Jim Rinck Announces his candidacy for Grand Rapids Mayor

Attorney Jim Rinck has formally announced his candidacy for the upcoming mayoral race for the city of Grand Rapids.  Mr. Rinck believes firmly in the community in which he was born and raised.  Rinck attended Northview High School and Calvin College; he graduated with honors from both schools.  Mr. Rinck went on to study law at the University of Illinois Law School.  Mr. Rinck has also served the Grand Rapids School Board for 13 years.  Jim Rinck has been a source of leadership in his community and cares deeply for Grand Rapids and its prosperity.

"Grand Rapids is one of the largest, if not the largest, city in the nation with a city manager form of government.  While Kurt Kimball is a fine city manager, this city now has the worst of all governmental worlds- a non-partisan government that has been very partisan.  In addition, our city form of government has rendered our elected Commissioners and Mayor essentially powerless. It's time to grow together and make our government more responsive and accountable to our citizens."

Jim Rinck believes that our City needs to focus on our common goals and interests, "We cannot move forward as a city unless we focus on the common good.  When we divide ourselves on lines of race, class or creed, we invariably are re-directed from achieving the ‘common good’.”  He will also bring a straight-forward style to the Mayor's Office, "I will not be signing secrecy agreements or making secret land deals, I will consult with my fellow Commissioners and with the people both early and often.  I strongly believe that our government as well as every level of government must be transparent and inclusive.”

Rinck was first elected to the Grand Rapids Board of Education in 1993, and, in the course of his tenure, has served as President, Treasurer and Secretary of the Board. He also has been Chair of the Legislative Committee for several years.  In addition, he served as the Board's representative to the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) for 7.5 years; he was the elected Vice Chair of that board for a number of years.

Jim Rinck is a man of character with a proven record of community service, experience and knowledge.  He has demonstrated his leadership skills in many ways; he has appeared before the Michigan Court of Appeals, Michigan Supreme Court and Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.  He recently received the 2004 Michael Barnes Award by Western Michigan Legal Services (Legal Aid) for outstanding pro bono work.

Grand Rapids is in need of Fresh Ideas. Grand Rapids needs a ‘start to finish’ leader.  Jim Rinck, as Mayor, is the person for that job.