigan’s 29th Senate District. Knight, Perdue, and Ysasi have endorsed Abbie Groff-Blaszak in that race.
Write to jackson@grherald.com