Rosalynn Bliss

Rosalynn Bliss (born August 3, 1975) is an American politician, social worker, and mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The first woman to be elected Mayor of Michigan's second-largest city, Bliss took office on January 1, 2017. Bliss has served on the Grand Rapids City Commission since 2006.

Rosalynn Bliss
Mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Assumed office
January 1, 2017
Preceded byGeorge Heartwell
Personal details
Born (1975-08-03) August 3, 1975
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic[1]
Alma materUniversity of South Alabama (BA)
Michigan State University (MSW)

Early life and education

Rosalynn Bliss comes from a large family having six brothers and three sisters. Her father was a brick mason and her mother worked at a local grocery store. She grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Sault Ste. Marie and graduated from Sault Area High School in 1993. Shortly after, she moved to Mobile Alabama where she attended the University of South Alabama earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice. Upon graduation, she moved to Grand Rapids and began her career working at Hope Network while attending graduate school at Michigan State University. She earned her Masters in Social Work and professionally started working in the field of Domestic Violence and Child Welfare.[2][3]  

Career

Bliss formerly served as Director of Residential Services at DA Blodgett-St. John's, which provides emergency shelter and residential services for abused and neglected children. She also served as adjunct professor of social work at Grand Valley State University since 2006 and currently serves as the Frederik Meijer Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Grand Valley's Frederik Meijer Honors College.[4][5]

Bliss is Past President of the Michigan Municipal League[2] and currently serves on the boards of the Friends of Grand Rapids Parks, Grand Rapids Promise Zone Authority, Housing Security Initiative, National League of Cities Council on Youth, Education, and Families, Downtown Development Authority, Experience Grand Rapids, Convention Arena Authority, Urban Core Mayors, Future State Advisory Committee, Economic Club and Interurban Transit Partnership.

Political history

Bliss was first elected to the Grand Rapids City Commission in 2005. She was re-elected in 2009 and 2013.[2] During her time as a City Commissioner, she led a Blue Ribbon Panel on Parks, was a founding member of the non-profit organization Friends of Grand Rapids Parks and served on the millage campaign for Parks, Pools and Playgrounds.[6][7] She served on the Uptown Corridor Improvement District and was a part of the Fulton Street Farmers Market Redevelopment among other neighborhood and community initiatives.[8]

In 2015, Mayor George Heartwell was prohibited from seeking a fourth term. Bliss was one of four candidates who entered the race to succeed Heartwell; the others were Robert Dean, John George, and Willard Lee. A primary election was held on August 4, 2015; Bliss received 66% of the vote. Because she won a majority of the vote, Bliss was elected in the primary election without a need for a runoff election.[9]

Bliss became the 59th Mayor of Grand Rapids on January 1, 2016. She is the first woman to hold that role, as well as the youngest mayor in 130 years.[10]

She won reelection on November 5, 2019. She defeated Daniel Schutte with over 83% of the vote.[11]

As Mayor, Bliss joined 130 US Mayors launching a ten-minute walk to a park campaign.[12] She was appointed by Governor Snyder to serve on the Child Lead Poisoning Elimination Board.[13]  She has been a proponent of environmental sustainability with the city, twice receiving gold certification from the Michigan Green Communities Network in the Michigan Green Communities Challenge for their work in approving a bicycle action plan, zero cities project, having a strategic plan with sustainability as a core value and converting the city's yard waste site to a composting facility.[14] Bliss actively participated in the Living Cities Racial Equity Here initiative resulting in policy and budget process changes to incorporate a racial equity toolkit.[15]

Recognition and awards

Bliss' multiple recognitions include the National Forum for Black Public Administrators Leadership Excellence Award,[16] US Conference of Mayors Small Business Advocate Award,[17] WMCAT's Award for Innovation, the Kathryn Timmer Literacy Award, Crain's 100 Most Influential Women,[18] Grand Rapids Business Journal's 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan,[19] Five-time recipient of Grand Rapids Business Journal's "40 under Forty",[20] West Michigan Public Relations Society of America Communicator of the Year Award,[21] ATHENA Young Professional Award, Tim Pope Memorial Award for Outstanding Young Governmental Leader, Christine Nelson Professional Award for Service to Children, and the Michigan Professional Society on the Abuse of Children Special Recognition Award.

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References
  1. "Mayors Challenge Explainer and Participant List" (PDF). National League of Cities. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  2. "Commissioner Rosalynn Bliss: Biography". City of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Archived from the original on August 7, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  3. "South Grad Rosalynn Bliss Leads Michigan's Second-Largest City". University of South Alabama. March 13, 2019.
  4. Hoekstra, Nate. "Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss named new Meijer Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation". Grand Valley State University.
  5. "Mayor Rosalynn Bliss". City of Grand Rapids. February 20, 2020.
  6. "Friends of Grand Rapids Parks". Local Wiki. February 20, 2020.
  7. "Neighbors for Parks, Pools and Playgrounds". Yes! GR PARKS. February 20, 2020.
  8. Belchak, AliciaMarie (October 7, 2014). "Rosalynn Bliss represents Grand Rapids". Grand Rapids Business Journal.
  9. McVicar, Brian (August 5, 2015). "Interactive Maps Show How Rosalynn Bliss Won Grand Rapids Mayoral Race". MLive. Booth Newspapers. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  10. Vande Bunte, Matt (August 5, 2015). "A Woman, Yes, but Mayor-Elect Rosalynn Bliss Also Leads Another New Wave". MLive. Booth Newspapers. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  11. Huffman, Bryce. "Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss is re-elected in landslide win". www.michiganradio.org. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  12. Boothe, Daniel (October 11, 2017). "Rosalynn Bliss among a number of US mayors launching 10 min walk to park campaign". WGVU Public Media.
  13. Farrell, Hilary (June 10, 2016). "GR mayor among members of new lead exposure task force". WGVU Public Media.
  14. "City of Grand Rapids' sustainability efforts gets gold for 2nd straight year". WZZM 13. December 3, 2019.
  15. Chin, Dennis (May 25, 2016). "Living Cities Launches New Multi-City Initiative To Improve Racial Equity".
  16. "2019 NFBPA Texas Leadership Excellence Awards Gala". National Forum for Black Public Administrators. February 20, 2020.
  17. Manes, Nick (April 17, 2018). "Grand Rapids Mayor Bliss receives national award for small biz support". MiBiz.
  18. "News Article - Mayor Rosalynn Bliss named to Crain's 100 Most Influential Women List - Jun 3, 2016". www.wearegr.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  19. "The 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan - 2018". Issuu. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  20. "40 Under Forty - 2014 - Grand Rapids Business Journal". Issuu. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  21. "2016 PRoof Awards Honor Best in West Michigan Public Relations". West Michigan Public Relations Society of America. Retrieved January 1, 2019.


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