I was able to attend one of the candidate forums, this one was sponsored by the NAACP and the Racine Interfaith Coalition hosted registration and refreshments. This is MY recap, any clarification will have to come from the candidates. We have 6 candidates running for this position:
- Cory Sebastian – she wants to hear all sides, and consider our socio-economic as well as cultural diversity of all ages before making a decision. Please click her name for more details, and “she” to get to know her as a person. As a small business owner and serving on various nonprofits boards and as a volunteer, and is eager to help Racine county as a whole, flourish. She is also currently serving as an alderperson on Racine City Council.
- Adam Jaskie is a newcomer to the public eye. As a family man from Waterford, he could use some extra help filling up nomination papers. He has a “loud voice” for the people, and is willing to go up the chain to get more to help Racine county. He offers a fresh voice.
- Lorenzo Santos has been involved with government offices such as Emergency Management for Ready Racine County, and a former Navy Reserves officer. He believes in grassroots organizing and believes that we empower everyone by getting people involved from the bottom up. He understands the inner workings of government.
- Wendy Christensen is the current Clerk of Courts and believes in the community. As a proud Racinian, she wants to run. She wasn’t present at this forum, so I don’t have her answers.
- Melvin Hargrove is a strong community leader and an ordained minister and founded Zoe Ministries. He has served in the Army, Racine police and fire, school board and more. He is for the development of our young people.
- Ralph Malicki has rooted in Racine, and has been a successful business owner in Racine, and has helped many people, groups, local/regional small businesses and produce farms/orchards, and so many more. He has also served on many nonprofits of all types and brings knowledge of where the gaps could be closed between government services and nonprofits.
Moderator Question 1: Out of all of the items that the late County Executive Jonathan Delagrave was working on, what do you agree with most and what would you cancel?
- Jaskie supports the 0.5% sales tax – not to disregard anyone, but would be a small solution to fund necessities like 911 services and infrastructure
- Hargrove supports the sales tax to keep city and county jobs going as well as health services across the board
- Malicki supports the sales tax and would prioritize where it would go
- Santos agrees with the sales tax to continue the many vital programs that Racine County residents have come to rely on.
- Sebastian supports for mental health, youth programs, and to share services to benefit the city and county
Moderator question 2: What are the thoughts about public safety
- Jaskie mentioned state tax surplus in Madison and would be a loud voice to bring some of those funds here, to help fund school safety, include greater scope to speak loud for us on a larger level
- Hargrove would steer conversation toward work, environment, partnerships, and make Racine a place to go, to live, and to work
- Malicki has proven himself in bringing together people and connecting people with churches and community groups to bridge the gaps in services
- Santos wants to equip the people responsible for safety and bridging the gaps in staffing underserved areas
- Sebastian believes we all deserve to be safe, adapt to the budget and continue serving in the best way possible
Moderator question 3: How would you approach the fentanyl and drug issues?
- Malicki would be proactive about getting addiction support by supporting programs like AA/NA, public health services, and reach out to places that can add to the services such as the nonprofit sector, to help save public funds
- Santos would work on prevention through education, utilize law enforcement and treatment programs including social programs to help teach the public to say no
- Sebastian loves nonprofits which often bridge the gaps that the public sector can’t do, and to look at duplicate services to see if some could redirect to areas not covered
- Jaskie wants to step up services to also look at trauma therapy as many who face addiction issues have underlying trauma that led to that in the 1st place. (as an advocate, I appreciate this)
- Hargrove would bring together the family, community, and maybe form a cabinet of teamwork to tackle this issue
Moderator question 4: how to balance the budget if the budget passes or fails:
- Santos wants to support public safety, economic support, health services lik LS, HHS, and prioritize on what should be on the budget
- Sebastian would work on the best way with what we have and together, work through things by not overlapping services. nonprofits can help bridge gaps
- Jaskie would cover he holes and would like to legalize medical cannabis, prioritize education and student safety
- Hargrove would cover mandates first, youth jobs and trade programs, education, and housing
- Malicki is willing to make the tough decisions and support partnerships with businesses, nonprofits and more, and would set priorities by talking to people
Public question 1: Homelessness is an issue, HALO is underutilized. What can you do to help people?
- Sebastian believes all deserve a roof over their heads and to be safe. Nonprofits can totally help fill this gap with other resources as well
- Jaskie would attract developers, get granting to our area and collaborate with other leadership to make things happen, reiterates being a big voice for Racine
- Hargrove would push for leadership from the entire county to collaborate to attract people to come to visit, spend money here, and make it attractive for businesses to come here
- Malicki would focus on HALO and collaborate and build bridges between various agencies to support jobs, transportation, rehab and education beyond high school
- Santos supports nonprofits to help as inflation is up, and there are gaps where people need help, and would reach out to state and federal legislators to press them to act as well
Public question 2: The economy is down, and has been for decades. What kind of permanent economic development to make the heart of the city and the county flourish again?
- Hargrove would work with agencies like RDCD, RAMAC, etc to ensure Microsoft is stable here, and that would attract more businesses here, help farms reach out to get more help, and reach out to new partnerships
- Malicki believes Microsoft is the biggest thing going on, and pushing the trades to foster long-term/futuristic skills as well as to attract more jobs to the city and reinvigorate the economy
- Santos would prioritize making US attractive to net new builders that will follow Microsoft. average age of Racine is 40, so for the long-term, would like to attract younger people to the area, and supports a commuter rail to bring people to the area.
- Sebastian is excited to build a balance of who works, lives and plays here as well as push trades for young people, and looks forward to what Microsoft can bring
- Jankie admits that Microsoft isn’t the end-all, but it’s a great start, and how this can lead to revitalization because more business would follow. He also supports light rail.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness had a candidate forum earlier in the month, which I could not attend, so I will not answer anything from that one, as I was not there.
here is the video, 1 hour, 42 minutes and 45 seconds, to get your own interpretation: https://www.facebook.com/BigHomieRay/videos/580246304575822
I’d like to ask my own question: Many 50+ people are struggling financially. Nonprofits aren’t the end-all. Those who are underemployed because they can’t work in factory, warehouse, or fast food due to health issues. How do you intend to bridge the gaps for this group, especially into retirement, because some of us can’t wait 20 years for economic programs? This is a serious concern for me and several people I know.
