The 1st Ward seat has been vacant since March, but Tuesday’s meeting did not produce an appointment. Commissioner AliciaMarie Belchak sought to appoint Nov. 3 election winner Lindsey Perez-Plescher to serve the remainder of 2026; the proposal did not reach a vote, according to MLive.
The vacancy dates back to when former 1st Ward Commissioner Drew Robbins stepped down to run for higher office, according to MLive.com. Perez-Plescher, a mental health worker, won the Nov. 3 election for the seat, defeating opponent Steve Tibbe, and her official term does not begin until Jan. 1, 2027. Belchak argued that the ward’s voters had already spoken and that commissioners should honor the results by seating Perez-Plescher immediately rather than waiting out the rest of the year.
Four other ward commissioners pushed back, questioning the urgency of installing someone for just three remaining meetings when earlier attempts to fill the seat had already deadlocked. They argued the commissioner-elect should simply take office on Jan. 1 through the standard process. Grand Rapids’ final three meetings of 2026 are set for Nov. 17, Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, as reported by MLive.
How the vacancy became a stalemate
Third Ward Commissioner Kelsey Perdue said the commission had held 14 meetings since it first deadlocked over an appointment in April. She opposed appointing someone for only three sessions. MLive reported that commissioners had previously interviewed three finalists but did not reach agreement.
At a May 5 budget work session, commissioners split 3-3 on appointing either Dan Cope or Kurt Reppart, MLive reported. Mayor David LaGrand and Commissioners Belchak and Marshall Kilgore backed Cope; Milinda Ysasi, Perdue and Lisa Knight backed Reppart. On April 22, commissioners interviewed Cope, Reppart and Perez-Plescher as finalists and voted three times without reaching the four-vote majority needed to choose one.
Kilgore, for his part, said he opposes appointments to the seat in general and would rather see a snap election move things along faster. FOX 17 reported after that April standoff that commissioners simply voted to pause the decision, leaving the seat empty rather than force a pick nobody could agree on.
Why the latest appointment proposal did not reach a vote
Before Tuesday’s meeting could even get to a vote, the mayor, City Manager Mark Washington and the city attorney all advised against bringing Belchak’s motion forward at the last minute. Their concern was procedural: the item should have been added to the agenda days in advance to give the public proper notice, as noted by MLive. Washington told commissioners he could still add the appointment to the agenda for an upcoming Nov. 12 work session if a majority of commissioners expressed interest in doing so.
In a poll, only LaGrand and Belchak said they supported adding the item. The poll did not show majority support for putting the appointment on the Nov. 12 agenda, and commissioners did not vote on the appointment itself, according to MLive.
Residents Press for Representation
More than a dozen residents used Tuesday’s public comment period to urge commissioners to fill the seat right away. Dan Hesse, a 2nd Ward resident, asked commissioners to set aside their divisions, appoint Perez-Plescher and give the 1st Ward the representation it has lacked. Other speakers voiced frustration that the ward has gone without full representation for eight months, per a report from MLive.
Perdue countered that the commission has still managed to function despite the empty seat, pointing to the annual budget process, the hiring of a new police chief, and work on resident noise complaints about Acrisure Amphitheater as proof the city has kept moving forward. A separate report from FOX 17 had earlier described the vacancy as the longest in more than two decades, citing public records.
What the 1st Ward seat represents
The City of Grand Rapids describes the commission as the city’s legislative body, made up of the mayor and six commissioners; residents of each of the three wards elect two commissioners. The vacant seat therefore leaves the 1st Ward without one of its two elected commissioners. In the Nov. 3 race, Perez-Plescher received 12,498 votes, or 65%, and Steve Tibbe received 6,326 votes, or 33%, according to MLive, citing unofficial Kent County Clerk’s Office results.
Michigan law, under MCL 117.20, says a charter commission may fill a vacancy in its membership. Separate city vacancy-process material says an appointee to a city elective-office vacancy must have lived in the city for at least six months immediately before appointment, according to the City of Grand Rapids. No appointment vote occurred Tuesday; Perez-Plescher is scheduled to begin her elected term on Jan. 1.
