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| Grand Rapids Apartment Locator Services : Grand Rapids |  | Contents | |
| Law and government |
| The Commission-Manager plan |
| Grand Rapids voters adopted the Commission-Manager
form of municipal government in 1916. Under this system, the
political reponsibilities are divided between an elected City
Commission and a hired City Manager. Two Commissioners are elected
to four-year terms from each of three wards, with half of these
seats up for election every two years. The Mayor is elected
every four years, by the city at large, and serves as chair
of the Commission. The races - held in odd-numbered years -
are formally non-partisan, although the party 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 [1]
(http://www.ci.grand-rapids.mi.us/index.pl?page_id=350). |
| George Heartwell, current mayor |
| George Heartwell was elected mayor of Grand Rapids
after long-serving mayor John H. Logie declined to run for re-election
in 2003. Logie felt the position should be made full-time, but
to avoid the question becoming a referendum on whether he should
hold the job full-time, he announced that he would not run for
re-election. The voters decided to keep the position part-time,
and Heartwell was elected. |
| Heartwell assumed office on January 1, 2004. Prior
to being mayor, Heartwell was a City Commissioner for the third
ward, 1992-1999. He is Director of the Community Leadership
Institute at Aquinas College, where he is also a professor in
the Community Leadership undergraduate study program. Mayor
Heartwell is an ordained minister, for the United Church of
Christ, and served for 14 years at Heartside Ministry, a program
for the homeless in Grand Rapids. He was previously the president
of Heartwell Mortgage Corporation [2] (http://www.ci.grand-rapids.mi.us/1010). |
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