Peter Meijer


Peter Meijer is an American politician of the Republican Party and a member of the Meijer family, owners of the Meijer supermarket chain.

Early life and education

Meijer was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is the oldest son of Hank Meijer and the grandson of supermarket chain founder Frederik Meijer. His father's family has been recognized as one of the wealthiest in the state of Michigan by Forbes.
He initially studied for one year at the United States Military Academy at West Point before transferring to Columbia University in 2008, graduating with a bachelor's degree in cultural anthropology in 2012. From 2008 to 2016, Meijer served in the United States Army Reserve and was deployed to Iraq from 2010 into 2011 serving as an intelligence advisor.
In 2017, Meijer graduated from New York University with a Master's Degree in Business Administration.

Career

Analyst career

From 2013 to 2015, Meijer worked as a conflict analyst for International NGO Safety Organisation. He was later employed by Olympia Development of Michigan of Ilitch Holdings as an analyst from April 2018 to January 2019. During this time, Meijer also worked on veterans projects such as Project Rubicon, was on the advisory board of the With Honor super political action committee and assisted with urban renewal projects throughout Michigan.

Political career

Following Justin Amash's departure from the Republican Party in July 2019, Meijer immediately announced his candidacy for Michigan's 3rd congressional district, attempting to run as the Republican nominee in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan. Meijer has voiced his support for President Donald Trump, stating he would work with the president to "make sure that we advance policies and an agenda that is in the best interest of West Michigan".

Endorsements and funding

Meijer has received campaign funding from several wealthy Michigan-based business families and raised more money than any other Republican candidate. The DeVos and Van Andel families who co-founded Amway have funded Meijer's campaign, though United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her husband Dick DeVos abstained from fundraising efforts. Mark J. Bissell of Bissell home-care products and businessman Peter Secchia have also provided funds for Meijer's campaign. Notable politicians such as Representative Dan Crenshaw, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Representative Steve Scalise, and Senator Tom Cotton have all endorsed Meijer.

Controversy

During the ArtPrize's Project 1 dynamic art festival, Meijer refused to host Drag Syndrome, a London-based group that hosted drag performers with Down syndrome, at the Tanglefoot art venue, a property he owned. Meijer said he had consulted various groups and that he believed that the performers were being exploited, stating to ArtPrize organizers that "he involvement of individuals whose ability to act of their own volition is unclear raises serious ethical concerns that I cannot reconcile" and that the performances were to "further an activist message".
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a civil rights complaint to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, saying that Meijer discriminated against the "disability of the performer and the nature of their performance due to stereotypes regarding gender expression", with ACLU attorney Jay Kaplan stating "We hope through an investigation there will be a determination that this action and the reasons for the action by Mr. Meijer violated the civil rights law". Meijer said he would not "stop or apologize for doing what is right".