The two candidates for Grand Rapids’ 2nd Ward City Commission seat–Ruth Kelly and David LaGrand–recently responded to a questionnnaire from the Green party of Kent County. One candidate will be elected next Tuesday. The responses to the questionnaire and the rationale for the questions are printed below:
“Information on their respective campaigns may be found at www.davidlagrand.com and www.kellyforgr.com. We asked them to focus on issues of particular concern to the Green Party, namely our “four pillars” of: Grassroots Democracy, Social and Economic Justice, Ecological Wisdom, and Nonviolence. We have also included a question on education. Here are the questions and their responses:
1) Grand Rapids has at times supported movements for democracy in other countries, opposed war, called for reductions in military spending, and more. Though its record is mixed, it has also taken some tepid steps to promote energy reduction. Other cities have done much more, asserting control over corporate activity within their borders, for instance. And some cities have allowed neighborhoods to determine their own budget priorities where practicable. What role do you believe grassroots democracy should have in Grand Rapids? How will you work with the existing neighborhood organizations?
2) Disempowered groups tend to get support in Grand Rapids to the extent they adopt ‘safe’/upper middle class, competitive values; otherwise they get very little. Corporations and the well-off get practically all the City tax breaks and other “economic incentives”. Issues of class are not even discussed. What will you do, if elected, to promote social and economic justice in Grand Rapids?
3) Our City leaders continue to promote indiscriminate “economic growth” even as our planetary Titanic is sinking. Do you believe we face an ecological crisis? If not, please explain. If so, what would you do about it as a Commissioner?
4) The present Commission is having trouble working together to pass a mild resolution against a war of greed and aggression that has devastated millions of human beings in Iraq and has had numerous negative repercussions on our community. Could you support a resolution against the ‘war’ in Iraq? Do you support town meetings on the topic? These aspects of our culture of violence, along with other long-standing structural inequities, teach our youth that violence in the service of selfish aims is a legitimate solution. What will you do about all levels of violence in our City? For instance, what would you look for in a new police chief?
5) What is your opinion about GR Schools and the quality of education across the District? Should we be spending more money on studies and/or PR campaigns? Why? Have you met w/ Grand Rapids Public Schools Superintendent Bernard Taylor? How do you plan to work w/ the Board of Education? To what extent should education occur within schools as opposed to within the entire community? To what extent do you believe parents should have the right to choose which, if any, schools for their children? 6) Do you have any other thoughts you would like to share here?
Ruth Kelly
I am eager to work with our neighborhood associations and neighborhood businesses to promote local interdependence. It has become increasingly apparent that we need to promote local purchasing and decision making. When businesses are locally owned the likelihood of their being financially generous and responsible to their community grows. As a former community organizer I remember we often invoked the old saying, “Knowledge is Power”.
Only when issues are researched and the knowledge is shared will we truly empower our communities.
I believe the city should not only encourage our grassroots organizations to assist in research and citizen participation, it also must honestly provide the tools needed to implement initiatives. We need to provide the neighborhoods with the same types of tools we provide our downtown. We must involve those who live in these neighborhoods in the planning and implementation of changes where the city can assist. Those involved must represent the many diverse groups in the city. I will actively work to bring people together of all backgrounds.
In our downtown we need to provide opportunities for families and individuals to enjoy public space and be sure that those who cannot afford entertainment costs have public spaces to enjoy. Our public library is a great example of space that is affordable and open to all. We need to insure that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the arts, parks and public museums.
I would be an advocate for citizen participation in the budget process and work to bring groups together to share expertise and plan. As an educator and mother I have learned that in order to promote social justice people must be brought out of their comfort zone in a non threatening way. People don’t learn when threatened. We learn when we are awakened emotionally, given good information, and find connections with our values. I will work to promote understanding between various groups. I’ve had training and experience in building relationships between those who might otherwise avoid each other. I will intentionally create opportunities for disparate groups to meet to address common concerns. It is in that dynamic that we can begin to experience change. I think we need to have dialogue about class difference and economic justice.
I do believe that we face a serious environmental crisis. It is imperative that we begin to address this. This will take a grassroots educational and organizing initiative unlike anything we’ve seen in Grand Rapids. I want to be a part of this, but this must be a collective effort. We need to “sell” this idea and prove that it is in the long term the best plan for economic growth. I have children and grandchildren to be concerned about. As a commissioner I would look to other progressive communities for ways to champion ecological responsibility. I think we need to market bus ridership and bicycling in the city and make these options convenient.
