GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Mayor George Heartwell is defending the dismissal of former City Clerk Lauri Parks. The city’s community relations commission held a hearing on Friday to address concerns from the community.
The commission said they are concerned many in the community claim Parks was let go because of her race.
Heartwell said that Parks was let go because she failed performance reviews and walked out of closed door meetings.
“There were performance issues that had absolutely nothing to do with her efforts to improve voting in the community. That is nonsense,” said Heartwell.
Park’s attorney told Fox 17 on Friday that once state and federal agencies finish their investigation, they will file their lawsuit against the city.
