Contact:
Jessica Weirauch
Michigan Municipal League
[email protected], 734-669-6311

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 6, 2025

Bay City, Mich. — Bridgette Gransden, administrator/controller for Midland County, is the new president of the statewide association representing Michigan’s municipal managers. 

Gransden was selected as the 2025 president of the Michigan Municipal Executives (MME) during the organization’s annual Winter Institute, which took place January 28–31 in Bay City. Gransden succeeds Milford Village Manager Christian Wuerth, who now serves as immediate past president. Gransden has spent the past year as the organization’s president-elect and has also served as vice president and a board member. 

Gransden has served as administrator/controller of Midland County since 2009. Prior to her appointment, she had been its finance director for 15 years. She holds a BBA from Northwood University. 

“As president of MME, my goal for 2025 is to focus on positioning our association to further benefit current and future members,” said Gransden. “Words matter. A focus on using language and content in our communications, presentations, and agendas that speak to all types of local governments with professional managers—townships, villages, cities and counties—will broaden our reach. Our challenges are not that different from each other—when viewed as opportunities, they give us the platform to be stronger together. We need to be, as our tagline says, Ready for Anything.” 

Gransden thanked outgoing President Wuerth, the Professional Development Committee, and the entire MME Board for the months of hard work in planning an agenda that was thoughtful, relevant and encouraged high attendance. She also praised MME’s collaborative efforts during the Winter Institute for organizing a last-minute shift to the agenda to address potential challenges with recent Executive Orders. 

In addition to selecting Gransden as president, the organization elected the following to serve new roles and terms on the board: President-Elect Melissa Marsh, City Manager, Madison Heights; Vice President Brad Kaye, City Manager, Midland; Katie Beemer, City Administrator, Fennville; Precia Garland, City Manager, Ionia; Jonathan Seyferth, City Manager, Muskegon; and Patrick Waterman, Deputy City Manager, Wyoming. 

The MME membership thanked outgoing board members Matthew Butts, Assistant City Manager, Grandville; Aaron Desentz, City Manager, Mt. Pleasant; Laura Lam, Chief Operating Officer, Kalamazoo; and Michael Cain, City Manager, Boyne City, for their service. 

Michigan Municipal League is dedicated to making Michigan’s communities better by thoughtfully innovating programs, energetically connecting ideas and people, actively serving members with resources and services, and passionately inspiring positive change for Michigan’s greatest centers of potential: its communities. The League advocates on behalf of its member communities in Lansing, Washington, D.C., and the courts; provides educational opportunities for elected and appointed municipal officials; and assists municipal leaders in administering services to their communities through League programs and services. Learn more at mml.org. 

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