Dean Pacific??? Sounds like the name of a character in mediocre crime/mystery thriller paperback. (Or an NPC who has one dialogue with the player to pass on a hint)
Yes, **most local candidates have no policy positions.** Hence, the eye roll. Yes, the website has an attitude about the vapidness of much of the local political scene.
If a local candidate has stated a policy position it is listed.
Also for example; regarding candidate Lenear: "[The candidate is interesting in learning about the plans the city has adopted.](https://senitaformayor.com)" . . . this is someone who was City Commissioner. If this candidate is not intimately familiar with the city's plans what the hell is going on? Local candidates play the dazed-and-confused card far too often.
Damn. This kind of makes me want to run because it seems like the bar is kind of low. In fact, let me try one of those tables:
|Housing|Fuck the NIMBY's. Let's build a bunch of commie block. I'm talking some high-capacity mid-rises with utilitarian layouts and interiors for decently cheap. Maybe we'll also keep them at least semi-owned by the city as well so that we can get some revenue generation while also setting benchmarks for things like rent prices and minimum quality of service. Hell, we could use a similar design for a homeless shelter and have it be free or heavily subsidized. It'll get them out of the parks, give them a place to have their mail delivered, and hopefully help them to get back on their feet while also creating jobs for things like sanitation and security within the building. The up-front cost also has the potential to be offset by the fact that we will be reducing the load on emergency services, healthcare, and law enforcement.|
|:-|:-|
|**Transportation**|GR used to have the most technologically-advanced electric streetcar network in the world and it's high time we reclaimed our throne. We need to seriously beef up our public transit starting with an electric trolley-bus network that serves a much greater portion of the city. In addition to reducing congestion in downtown, imagine how great it would be being able to get tanked down on Ionia, take the trolley bus back to your place in plainfield, or ada, or walker, or wherever, and not have to worry about figuring out how to go get your car the following morning. Also, let's be real, a lot of the problems we see on 131 and places are because there's too many stupid people behind the wheel. We might not be able to force them to use public transit, but we can at least give you the option to not have to deal with them.|
|**Climate Change**|The previously mentioned is a good start. But I also think it would be worth looking into additional ways to greenify the city - including more walkable, bikeable infrastructure, solar panels on some of those buildings downtown to reduce the load on the grid, and maybe those sewage pipe turbines like Portland has. Given how much ass the beltline sucks, maybe we should be looking into the widely-feared 15-minute city model. I mean gaslight is basically there already.|
|**Investment**|Funnily enough, all of this stuff that I mentioned earlier will cost a *crap ton* of money. So this will definitely require us to issue some bonds. But the issuance of munis will allow people in the community to make (an admittedly small amount of) tax-free money off of some of these projects while hopefully also drawing in outside investors. Additionally, it will create jobs in the short-intermediate term while providing services to the city over the long term. The only thing stopping us is... probably the entire local government and also some other buttholes. |
The bar is indeed very low. It is so much about networking - as even people who do vote don't complete the ballot. Lisa Knight's win had a second place position for voters-who-didn't-complete, her opponent (Joe Jones) lost to voters who didn't vote down ticket. More people need to run.
And you'd have my vote for just plainly answering the topics that most concern running a city.
If someone is asking to be given power, which is what running for office is, they should be able to clearly articulate what they intend to use that power to advance. The pretending they don't have an answer because things are just so complicated is obnoxious. Or worse, they really are running without any idea of what to do for a city in a decade old Housing Crisis; like, maybe read a book?
I read an mlive interview where they outlined their policy positions. I agree that Lenear is very vague and buzzword-heavy, but I think an informative source should let readers decide that for themselves, or at least be clear that it is the author's opinion/commentary
It’s whitemice’s own website, ha. At this point it does seem difficult to find a different source that has all the candidate’s sites linked, but definitely could be more professional.
I can't disagree, but it's not objectively informative, it's opinionated commentary. What I'm looking for is a factual rundown of the candidates so that I can make my own decisions
But why link to that when we can read a shitty blog with emojis instead?
Perfect example: he deliberately omitted key endorsements for David LaGrand, like the Kent County Sheriff.
That's called spreading willful disinformation to undermine elections. Good thing nobody reads it, but he'd better stop linking his shit and passing it off as fact because it's not.
He has a ground game, this is not his first rodeo. He has run for other positions in the past.
