Two of Grand Rapids’ former comptrollers have issued endorsements for the incumbent Max Frantz ahead of a critical election to decide the future of the office.
Frantz is currently in the midst of a lawsuit against the city, alleging it violated its founding charter by appropriating his staffers and elected duties to an office under City Manager Mark Washington. Frantz’s re-election pitch largely revolves around his fight to continue championing the City Charter.
His challenger for the role, former Kent County Commissioner Dave Bulkowski, was hand picked by Mayor David LaGrand and former Mayor Rosalynn Bliss to run against him. Bulkowski has since racked endorsements from Democrat-aligned politicos and groups in his pursuit of the nonpartisan office.
Two of the city’s former comptrollers, Donijo DeJonge and Stan Milanowski, have issued endorsements for Frantz and say he is the only candidate who will uphold the integrity of the office.
Stan Milanowski
Milanowski was the city’s longest-serving elected official at the time of his resignation in 2010. He served under four mayors, ending with Mayor George Heartwell. He told The Herald he supports Frantz because he disapproves of the city’s decision to downsize the office.
“The biggest issue is that city management tried to grab, or did grab, a lot of the authority that the comptroller had in regards to taking his staff away,” Milanowski said. “I think that’s probably the biggest issue. I want to see that issue continue to be pursued.”
Milanowski said the Comptroller’s Office has “always been under attack,” even before his time in office. Any changes to the office, he said, should go before city voters rather than being handled by appointed officials.
“It’s always been a position that management has tried to abolish,” he said. “It’s actually gone before the voters of Grand Rapids at least three times. The voters have always voted to keep the position.”
Bulkowski’s decision to seek a Democratic endorsement, Milanowski said, is another reason why he can not support him. He also questioned Bulkowski’s past experience in managing budgets.
“It’s very clear in the charter that these are nonpartisan positions,” he said. “I just think what Bulkowski is doing is wrong.”
“This is a position you need a strong accounting background in,” he added. “I don’t think he’s qualified for the job. It’s like going to a dentist when you need a heart surgeon. I think he would go along with management, I don’t think he would be independent.”
Donijo DeJonge
DeJonge is a professor at Grand Valley State University and formerly served as Kent County GOP chair and earned a Republican endorsement for state house in 2014. She told The Grand Rapids Herald she endorsed Frantz because she believes Frantz is on the right side of his battle with City Hall.
“The city manager and Max obviously have a difference of opinion on the role and I think that Max is right with his opinion,” she said. “I think to do what the city manager is trying to do, you need a charter amendment.”
DeJonge, who also served under Heartwell, said she never experienced any “conflict” similar to the changes that have taken place in the comptroller’s office under Frantz’s leadership.
“It’s clear, the charter was amended back in 1912,” she said. “It’s antiquated, it needs updating, but I don’t know that you can move functionality that is assigned to a department in the charter out of that office.”
She also questioned attempts to introduce partisanship into the comptroller’s race, saying the office is strongest when it can operate independent of political headwinds in City Hall.
“It has historically been called by a lot of people in Grand Rapids ‘the watchdog,’” DeJonge said. “It shouldn’t be political. It should be professional, and it should be run by somebody who has an understanding of finance and accounting.”
“It’s not a partisan office and it shouldn’t be a partisan office,” she added.
During her time in office DeJonge championed an initiative to make the comptroller an appointed position to ensure qualified officials, rather than politicians, would be allowed to take the position. That measure was rejected by voters and led her to resign the office.
Politicized Race
Political headwinds are playing into the race for the Comptroller’s Office. Voters will decide the next comptroller as part of the Nov. 3 ballot, which also includes hot-button races for City Commission, Michigan governor, and U.S. Senate.
Voters in 2020 approved a proposal to move city elections from odd years to even ones, aligning them with the presidential election cycle. Former Commissioner Ruth Kelly argued at the time that doing so would effectively politicize the city’s nonpartisan government.
“We have become uber partisan in the United States, terribly partisan,” Kelly told WGVU at the time. “And I know that even in non-partisan situations as an elected, you can get pressured from one party or another. And there will be a temptation for the parties to want to advance candidates, use the city commission as a stepping stone, and then move onto the state right away.”
The Comptroller’s Office struggled with employee churn and allegations of a hostile work environment prior to the city moving staff out of its office. The city claims the changes to the office were needed to address workplace issues and failures to meet deadlines.
Write to jackson@grherald.com