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Heartwell v. Rinck


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The great mayoral debate  

65 members have voted

  1. 1. Who gets your vote?

    • George Heartwell
      29
    • Jim Rinck
      17
    • Other Candidate
      19


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You have two well established political leaders with Rinck serving on the GRPS school board, and Heartwell with his talents being put to use in City Hall before he became mayor.

Rinck might be a little bit too outspoken, but Heartwell may be a little bit too soft spoken.

Rinck is well educated and knows his stuff, but so does Heartwell.

Rinck ran for US congress, Heartwell's highest office before mayor was 3rd ward commissioner.

Rinck knows the schools, Heartwell knows the city.

There are other candidates, but it seems like these will be the top two come election day, so the question is, which one will get your vote?

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You have two well established political leaders with Rinck serving on the GRPS school board, and Heartwell with his talents being put to use in City Hall before he became mayor.

Rinck might be a little bit too outspoken, but Heartwell may be a little bit too soft spoken.

Rinck is well educated and knows his stuff, but so does Heartwell.

Rinck ran for US congress, Heartwell's highest office before mayor was 3rd ward commissioner.

Rinck knows the schools, Heartwell knows the city.

There are other candidates, but it seems like these will be the top two come election day, so the question is, which one will get your vote?

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Jim Rinck was outspoken during his Congressional race against Ehlers because hehad to be. He was purposely trying to draw Ehlers out on his blind trust for the Bush Administraion, etc. Because of this... everyone expects him to always be so outspoken when in fact... he is not. Rinck has served 13 years on the Grand Rapids Board of Education. When he fought the Board on privatizing the school Bussing he was labeled by the Grand Rapids Press as 'combative', when the pure fact of the matter was that it was just the WRONG thing to do. Privatizing the busses was a quick and temporary solution to a budget crunch. The long-term effects of the privatization will end up hurting the schools, we are already seeing some of the negative effects. In addition, Rinck has spent 7.5 years on the Downtown Development Authority, he is an Eagle Sout and is currently Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 225. People like to gain a quick opinion if Jim Rinck from the way he portrayed in the local media, which is incorrect.

The only thing that anyone can say about Heartwell is, "He's such a nice guy". It is not George Heartwell who knows the city. Kurt Kimball, the city manager knows the city. Heartwell is just a city council member-at-large. Heartwell signed a secret deal with Duane Faust on this Development deal. I understand the need to keep somethings under the lid from the public for a short time. The problem here is that Heartwell is keeping the secret from the rest of the council. Not a good thing. Heartwell is not a leader. In four years as Mayor, he has never, not one, ever... met with the Grand Rapids Police union leaders, yet he claims that this union is one of the roadblocks to sharing city services with neighboring communities. A leader would sit down with the union leaders and see if a comprimise could be made.

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How cynical... I am not Rinck. I am the editor of Democratic Edge a W. Michigan Democratic news site / blog based in Grand Rapids. I came across your article posted here and felt compelled to join and respond.

I know Jim Rinck, I volunteered on his Congressional campaign and I have followed the Grand Rapids Press and the way that they falsely portray him. No one gives this guy any credit in how deeply he cares for his city. He has lived here his whole life except for a few years that he was in law school. He has dedicated 13 years to help provide leadership and a voice of reason to the School Board. He will be doing several events throughout this campaign for Mayor. You should make a point to meet him, talk to him, and hear his ideas for the future of Grand Rapids. Perhaps some of your cynicism will melt away.

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Your first mistake was to assume that the media is responsible in Grand Rapids.

This is a perfect example of why blogs are so very important, especially in Grand Rapids. The media in Grand Rapids is so irresponsible and biased that no one really gets a fair shake. Speaking of Jim Rinck, check out this story on Democratic Edge , my blog. I came across an article in the GR Press. It was an article referring to a Press Release sent by the Rinck campaign. The Press editorialized the entire story; calling Rinck combative and Heartwell mild-mannered. I contacted the Rinck campaign and asked to see a copy of the Press Release sent to the Press. Go to Democratic Edge and read the GR PRESS story, read the original Press Release, and there is a third story from the Press which the Rinck Press Release referred to.

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Your first mistake was to assume that the media is responsible in Grand Rapids.