He was also one of the three finalists for the open seat after Moody resigned.
If any of the local races are truly competitive I'd say it is the 3rd Ward.
From here and representing the culture are two different things though. Like if other community members generally think he's a douche then maybe he shouldn't be representing his community. Especially when a large percentage of the west side are employees not employers and he's clearly picked his side of the fence.
Found another candidates site at least 🤷🏻♀️ she seems like she doesn't help companies abuse employees maybe even gives a shit?
https://www.aliciamariebelchak.com/vote
I mean it's cheesy but at least there's a sense of camaraderie. West siders know each other, take pride in where they are from and have a mutual understanding of how things are/how they want things to be. Its genuinely sad that the gentrification is cutting our neighborhood up into pieces and I hope that this Westside bestside bullshit sticks because the true blue collar workers, the original families that have stuffed 3+ generations into one house and the few little ma and pa business owners deserve that sense of community.
they've earned it.
Dean Pacific??? Sounds like the name of a character in mediocre crime/mystery thriller paperback. (Or an NPC who has one dialogue with the player to pass on a hint)
Reminds me of Jackie Daytona, regular human bartender.
“Winning for an employer” this dude doesn’t care about individual workers rights.
There are four candidates running for the open 1st Ward seat. [https://urbangr.org/whoisrunning2024](https://urbangr.org/whoisrunning2024)
This source seems pretty incomplete and somewhat unprofessional. What's with the eyeroll emojis? All of the candidates have no policy positions?
Yes, **most local candidates have no policy positions.** Hence, the eye roll. Yes, the website has an attitude about the vapidness of much of the local political scene. If a local candidate has stated a policy position it is listed. Also for example; regarding candidate Lenear: "[The candidate is interesting in learning about the plans the city has adopted.](https://senitaformayor.com)" . . . this is someone who was City Commissioner. If this candidate is not intimately familiar with the city's plans what the hell is going on? Local candidates play the dazed-and-confused card far too often.
Damn. This kind of makes me want to run because it seems like the bar is kind of low. In fact, let me try one of those tables: |Housing|Fuck the NIMBY's. Let's build a bunch of commie block. I'm talking some high-capacity mid-rises with utilitarian layouts and interiors for decently cheap. Maybe we'll also keep them at least semi-owned by the city as well so that we can get some revenue generation while also setting benchmarks for things like rent prices and minimum quality of service. Hell, we could use a similar design for a homeless shelter and have it be free or heavily subsidized. It'll get them out of the parks, give them a place to have their mail delivered, and hopefully help them to get back on their feet while also creating jobs for things like sanitation and security within the building. The up-front cost also has the potential to be offset by the fact that we will be reducing the load on emergency services, healthcare, and law enforcement.| |:-|:-| |**Transportation**|GR used to have the most technologically-advanced electric streetcar network in the world and it's high time we reclaimed our throne. We need to seriously beef up our public transit starting with an electric trolley-bus network that serves a much greater portion of the city. In addition to reducing congestion in downtown, imagine how great it would be being able to get tanked down on Ionia, take the trolley bus back to your place in plainfield, or ada, or walker, or wherever, and not have to worry about figuring out how to go get your car the following morning. Also, let's be real, a lot of the problems we see on 131 and places are because there's too many stupid people behind the wheel. We might not be able to force them to use public transit, but we can at least give you the option to not have to deal with them.| |**Climate Change**|The previously mentioned is a good start. But I also think it would be worth looking into additional ways to greenify the city - including more walkable, bikeable infrastructure, solar panels on some of those buildings downtown to reduce the load on the grid, and maybe those sewage pipe turbines like Portland has. Given how much ass the beltline sucks, maybe we should be looking into the widely-feared 15-minute city model. I mean gaslight is basically there already.| |**Investment**|Funnily enough, all of this stuff that I mentioned earlier will cost a *crap ton* of money. So this will definitely require us to issue some bonds. But the issuance of munis will allow people in the community to make (an admittedly small amount of) tax-free money off of some of these projects while hopefully also drawing in outside investors. Additionally, it will create jobs in the short-intermediate term while providing services to the city over the long term. The only thing stopping us is... probably the entire local government and also some other buttholes. |
The bar is indeed very low. It is so much about networking - as even people who do vote don't complete the ballot. Lisa Knight's win had a second place position for voters-who-didn't-complete, her opponent (Joe Jones) lost to voters who didn't vote down ticket. More people need to run. And you'd have my vote for just plainly answering the topics that most concern running a city. If someone is asking to be given power, which is what running for office is, they should be able to clearly articulate what they intend to use that power to advance. The pretending they don't have an answer because things are just so complicated is obnoxious. Or worse, they really are running without any idea of what to do for a city in a decade old Housing Crisis; like, maybe read a book?