I would work with groups like Clean Water Action and WMEAC to protect our natural resources and educate. I believe that we need to have faith that when we turn on the tap and get city water it is safe to drink. We are polluting with all of the plastic water bottles we use.
Violence: I believe that we must begin with our youngest citizens to prevent violence. Prevention of violence begins in the treatment of each other and the habits we develop. I would work with our public schools and police department to encourage non violent crisis intervention training. In cities where the police department is seen as legitimate and fair there is more cooperation in the community. A new chief needs to be an innovator who is committed to professional development that includes relationship building and non violent interventions. We need a chief committed to community policing and prevention.
I support town meetings on the war in Iraq. I am an ardent believer in civic engagement. I prefer a grassroots approach that addresses the causes of war and educates us as to the impact on our community, not a top down resolution.
It is so crucial that this community works toward intergovernmental cooperation to address serious environmental concerns that I don’t want to alienate people, I want to build bridges. In order to make this a priority, my sense is that the commission must focus locally. The civic discussion on the war must come from the community. It is all too easy to focus on the commission instead of actively engaging the entire community in this discussion. I support our troops and want them home. I was and am personally opposed to this war and am convinced that we must heal our own community here at home. This should be our focus. We need to promote participatory democracy here in our own backyard. Peace begins at home and of us must be encouraged to examine our intent in all we do.
GR Schools: I believe that strong public schools are necessary for a strong democracy. I would call on the residents of Grand Rapids to support our schools and our young families to join together to return to them. As a teacher I know how important it is to have school families who help pay for a field trip, clothing or supplies for children who can’t afford these things. We’ve lost many of those families in the past 10 years.
We have wonderful diversity in our schools. Students who experience working with people with different backgrounds are well prepared for the working world. Diverse perspectives enrich the educational experience. We need people with the social and economic advantage to join our schools. We also need to insist that the news media publicize the great things that are happening in our schools. I intend to be a member of the liaison committee between the schools and the commission. Choice has been a double edged sword. The downside is that people have left problems rather than fix them.We reached a tipping point that left behind the most poor in our community. We must work to reverse that trend.
In conclusion, I will work hard to serve this city through consensus building and networking people of diverse interests together. We all breath the same air, drink the same water and traverse the same streets. That needs to be our common connection as we work for the common good. Together we can rethink our priorities, set new ones and celebrate as we make progress.
David LaGrand
1) Grand Rapids has at times supported movements for democracy in other countries, opposed war, called for reductions in military spending, and more. Though its record is mixed, it has also taken some tepid steps to promote energy reduction. Other cities have done much more, asserting control over corporate activity within their borders, for instance. And some cities have allowed neighborhoods to determine their own budget priorities where practicable. What role do you believe grassroots democracy should have in Grand Rapids? How will you work with the existing neighborhood organizations?
I think that grassroots democracy is incredibly important to put into practice. One of the things that I have noticed while being involved in politics is that it is all too easy to assume that concerned people will come to events, or even worse that the only people who need to be consulted are those who go to web sites, write emails, or button hole candidates. In fact, all too often I see the same people again and again at events, rallies, and meetings. I applaud those citizens, and I value their imput, and they are people with real ideas, energy and conviction who have taught me a great deal, and continute to teach me. However, I don’t’ think that is enough. A lot of our community is disenfranchised either in practice or even worse by choice. A lot of people are simply disillusioned with politics, and don’t think that representative democracy works in any meaningful fashion. The best response I have to that problem is simply taking it to the streets. I have been knocking on doors block by block, precinct by precinct in the second ward to make sure that all the people in ward have the chance to tell me what issues concern them. Of course I value neighborhood organizations, and those organizations can play a critical role in facilitating good local representation, but most of all I think that my job in this race is to talk to individual citizens, one at a time, and not to assume that people have opinions or concerns because of someone else’s or even my own agenda.
2) Disempowered groups tend to get support in Grand Rapids to the extent they adopt ‘safe’/upper middle class, competitive values; otherwise they get very little. Corporations and the well-off get practically all the City tax breaks and other “economic incentives”. Issues of class are not even discussed. What will you do, if elected, to promote social and economic justice in Grand Rapids?
