A diverse economy in Mount Pleasant will begin driving up wages, driving down the wealth gap, and increase the tax revenue base for the city as a whole. I’m dedicated to bringing in union-backed jobs across a diverse group of industries. We will start by expanding into labor, city, and the healthcare fields first, creating a healthy competition with the goal to drive wages up across the different industries within the city. This is about strengthening our long-term outcome by providing a better job pool for candidates. Working with Cmich, we could really focus on certain sectors and have a pipeline of graduates to workforce students at home. This will also allow us to expand our revenue from the city to begin investing in other public services, such as a Public Transportation system. The goal is to build a resilient and sustainable economy that can withstand the economic shocks of inflation, recession, and poor decision-making from the federal and state governments.  

We live in a college town with no true public transportation system, and it’s quite sad. A public transportation system is essential for any developing city to keep a healthy working environment for its residents. Not everyone can afford a car, myself included, and so we have to walk to work. Well, without a bus, our choices for jobs are now limited by what’s within reasonable walking distance every single day. It’s time to change that. If we establish a green, modern bus system with well-thought-out bus routes, we could expand our citizens’ economic output as well as the economic capacity of our city as a whole. More businesses will want to come in as we give them more access to workers as well as consumers. On the other side of things, this expands access for consumers as well, allowing for more spending and generating more revenue for the city.

Our sidewalks need an overhaul. They need to be expanded, made more accessible for people with disabilities, and brightened in most areas to help reduce crime. What Mount Pleasant lacks, we must make up for in other ways. So, without a public transportation system, we should have the best sidewalks in the state so that everyone can enjoy them. We need to advance the Capital Improvement Plans timeline by a few years and make sure our sidewalks are getting the treatment they deserve. But they fall short constantly, and it’s time to change that. With smart targeted investments, we can overhaul our sidewalks to give people a little bit more pleasurable time commuting home.

The more space we have to build more housing, the more affordable homes will be. Mount Pleasant has unlimited potential, but we are being confined by the boundaries around us. I believe that if Mount Pleasant is truly to grow and become a self-sustainable city, we need to begin to expand our borders. Housing is unaffordable, renting is way too high, and we are trapped without much room to do anything about it. That’s why I promise that I will spend the next 4 years using every available measure to grow Mount Pleasant territory.  Whether we work out something under a 425 agreement or fight at the State Boundary Commission, I will work tirelessly to make sure homes are more affordable and jobs are more available.

As a renter, I know firsthand how difficult landlords make lease agreements. They set you down and throw a book of nearly 25-30 pages and expect you to be able to read and sign all of it within 15-30 minutes. That’s just ridiculous. We need somewhere to go for help. I have been fighting for a Tenants’ Rights Committee for months now. I’ve been in front of the commission begging for them to listen to the renters and provide us with a centralized resource to refer to in times of distress. While they currently have the idea in the works, the Commission still has a long way to go till we get this committee. When I’m elected, I will fight every day to establish this new committee once and for all.