The City of Grand Rapids has narrowed its pool of applicants to fill a vacant ward one seat to 10 candidates.
Former Commissioner Drew Robbins announced in February that he would resign his City Commission seat in favor of a campaign to run for the Michigan House. The Commission is allowed to appoint a replacement to serve out the remainder of his term, which ends at the end of calendar year 2026.
The City Commission’s Committee on Appointments will publicly interview the candidates on April 17 before recommending finalists to the City Commission.
Zachary Baker
Baker works as a commercial real estate agent in the Grand Rapids area. He is more commonly known as “flag man,” a moniker he earned from running with an American flag over his shoulder to raise awareness for veteran suicide.
His most recent awareness run stretched from Grand Haven to Grand Rapids, a distance of 35 miles. It was his second annual run after completing a 22-mile route in 2025.
Danielle Cope
Cope is listed as an affiliate faculty member at Grand Valley State University in the school’s liberal studies department. She boasts a 4.7 out of 5 star rating on the crowdsourced academia ranking site RateMyProfessor.
In 2017, Cope penned an MA thesis titled “Reckoning: Detroit’s Literary Crisis of Conscience.” The thesis argues that structural racism and class discrimination are unrecognized sources of the city’s decline.
Michael Fassbender
Fassbender was a former City Commission candidate in 2024. Records from that election show he received just 7.9% of the vote, losing out to Commissioner AliciaMarie Belchak and Dean Pacific.
A Linkedin page under Fassbender’s name lists him as having been an Air Force captain for four years after graduating college. He also appears to be the owner of Grand Rapids-based Action Mould and Machining.
Lucas Leverett
Leverett is a native of Nashville, Tennessee, who describes himself on LinkedIn as an “imagination and idea guy with an affinity for disruptions to the status quo.” He formerly served as vice president of the West Grand Neighborhood Association.
Leverett penned a 2022 article calling out a “dark money” network behind Robbins’ campaign for ward one commissioner. He is also an outspoken critic of the Grand Rapids Police Department via his Facebook page.
Lindsey Perez‑Plescher
Perez‑Plescher has launched a public campaign website, though it appears incomplete. She also registered with the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue.
Perez-Plescher will hold a public campaign launch event on April 11. That event is listed on the Kent County Democratic Party’s April schedule.
Kurt Reppart
Reppart served as city commissioner from 2018 to 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile, and had received an endorsement from the Kent County Democratic Party in that race. He has previously called for cutting police funding.
In his bio, Reppart writes he once felt “the calling to be a pastor.” He now works as a consultant, thought partner and wellness coach according to the page.
Mallory Root
Root is the owner of Roots Brew Shop in Grand Rapids and organizes a community coworking space called The Cottage on Turner. She is a graduate of Hillsdale College with an art degree.
Paul Soltysiak
Soltysiak is a sales consultant at Holland Litho Printing, a corporate sponsor of the Grand Rapids Art Museum. He was named a 2023 “newsmaker” by Crain’s Grand Rapids Business for his involvement in the Fans of Valley Field project, an initiative to repair a baseball field on the city’s west side.
Steven Tibbe
Tibbe also served on the Fans of Valley Field project and was an “entrepreneur in residence” at Michigan State University for three years, according to his LinkedIn. His campaign site describes himself as “a leader who listens, collaborates, and takes action—someone who will fight tirelessly to make Grand Rapids a city that works for all of us.”
Francine Zainea
Zainea’s name matches a LinkedIn profile which listed itself as a “teacher at grcss” in Grand Rapids, though no available records appear to verify that information.
A Facebook profile under that name, which was last active in 2022, lists Zainea as a native of Grand Rapids living in Arlington, Virginia. Zainea appears to have attended both Aquinas College and Mount Mercy Academy.
Write to jackson@grherald.com