GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — After over four decades of serving the community of Grand Rapids, Housing Commissioner Bobbie Butler announced her retirement.
Butler was first appointed to the Housing Commission by City Manager Joseph G. Zainea and confirmed on Jan. 4, 1977.
Butler and her colleagues have overseen thousands of units of affordable housing during her tenure on the Housing Commission. Some of the projects completed while she served were Ransom Tower, Campau Court, Mount Mercy, Creston Plaza and the recently opened Antoine Court.
“Commissioner Butler has used her intellect, insight, and experience to further the Grand Rapids Housing Commission mission to provide affordable housing opportunities for this community,” said Housing Commission Executive Director Lindsey Reams.
“She has represented the Housing Commission as a champion for housing equity in the local, state, regional and national spheres. We are grateful for all she has contributed to the Agency, the people we serve and the Grand Rapids community and wish her continued health, happiness, and prosperity.”
Butler was known as an advocate for the city's most vulnerable and in addition to pushing for more affordable housing, she also championed causes to help the community's homeless population.
Butler helped the Housing Commission open a Transitional Housing Program for homeless women with minor dependent children known as Hope Community and has helped grow programs that provide rental assistance and homeownership opportunities for lower-income families.
“The lack of affordable housing is a national issue. Grand Rapids has not been immune to that over the year but Mrs. Butler’s commitment to the people of this community has ensured we’ve continued to make positive progress in the fight to ensure everyone has access to safe and stable housing,” said Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington.
“Her contributions and leadership have changed countless lives in this City. Her work not just on the Housing Commission but even within City Hall has left an indelible mark and her unprecedented length of service should serve as an example to us all of what it means to be truly invested in the community,” Washington said.
Butler also served as the City’s Community Relations Director from 1970-1976 and as the Director of the, then, newly created Equal Opportunity Department from 1976-1988. She was responsible for creating the City’s first Affirmative Action Plan, first Contract Compliance Program, first Sexual Harassment Policy, and the first municipal Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise program in the State of Michigan.
Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss presented Butler with a formal proclamation for her decades of dedicated service at the March 14 Grand Rapids City Commission meeting. Butler’s last day as a Housing Commissioner will be March 31.
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