The Candidate
Meet Jordoun
The 1st Ward is home. Not a district on a map. Not a backdrop for a campaign photo, but Home. Grand Rapids is where I grew up, where I built my career, and where I have spent years showing up for the people and communities that make this city what it is.
Throughout my career, I have done one thing consistently: connected people to opportunities. For more than a decade, I have worked at the intersection of community engagement, economic development, and belonging, helping Grand Rapids residents find pathways, access resources, and build the kind of relationships that move a city forward. I am a problem solver who listens first. A bridge builder who stays. An advocate who shows up not just when it is convenient, but when it counts.
I am running for 1st Ward Commissioner because I believe this ward deserves more than representation. It deserves a true partner. Someone who leads with transparency, not because it sounds good, but because you have a right to know every decision made in your name. Someone who fights for economic growth that reaches the people on the ground, not just the institutions at the top. Someone who amplifies your voice in every room at city hall, on every committee, at every table where your future and quality of life is being decided.
This campaign is not about me. It is about what Ward 1 becomes when it has a commissioner who treats every resident as a partner in its progress. If you believe this ward is ready for that, I would be honored to have you join us in building it.
WHY JORDOUN
EXPERTISE. EXCELLENCE. FOR EVERYONE.
Leadership should be grounded in what you know, proven by what you’ve done, and measured by who it serves.
I have already worked inside City Hall, served on the Grand Rapids Public Schools Board, and built initiatives that continue to impact residents today. I understand the systems, I understand the stakes, and I understand that leadership only matters when it delivers results for everyone it represents.
My expertise extends beyond city hall. As a former member of the Grand Rapids Public Schools Board of Education, I have already served on an elected body. I understand what it means to be accountable to a community, to cast votes that affect real families, and to carry the weight of public trust. This experience has prepared me for city commission work.
Through the Neighborhood Match Fund, I connected Grand Rapids neighborhoods to the resources needed to bring their own ideas to life. Through the Grand Rapids Neighborhood Summit, I created a platform where residents across the city could gather, share, and shape the direction of their communities. Through Savor and Soar: A Youth Hospitality and Tourism Summit, I opened the door for young people to an industry that had not always made room for them and did so in a way that was rigorous, thoughtful, and built to last.
At the City of Grand Rapids, I created the Employee Resource Groups that still serve city employees today. Creating something that outlives your tenure is the clearest evidence that the work was done right. It was not built for a moment. It was built for people.
In everything I’ve done, the through line is the same: the end user is always in mind. The resident. The young person. The employee. The neighbor. To me, excellence is the action and practice of caring deeply about who the work is actually for.
For Everyone is not a slogan. It is a governing philosophy. It means that when I walk into a budget negotiation, a zoning hearing, or a committee room, I carry every Ward 1 resident with me, not just those already in the room.
Your Partner in Progress
Not a distant representative. Not a part-time advocate. I am a partner who knows the systems well enough to move them, holds the work to a standard that honors the people it serves, and never stops asking who else needs to be included in what we are building together.
Ward 1, this is the partnership I’m offering. August 4th is when you make it real.