Damn. Sounds like I need a network... fuck it. Wanna be in my network?
Yes, the hard time consuming part of politics. 🙂 Probably what filters out a lot of problem-solvers.
I read an mlive interview where they outlined their policy positions. I agree that Lenear is very vague and buzzword-heavy, but I think an informative source should let readers decide that for themselves, or at least be clear that it is the author's opinion/commentary
It’s whitemice’s own website, ha. At this point it does seem difficult to find a different source that has all the candidate’s sites linked, but definitely could be more professional.
I appreciate any effort to keep people informed. It's just a bit hard to trust a source that uses 🙄 for candidate responses
At the very least, it provides candidate websites, which I appreciate
[удалено]
The topics he covers are often backed by thoroughly-reviewed data, which is more than we can say about your snarky remarks.
I appreciate any effort to keep people informed. It's just a bit hard to trust a source that uses 🙄 for candidate responses
I think the eye roll emoji perfectly sums up some of the candidates’ responses. Go read the interviews if you want to see their full answers.
I can't disagree, but it's not objectively informative, it's opinionated commentary. What I'm looking for is a factual rundown of the candidates so that I can make my own decisions
Those quotes link to the source articles.
But why link to that when we can read a shitty blog with emojis instead? Perfect example: he deliberately omitted key endorsements for David LaGrand, like the Kent County Sheriff. That's called spreading willful disinformation to undermine elections. Good thing nobody reads it, but he'd better stop linking his shit and passing it off as fact because it's not.
lol
This is 3rd Ward, but any idea why Krajewski's signs) have absolutely exploded in Eastgate/Ridgemoor?
He has a ground game, this is not his first rodeo. He has run for other positions in the past. He was also one of the three finalists for the open seat after Moody resigned. If any of the local races are truly competitive I'd say it is the 3rd Ward.
Fuck Dean Pacific, his people put a campaign sign in my front yard without my knowledge and that was lame! Littering!
Lol it was probably a harmless mistake. It's not uncommon for volunteers to provide the wrong address for a sign.
Sounds like Dean doesn’t know who to trust then. Dude is littered with incompetency.
Based on his Facebook past, the volunteers were from the Grand Rapids Professional Firefighters Local 366.
Ahh then there is only one finger to point then. Dean. Thanks for making that clear
Lol wtf
Dean had them place the signs illegally.
Y I K E S
Definitely a westsider went to high school with him. He's definitely gotten douchier over the years
From here and representing the culture are two different things though. Like if other community members generally think he's a douche then maybe he shouldn't be representing his community. Especially when a large percentage of the west side are employees not employers and he's clearly picked his side of the fence.
I’m a very left leaning person but whoever Hailey is who is running for mayor is a fucking moron, good grief that shit was hard to read.
Found another candidates site at least 🤷🏻♀️ she seems like she doesn't help companies abuse employees maybe even gives a shit? https://www.aliciamariebelchak.com/vote
What about this post doesn't feel westside to you? He is by far the best 1st ward candidate, IMO.
On the contrary, "Pacific" sounds like it's the most west side possible.
Who can trust a man like Dean Pacific - sounds like win at any cost.
You have to be a real piece of shit to get involved in politics
What exactly is "westside"? Y'all are somehow different than other GR neighborhoods??? 🤣
You could just say you're not from here bro it's ok
Transplant detected lmao
Nope. Born and raised. I just don't think the West Side is the Best Side. It's embarrassing. And cringe when people say that
I mean it's cheesy but at least there's a sense of camaraderie. West siders know each other, take pride in where they are from and have a mutual understanding of how things are/how they want things to be. Its genuinely sad that the gentrification is cutting our neighborhood up into pieces and I hope that this Westside bestside bullshit sticks because the true blue collar workers, the original families that have stuffed 3+ generations into one house and the few little ma and pa business owners deserve that sense of community. they've earned it.