Age
63
Occupation / Current Position
Executive Director, non-profit
Education
Law degree and degrees in theology and philosphy
Experience & Qualifications
31 plus years as a community advocates and 13 years as an elected official; I know how to read budgets and hold people accountable!
Campaign Phone
616-560-2293
With over 30 years of experience in public service as a non-profit leader and elected official, I know how to read budgets and hold people accountable which are the top goals of this position.
Do the core job of the City Comptroller well - Fulfill the charter-mandated audit and oversight duties.
Expand participatory budgeting - Give residents a direct hand in how money is spent.
Transparency and ROI - Show residents what the City pays for, and
what it gets back.
Experience and accessibility - A seasoned civic leader and lifelong advocate.
Educating residents about the budgetary process so that they can have more informed conversations with the mayor and city commissioners--the ones who set the budget with the City manager.
I know how to read budgets and ask questions. I am in the community and I am a known and trusted partner on various advocacy issues. Thus, I have the needed communication channels to get to the tasks of educating residents on the budget as soon as elected! This will be an interactive process with neighborhood leaders and other City staff.
Age
39
Occupation / Current Position
City Comptroller
Education
Grand Valley State University
Experience & Qualifications
6+ years as your current elected City Comptroller
Campaign Phone
6162930134
My firsthand experience serving as your Comptroller, together with the support of former City Comptrollers who collectively served our community for decades, uniquely prepares me to continue leading this office. During more than six years in office, I have developed an in-depth understanding of the City’s finances and put that experience to work delivering greater transparency for residents. I redesigned and oversaw the creation of an award-winning financial report that makes the City’s financial condition significantly easier for the public to understand. Most importantly, when something is not right in the city's finances, I have the expertise to recognize it—and record of bringing that information to the public's attention.
I am committed to providing public transparency down to the penny—ensuring every government expense is open for the public to see, defending the voter-approved checks and balances established in our city charter and championing values of integrity and accountability in government. I have taken action to hold city officials accountable who have taken over the duties of the elected comptroller's office without our voters' approval, asking the court to require compliance with our city charter and protect voter approved checks and balances approved by taxpayers.
In 2025, Grand Rapids officials took unprecedented action to transfer the elected Comptroller’s duties into a newly created division controlled by the unelected city manager — cutting the Comptroller’s office budget by more than three-quarters in
the process. The charter mandated duties assigned to the elected Comptroller now operate under the control of the city manager — overturning a century of sound financial governance in Grand Rapids without the public’s approval. In doing so, unelected officials eliminated crucial checks and balances that serve to deter misuse of the public’s money. I have taken legal action to hold city officials accountable, restore compliance with our city charter and protect Grand Rapids taxpayers.
I bring both years of experience as Grand Rapids’ elected City Comptroller and an extensive private-sector career in finance. That experience gives me a thorough understanding of how city finances are managed, where problems can arise, and where strong, independent oversight and transparency is necessary.
Since taking office in 2019, I have worked to make the City’s financial reports clearer and more accessible while modernizing processes so businesses and organizations are paid more promptly. I will continue scrutinizing how public funds are spent, defending the City Charter’s checks and balances. Taxpayers deserve an experienced, independent Comptroller who will protect every public dollar and hold city government accountable.
