Grand Rapids, Michigan

==Government==
[[File:Calder Plaza, Grand Rapids City Hall.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Calder Plaza, where the Grand Rapids City Hall is located.]]

Under Michigan law, Grand Rapids is a [[Home Rule Cities Act (Michigan)|home rule city]] and adopted a city charter in 1916 providing for the [[Council–manager government|council-manager]] form of [[municipal government]].<ref name="GRgi"/><ref name=grp>{{cite news |last1 = Biolchini |first1 = Amy |title = Grand Rapids mayor leaves full-time job in search of work-life balance |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2017/10/grand_rapids_mayor_leaves_full.html |access-date = October 3, 2017 |work = Grand Rapids Press |date = October 3, 2017 |archive-date = October 4, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171004085259/http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2017/10/grand_rapids_mayor_leaves_full.html |url-status = live }}</ref> Under this system, the political responsibilities are divided between an elected City Commission, an elected City Comptroller and a hired full-time City Manager. Two part-time Commissioners are elected to four-year terms from each of three wards, with half of these seats up for election every two years. The races—held in odd-numbered years—are formally non-partisan, although the party and other political affiliations of candidates do sometimes come up during the campaign period. The Commission sets policy for the city, and is responsible for hiring the City Manager and other appointed officials. The elected City Comptroller verifies financial policies and budgets are followed and prepares the annual financial report.<ref name="GRgi">{{cite web |url = http://grcity.us/city-manager/Pages/Government-Information.aspx |title = Government Information |publisher = City of Grand Rapids |access-date = August 20, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170821043320/http://grcity.us/city-manager/Pages/Government-Information.aspx |archive-date = August 21, 2017 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref> The city levies an income tax of 1.5 percent on residents and 0.75 percent on nonresidents.<ref>{{cite news |last1 = Gibbons |first1 = Lauren |title = Michigan State University, city of East Lansing at odds over proposed income tax |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/08/michigan_state_university_city.html |access-date = August 21, 2017 |work = MLive Lansing |date = August 16, 2017 |archive-date = August 16, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170816232814/http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/08/michigan_state_university_city.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

===Mayor===
{{See also|List of mayors of Grand Rapids, Michigan}}

The part-time mayor is elected every four years by the city at large and serves as chair of the commission, with a vote equal to a commissioner.<ref name="GRgi"/> In 2014, a [[term limits|limit of two terms]] was approved.<ref name=termlimits>{{cite news |last1 = Vande Bunte |first1 = Matt |date = November 4, 2014 |title = Term Limits Pass in Grand Rapids: Mayor, 4 Commissioners Suddenly Lame Ducks |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/11/term_limits_grand_rapids.html |work = MLive |access-date = August 21, 2017 |archive-date = July 24, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170724003632/http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/11/term_limits_grand_rapids.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

===Politics===
The city proper and inner-suburbs favor the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], while outer-suburbs of Grand Rapids tend to support the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref name=NYT2019>{{cite news |last1 = Tavernise |first1 = Sabrina |last2 = Gebeloff |first2 = Robert |last3 = Lee |first3 = Christopher |title = Are the Suburbs Turning Democratic? |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/25/us/democrats-republicans-suburbs.html |access-date = January 23, 2020 |work = [[The New York Times]] |date = October 25, 2019 |archive-date = January 25, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200125135417/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/25/us/democrats-republicans-suburbs.html |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="APpoli">{{cite news |last1 = Burnett |first1 = Sara |last2 = Eggert |first2 = David |title = Trump's return to west Michigan comes amid Democratic gains |url = https://apnews.com/cead64248f604d66ba75c2f441e5f262 |access-date = January 23, 2020 |work = [[Associated Press]] |date = March 28, 2019 |archive-date = January 25, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200125135417/https://apnews.com/cead64248f604d66ba75c2f441e5f262 |url-status = live }}</ref>

Traditionally, Grand Rapids has supported the Republican Party.<ref name=NYT2019/><ref name="APpoli"/> The city is the center of the [[Michigan's 3rd congressional district|3rd Congressional District]], represented by [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Hillary Scholten]].<ref>{{cite web|date= November 9, 2022|title= 'I am so ready': Democrat Hillary Scholten wins 3rd Congressional District|url= https://www.woodtv.com/news/elections/democrat-hillary-scholten-wins-3rd-congressional-district/amp/}}</ref> Former President [[Gerald Ford]] represented the district (then numbered as the 5th) from 1949 to 1973 and is buried on the grounds of his [[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum|Presidential Museum]] in Grand Rapids. The city and its suburbs are home to several major donors to the national Republican Party, including the [[Rich DeVos|DeVos family]] and [[Peter F. Secchia|Peter Secchia]], former Ambassador to Italy.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

Both representatives in the [[Michigan State House of Representatives]] are Democrats, and the city's [[Michigan Senate|State Senate]] seat was taken by a Democrat in 2018.