Summer in the Dotte
New website! Upcoming Elections! Very exciting!
Hey Neighbor,
I just love June and July in Wyandotte. Summer Reading at the Library, Downriver Pride, the Fourth of July Parade, Street Fair, Night Markets, Downtown Movies, Sunday Socials…whatever you love, there’s plenty of it in Wyandotte these next few months! During my first term, I often heard a desire for increased family-friendly programming from residents, so I’m excited to hear your thoughts on these new (or renewed) events.
This summer, I’ll be hosting two special coffee hours geared towards kids and families. On June 30th and July 14th, we will meet at the Copeland Center from 10:30am-12pm. From 10:30-11 we will read a story, then 11-12 will be crafts and conversation. Drinks and a small snack will be provided. Right below this section of the e-news, you’ll see a flyer for these events. Feel free to share it with your friends! The events are free to attend, but to help me get a head count on food and art supplies, please register here. I know schedules change frequently in the summer, so it is totally okay to register as a “maybe”–in true Polish fashion, I would rather have too much food than not enough 😉
In the rest of this e-news, you will learn a bit about our new city website and my thoughts on the upcoming primary election. If you have something you’d like for me to write about in the future, please don’t hesitate to visit a coffee hour or reach out at kstec@wyandottemi.gov. I’m always happy to get coffee or take a walk together!
All the Best,
Kelly
A New Website
When I was first running for council, something that often frustrated me was the city’s website. What the heck was “front desk,” and how was it different from “contact”? Why was the search function telling me the clerk’s office didn’t exist??
Whatever frustration I was feeling as someone who navigated horrible government websites for a living, I knew residents must have been feeling tenfold. That’s why I have been a strong supporter of updating the city site and am so excited to say it is live and kickin’. We are finally a .gov site!
When you visit wyandottemi.gov, you are given the option to log in on the top right corner of the screen. Once you make an account through CivicPlus, you can sign up for text and email alerts on all number of things. I would highly recommend signing up for council meeting notifications. That will let you see what’s on the agenda and come make your voice heard on issues that matter to you! I also love getting the Mayor’s Message, a weekly note highlighting the major themes of what’s currently happening in the city, to my inbox. You can also track the status of any inquiry you submit through the website. Very cool stuff; click here to sign up!
Some other things I have really liked about the new website are a revitalized city calendar, online registration for most recreational programming, and integration of City and Municipal Services items. Best of all, the search function works infinitely better than it used to. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Julie Sadlowski, David Fuller, Amber Haggerty, and all the other city staff who made this happen. It is a monumental step in improving communication with residents and allowing all of us easier paths to know what’s up in Wyandotte!
Because of the improved calendar on the city website, my e-news will likely only mention nonprofit events and other things not found on the city site in the future. If you have anything you’d like me to share, don’t hesitate to give me a shout!
Election Time, Again
We have a primary election coming up this August for governor, U.S. Senator, U.S. Congressman, our state legislative delegation, and county officials. These elections are vital to our democracy not only because they give us a chance to exercise our right to vote, but to show the powers that be in our state’s political parties what direction we, the voters, want to head.
Michigan has what is known as an open primary–in other words, you do not have to register party affiliation with the state in order to vote. However, once you select a party, you must only vote for that party in the partisan section of the ballot. If you are a moderate or swing voter, don’t worry! You can freely cross party lines in the November general. Hopefully learning about which races are truly contested below will help you decide which side to vote on for this upcoming race.
For the purposes of length of this newsletter, I am only going to talk about seriously contested races: in other words, I am only going to talk about the governor’s race on the Republican side and will not be covering the Dems on governor, state representative, or county exec. If you have any questions about these races, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Let’s start with the right side of the aisle. To be a good governor, I believe you have to not only have a full and serious understanding of the state’s budget, departments, legislative process, and significant regional differences, you also have to be a good manager. Outside of being the “face” of the state to the national media and federal government, the most important thing a governor does is to appoint good, smart people to surround them and do the everyday work on behalf of the people of Michigan. The absolute worst thing a governor can be is a partisan hack.
Because of this, Aric Nesbitt has my support for Republican nominee. Senator Nesbitt currently serves as the Senate Minority Leader. While we have a number of disagreements, I know him to be a leader who is capable of having hard conversations and working to pass reasonable budgets in a timely manner. If you want to know more about the other candidates in this race, please visit the Michigan Republican Primary website.
Over on the left, while there is a nominal gubernatorial challenger to current Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, the down ballot races are a much more interesting story.
Let’s start at the top with our U.S. Senate race, where there are three serious competitors offering very different visions of a future for Michigan on the national stage. One is a current member of the U.S. House, one is a state senator, and one a doctor and former public health official for the city of Detroit.
I put a lot of stock in previous experience for roles like these: I think it’s important to have a good understanding of how the system works so you’re not trying to play baseball when everyone around you is playing chess. However, past legislative choices also give us a pretty good indication of how a person will continue to act in their next role. It is not a secret that I oppose genocide and any role the United States has in perpetuating one. And while I don’t really buy the idea that campaign donations overtly influence legislative voting patterns, I do believe that who you are willing to accept money from gives us some clues to your character and underlying morals.
Ultimately, I will be voting for Abdul El-Sayed. I believe that having someone who cares a lot about public health fighting for our state at the federal level will lead to support for an influx of federal money where it matters–including and especially clean water infrastructure. As vaccination rates in our nation continue to decline, having a trusted voice who can walk parents and families through their choices and the real science behind them feels especially vital. However, if having someone with existing legislative experience feels more critical to you, Mallory McMorrow is also a great choice. To learn more about each of the U.S. Senate candidates in this race, click here.
For the U.S. House, incumbent Shri Thanedar is up against current State Representative Donavan McKinney. There have been a number of concerning reports about how Congressman Thanedar spends his office allotments. On the other hand, Representative McKinney has a background organizing for healthcare at SEIU and has done significant work combatting the downstream impacts of climate change on residents like us. For me, the choice here is clear: I will be voting for Donavan McKinney. For more information on the candidates in this race, click here and scroll to District 13.
Now we’re on to the state legislature. As mentioned above, there is no primary in the 27th House District, with the race in November set to be a rematch between Rep. Rylee Linting and former Rep. Jaime Churches. You can read about them both at the above link (scroll to District 27).
Unfortunately, we have been redistricted out of our fellow Downriver communities and our current State Senator Darrin Camilleri’s district. Happily, our State Senate race is set up to be a no-lose situation. We have former State Rep. Abraham Aiyash up against the City of Detroit’s first Director of Entrepreneurship Justin Onwenu. Their platforms are substantively similar, especially around key issues for our community like environmental justice and economic growth. I also happen to like them both as people! In the primary, I am giving a slight edge to Abraham Aiyash because of his existing experience in the legislature, but I will be proud to cast a ballot for whoever pulls this one out come November. To learn more about this race, click here. We are District 1. On a personal note: if you have a chance, get to know both of these men. It is vanishingly rare in this era of politics to have candidates who genuinely care about the people they serve and the work they’re doing, and we somehow managed to get two of them vying for the same seat.
Whoever you plan to vote for this August, make sure you have a plan to vote on or before August 4! If you are voting absentee, I highly recommend using the dropbox at city hall so you are not fighting postal timelines and have a guarantee it’s in the right place. To see a full sample ballot, find your polling location, or track the location/acceptance of your absentee ballot, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center.
That’s all for this time, folks. I’m sure I’ll see you Downtown sometime soon!