George Heartwell is an American politician. He was the mayor of the city of

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He was sworn in on January 1, 2004, and exited his mayoral duties after ending his third term on January 16, 2016.

Education

Heartwell graduated from

Albion College Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014. They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Intercolle ...

in 1971. He later earned a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree from Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, and was ordained as a minister in the Reformed Church in America and later the United Church of Christ.

Career

Prior to being mayor, Heartwell was a City Commissioner for the third ward of Grand Rapids from 1992-1999. Heartwell currently serves as President and CEO of Pilgrim Manor Retirement Community. He was Director of the Community Leadership Institute at Aquinas College, where he also was a professor in the Community Leadership undergraduate study program. Mayor Heartwell is an ordained minister for the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

, and served for 14 years at Heartside Ministry, a program for the homeless in Grand Rapids. He was previously the president of Heartwell Mortgage Corporation. In August, 2007, Mayor Heartwell was re-elected to a second mayoral term in Grand Rapids. He won the primary election with 51% of the vote, eliminating the need for a general election run-off. He would be reelected for a third term in 2011. He was the first Grand Rapids mayor to be term-limited out of office; during his third term in office voters approved a revision of the city charter limiting all future Grand Rapids mayors to two four-year terms. These revisions prevented Heartwell from running for a fourth term.

Honors

*2005 - Albion College Distinguished Alumni Award

References

External links

Heartwell Interview Podcast
Living people Albion College alumni American chief executives Mayors of Grand Rapids, Michigan Year of birth missing (living people) {{Michigan-mayor-stub