KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The Kalamazoo City Board of Commissioners have voted Patrese Griffin to fill the vacant commissioner seat.
Griffin earned 5 of the 6 votes during the special meeting Monday night. John McNeil earned the other vote.
Griffin is the vice chair of the Fair Housing Center of Southwest Michigan and a long-time resident of Kalamazoo, raised on the Eastside and is currently residing on the Northside.
She cited her experiences with difficult decisions in regards to healthcare and law enforcement as making her understanding of the people in the community.
“I am this community,” Griffin said in her opening monologue. “I speak for those who can’t speak for themselves. I speak for those who rarely get heard, and I speak for those who don’t even know they have a voice.”
Some of the issues she plans to address during her time with the Board include heath, education, and environmental issues, among others.
Griffin also cited housing as the biggest issue facing the city of Kalamazoo.
“[Housing] is the foundation and the basis of which everyone’s lives are either able to thrive or not,” Griffin said. “It’s not just about building new homes, it’s about making sure people can get into the homes that are already in existence, as well as the ones that will be built in the future.”
Griffin was sworn in at the meeting Monday night and will begin her work with the Commission next week.
Her seat expires in November.
The 4 other applicants in the running were Megan Buwalda, Esteven Juarez, John McNeill and William Wells.
The vacant seat comes after former commissioner Shannon Sykes-Nehring moved out of the city and resigned from her position.
(copy written by Will Kriss)
