City Commissioner Lisa Knight claims that Mayor David LaGrand has quietly backed the campaign of her Second Ward challenger Bryan Cody.

Knight is running for re-election to her commission seat, a position she has held since 2022 when she unseated then-Commissioner Joe Jones. After joining the commission, Knight said she became one of the body’s most vocal members. 

This trait helped her become an advocate for Second Ward residents, she said, but also led to disagreements on the commission, particularly with LaGrand.

“I’ve been vocal about things that I don’t agree with, and that was out of the gate of this mayor’s tenure,” she said. “I don’t think he cared for that, and that’s OK. You have to be big enough to know that it doesn’t always go your way.”

“There’s been some disharmony, as everyone knows, on the commission,” Knight said. “It’s unfortunate, but for the majority of us, we have learned that this is not about us. It’s not about a personal vendetta. It’s about doing work for the community.”

Cody, a real estate investment specialist, announced his candidacy for the seat in May. He hosted a campaign event alongside organizers with Kent County Democrats and has received an endorsement from the Young Democrats of Michigan.

Cody’s website does not list LaGrand as an endorser; nor does the mayor appear anywhere on Cody’s campaign social media accounts. LaGrand has also not spoken publicly about Cody’s campaign.

Despite this, Knight claimed multiple local and state leaders have alleged in private conversations that LaGrand is backing Cody’s bid to change leadership in the Second Ward.

“[LaGrand] won’t say it publicly, but we all know he showed up at [Cody’s] campaign launch. He is supporting him from behind the scenes, and I have had multiple state leaders and people locally that came to me and told me ‘You know, he’s pushing this,’” Knight said.

“Everybody knows,” she added. “It’s disheartening because building that rapport with your colleagues to really get work done and have a sense of unity and harmony is really important.”

Knight suggested one reason this friction may be because the two handle conflict differently.

“The mayor doesn’t like conflict,” she said. “I don’t lean into [conflict] until it starts to impact the people around me and my colleagues. So when I’m hearing it from community, and I’m hearing it from my colleagues, then I’m typically the one that steps up and says ‘listen, this is a problem.’”

Knight blamed “West Michigan nice” for preventing honest disagreements between her and the mayor from turning into productive conversations. She acknowledged, however, that she and the mayor had spoken privately about their disagreements and have agreed to work on mending their relationship.

“He and I have spoken about it and we’ve agreed to—‘let’s work better,’” Knight said. “I said ‘we have work to do, let’s work better together. When we have disagreements, let’s work on talking through what those issues are.’”

“He was in agreement,” she added. “It was good to have the conversation.”

The mayor’s office did not respond to a request from The Grand Rapids Herald on Knight’s claims.

Ultimately, Knight said her goal is to continue working hard on behalf of her voters, regardless of whether her colleagues are in her corner. Serving the Second Ward, she said, is a far greater priority for her than making friends in City Hall.

“I know that I was called to this. It was a thing that I wanted to do and so I’m going to believe that this is what I’m still supposed to be doing, and this is what I’m going to do,” she said of her work on the commission. “When we’re here, it is not about you liking me, it’s about the community.”

Knight said her commission work is just one part of the way she serves her community. The commissioner is also CEO of a local construction company, serves as executive director of Girls’ Choral Academy, and is principal of a consulting company. 

She said these busy days often lead friends and family to ask when she finds time to sleep. Knight said she hopes voters will take note of that determination.

“I want them to know that I’m their neighbor,” Knight said of her constituents. “There’s been a lot of investment that I have helped bring into our ward and into this community, and it’s the same things that I will continue to push for.”

Knight attributes this hustle to her experience as a single mom who worked several jobs while raising 11 kids, seven of which are her biological children, three of which she adopted and one of which is a step child. This experience, she said, quickly taught her how to work hard for her goals. 

“There are days where I step back and say ‘OK God, this is why you chose me to do this, this is why I’m here,’” Knight said.

Write to jackson@grherald.com