This is a perfect example of why blogs are so very important, especially in Grand Rapids. The media in Grand Rapids is so irresponsible and biased that no one really gets a fair shake. Speaking of Jim Rinck, check out this story on Democratic Edge , my blog. I came across an article in the GR Press. It was an article referring to a Press Release sent by the Rinck campaign. The Press editorialized the entire story; calling Rinck combative and Heartwell mild-mannered. I contacted the Rinck campaign and asked to see a copy of the Press Release sent to the Press. Go to Democratic Edge and read the GR PRESS story, read the original Press Release, and there is a third story from the Press which the Rinck Press Release referred to.

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It wasn't cynicism, he was making a humorous observation that you could very well have been Rinck. There are a lot of public officials from around West Michigan that have memberships to this forum, so it wouldn't be unheard of.

I would like to hear Rinck's views on:

- Expanding mass transit

- Where does downtown "fit" in the scheme of things

- The concentration of homeless in Heartside problem

- Luring businesses to not only Grand Rapids city, but the metro area

- Improving the schools

For starters.

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I am curious as to why Democratic Edge could hardly be relied upon to be non-bias? Have you visited the site. I have. It is refreshing. DemocraticEdge is not insular nor tunnel visioned. It covers immediate local to wide rangeing global issues. I was very impressed. In fact they just upgraded. Previously, I could not figure out how to comment. As they now have a more user friendly format I look forward to sharing my thougths.

Your comment earlier about Jim Rinck is interesting. He is very concerned with downtown as he served for over 7 years on the DDA. What I like about Jim is exactly what you mentioned, he asks the right questions which inflame others as they do not have answers that are competent responses and they look inferior because they are.

If Rinck were not on the GR School Board, I would hate to see how they would have survived with the financial devastation that has taken place over the past 6 years. His finanical accumen has allowed this school system to survive, (so far anyway).

I look forward to seeing his literature and hearing him speak over the next few months. I personally like leadership that is not for personal gain. This guy will take a heck of a financial hit to serve his city and I bet he will not be asking for a raise either.

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I am curious as to why Democratic Edge could hardly be relied upon to be non-bias? Have you visited the site. I have. It is refreshing. DemocraticEdge is not insular nor tunnel visioned. It covers immediate local to wide rangeing global issues. I was very impressed. In fact they just upgraded. Previously, I could not figure out how to comment. As they now have a more user friendly format I look forward to sharing my thougths.

Your comment earlier about Jim Rinck is interesting. He is very concerned with downtown as he served for over 7 years on the DDA. What I like about Jim is exactly what you mentioned, he asks the right questions which inflame others as they do not have answers that are competent responses and they look inferior because they are.

If Rinck were not on the GR School Board, I would hate to see how they would have survived with the financial devastation that has taken place over the past 6 years. His finanical accumen has allowed this school system to survive, (so far anyway).

I look forward to seeing his literature and hearing him speak over the next few months. I personally like leadership that is not for personal gain. This guy will take a heck of a financial hit to serve his city and I bet he will not be asking for a raise either.

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I can't specifically site any one article, but I do believe The Grand Rapids Press (the local media in general) practices unfair journalism/reporting. If I remember correctly, a local media watch group produced a detailed report on our local media -- it was aired on GRTV, a great piece of activism. It was actually kind of startling.

BTW, Heartwell went unopposed last election. Anyone remember any other candidates other than Richa and that lady who wouldn't even both to debate.

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I looked in to this and here is what I found out...

Rinck's webmaster is currently transitioning his website, www.jimrinck.com from his Congressional campaign website to the Mayoral campaign site. However, I do know that Rinck is a HUGE proponent of light rail and the envirnment. He spoke on this topic during his Congressional race. He wants to increase Amtrack to Grand Rapids to a minimum of 2 stops per day between here and Chicago and here and Detroit. Eventually he would like to see GR as an Amtrack hub, servicing a route to the north (Traverse City/Petosky), South (Kalamazoo/South Bend), East (Lansing/Flint/Saginaw/Detroit), and West (Grand Haven/Muskegon).

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You can go to Chicago for the day (at least part) and return home the same day. Train leaves GR at 7:35 am Eastern and arrives at Union Station at 10:20 Central. You have a little more than six hours to hang out in the city before the 5:20 train to GR departs. Some people already do this. With regards to Rink's idea, I don't know that Amtrak is the answer to interstate travel.
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