Mayors of Holland - Biographies

Philip Tanis was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1964. His family moved to Holland, Michigan in 1965 when his father, Elliot became a mathematics professor at Hope College. A 1983 graduate of Holland High School, Tanis then attended Hope College. That same year he was elected city councilman from the second ward. Tanis graduated from Hope College in 1987 with a B.A. in History and minors in Political Science and Mass Communication. In 1987, a week after turning twenty-three years old, Tanis ran against Mayor William Sikkel, and with the support of downtown residents - Hope College professors, Hispanic residents, and young professionals - he won the election by a 16-vote margin.

The youngest mayor in the United States at that time, Tanis had to hold his own against established members and patterns of society. Although he was Dutch and a member of the Reformed Church in America, his blue jeans, taste for rock and roll, and unorthodox style often met criticism. But it was his youth and his caring and good-natured persona, which put him in the spotlight. For the cause of historical preservation he once even dressed up as a brick. As a politician he was strictly business. Dedicated to the reinvigoration of the downtown, he was influential in the removal of parking meters, and he cast the deciding vote for the addition of the snowmelt system. Early on, he had to address the issue of funding the Window on the Waterfront project. Tanis was placed in a more precarious position when City Manager Terry Hofmeyer retired, but a successful search landed Soren Wolff to take over the job. Tanis entertained and eventually opposed the idea of a city marina at Kollen Park with heated debate. During his mayoral term the city saw additions of a Gazebo at Centennial Park, a recycling center, the Holland Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, DeGraaf Nature Center, Hope College Community Day, a skateboard park, and affordable housing for low income families. Tanis is also credited with bringing the Tulip City Airport under the city's ownership.

In 1988 he began managing the Knickerbocker Theatre. Tanis completed his mayoral term in 1989. He left Holland to attend the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1991. He received his M.A. from the Radio, Television, and Motion Picture department in 1993 while living in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In May 1995, he joined fellow Hope College graduate Scott Carpenter in Sofia, Bulgaria. There they worked for the International Republican Institute on political development in the country. Tanis returned to Holland, Michigan in fall of 1997 and began working for the Reformed Church in America as its Internet Specialist and then as Manager of Information Technology in January 1998.

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