I spent a significant amount of time recently campaigning to raise the minimum wage in Michigan, and in defense of affirmative action. I think that the issue of class is one of the biggest problems our society faces. From the Reagan years on, we have steadily become a country divided between the rich and the poor. I will continue to raise this issue, face it squarely, and champion the cause of the dispossessed as best I can. Of particular concern for me is the interplay between race, class and our prison-industrial complex. We have to work constantly to bring people in,, not shut them out, and I see every day evidences of ostracism and inappropriate segregation at work. For example, a GRPS school teacher just brought to my attention a new public school policy which prevents parents with any criminal record, even a misdemeanor, from going on class field trips. Aside from the obvious constitutional problems with the policy, it also flies in the face of the goal of encouraging parental involvement. Keeping the world safe from “criminals” always plays well politically, but is very easy to apply irrationally.
3) Our City leaders continue to promote indiscriminate “economic growth” even as our planetary Titanic is sinking. Do you believe we face an ecological crisis? If not, please explain. If so, what would you do about it as a Commissioner?
Yes we face an ecological crisis. We have to think globally and act locally to use the now-cliche. For me that means walking to work, walking to my businesses, the library, stores, and church. It means recycling, but only as a last effort- first we must conserve and reduce consumption. All growth is not good, and our basic measure of economic activity is arguably in large part a measure of waste. We have to push for alternative energy issues, but only ones that are really good for the environment, not the tokenism that so often passes for real environmentalism. I believe that good environmentalism is always good economics, in the true measure of that term. I have too many ideas on the subject to go into here, but one thing I would like to work for as commissioner is a City tax credit for geothermal heating systems for homes.
4) The present Commission is having trouble working together to pass a mild resolution against a war of greed and aggression that has devastated millions of human beings in Iraq and has had numerous negative repercussions on our community. Could you support a resolution against the ‘war’ in Iraq? Do you support town meetings on the topic? These aspects of our culture of violence, along with other long-standing structural inequities, teach our youth that violence in the service of selfish aims is a legitimate solution. What will you do about all levels of violence in our City? For instance, what would you look for in a new police chief?
I have long opposed the war in Iraq, publicly and vocally. I do support holding town meetings on the subject, but I have decided that I do not support a city resolution on the issue. The reason is simply that I believe that representative democracy is a sharply limited tool, and that direct action is always preferable. Simply put, if I win this race I do not think that I will have been elected to set Federal policy, or speak for those who elected me on that issue. Not everyone in Grand Rapids opposes the war. While I do, and am acting on that conviction, I do not believe that I have the right to deny others their voice, by appearance or otherwise.As for levels of violence in our community, this is another issue I have thought about and think about constantly, and can only start to respond to here. I think that a lot of the violence we see is the byproduct of a culture that glorifies violence, but I also see young men with no role models on our streets. Young men need mentors, particularly men, who understand their potential for violence, but can model peace. I have mentored young men who have come into my life with exactly these concerns in mind. I think that often violence comes from people who do not feel heard or understood, and again I think that direct contact with alienated people in our city, and active inclusion is critical. The abliltiy to really connect with citizens is the formost quality I want in a new chief.
5) What is your opinion about GR Schools and the quality of education across the District? Should we be spending more money on studies and/or PR campaigns? Why? Have you met w/ Grand Rapids Public Schools Superintendent Bernard Taylor? How do you plan to work w/ the Board of Education? To what extent should education occur within schools as opposed to within the entire community? To what extent do you believe parents should have the right to choose which, if any, schools for their children?
I think that the best thing we can do right now for the public schools is publicize and talk about the good programs that are available. I think that the City Commission needs to constantly be talking with the school board and administration about issues of common concern. One issue that has become obvious and urgent of late is that of public and school safely. I think it is imperative that we take steps to ensure that our children have safe, and non-chaotic environments to study and learn in , and also safe routes to and from school.
6) Do you have any other thoughts you would like to share here?
In the coming years it is imperative that those who represent us not just have the right ideals, but have actual plans of action. It is easy to talk the language of whatever ideas are in vogue at the present, and to stake out safe rhetorical positions. All politicians will say that they are against crime, for neighborhood delevopment, committed to listening, and will try to bring people together. What we need are leaders who don’t just lead a parade, but who have ideas, and can implement them.”
