Rosalynn Bliss 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, 2016. Bliss has served on the Grand Rapids City Commission since 2006.
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.
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. Bliss is Past President of the Michigan Municipal League 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. She won reelection on November 5, 2019. She defeated Daniel Schutte with over 83% of the vote. As Mayor, Bliss joined 130 US Mayors launching a ten-minute walk to a park campaign. She was appointed by Governor Snyder to serve on the Child Lead Poisoning Elimination Board. 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. Bliss actively participated in the Living Cities Racial Equity Here initiative resulting in policy and budget process changes to incorporate a racial equity toolkit.
Recognition and awards
Bliss' multiple recognitions include the National Forum for Black Public Administrators Leadership Excellence Award, US Conference of Mayors Small Business Advocate Award, WMCAT's Award for Innovation, the Kathryn Timmer Literacy Award, Crain's 100 Most Influential Women, Grand Rapids Business Journal's 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan, Five-time recipient of Grand Rapids Business Journal's "40 under Forty", West Michigan Public Relations Society of America Communicator of the Year Award, 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.
