Senita Lenear Announces Bid For Mayor
After serving two terms as Third Ward City Commissioner, Senita Lenear has announced her candidacy for Grand Rapids mayor. In this interview with the Grand Rapids Times, she discusses what prompted her to run for mayor, what some of her immediate goals are, and more.
GRT: What would you like for people to know about Senita Lenear and your bid for Mayor?
Lenear: I think that it would be good to reflect the historic nature of the elections. I think that it would be good to reflect on honoring commitments and making sure that when I have been elected that I finish what I have been elected. It would also be good to reflect on just how engaging I have been with the community throughout my term as an elected official.
GRT: What brought you to making the decision to run for Mayor of Grand Rapids?
Lenear: Making a decision to run for office really was a family decision but for me it is a calling, so I felt led to want to serve at this higher office. When I became a commissioner, I had not planned on running for mayor. It had never crossed mind to be honest but it was through service and being close enough to the office of the mayor to see hopefully the things that I would want to change or how I would want to make a difference in that office is what drove me to make the decision to run for Mayor.
GRT: What changes are you focused on currently?
Lenear: I think that there were a number of initiatives as a commissioner that I participated in that I want to see continue to grow and many of them can grow city wide. The expantion of the Madison Square Corridor Improvement District authority into South Town was a feather in my hat that I would say that the dedication to seeing that through. The development of the business area was another way of seeing the necessity of thriving business districts and as a result of that expanding those business districts across the city and looking at locations like on Alpine, 28th Street and Plainfield street to development and spend some time and energy on those corridors to make a bigger difference in the business community. The Third Ward Equity Fund was a thing that was established because of inequities that existed through the cities own economic development department and wanting to kind of right those wrongs which is important but those inequities exist across the city so how do we engage at a deeper level to make sure that there is some consistency in how we deliver our economic development dollars. I also want to ad that there has been great interest from the community in the river restoration, C3 as well as the new amphitheater, that is being talked about at the commission and making sure that we are using our equity lenses while building these facilities and working with Grand Action 2.0 as they are visioning for the city to kind of come along side to see in what ways can we bring the community in and help the community to be involved in.
GRT: What do you want to be known for as Mayor?
Lenear: In short, it is probably a lot of collective goals but I think that what having a lot of collective goals means is that I have no desire to be a one issue type Mayor. I want to listen to the heart and the pulse of the entire city and create and environment that feels as though the community has been apart of the establishment of whatever is been set from that office. I want to be known for being a hard worker, having strong work ethics, being a collaborative worker and engaging with people collaboratively from all facets of the community. I also want to be known for being approachable and being able to engage with everyone in order to hear their thoughts, ideas and concerns. Those are the kinds of things that really speak to my character. I think that when you have a solid character, strong work ethics and you not only care about people but also let them know that you care about them. Those attributes allows you to be the kind of person that people want to lead their community.
GRT: How can people who are interested in helping you get elected help in your campaign?
Lenear: Yes, they can visit Senitaformayor.com to get involved. I want to hear from people because I have run into people at the grocery stores, restaurants and other places. I want them to know that I want them to be involved in the success of this campaign. We will not turn anyone away and we want them to jump on line and sign up to be a volunteer. If they are not good at navigating the internet very well, they can email vote@senitaformayor.com. We will reach out to them to get them involved. Getting involved means financial contributions which we do appreciate but getting involved also means being apart of making history with me.
Tagged in: