County Executive Candidate Forum 10/06/2024 recap

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.

Important Info 4 Activated 501c3-Nonprofits!

As the founder for Youth Voice Initiative, a 501c4 nonprofit a social organization to push the social changes necessary to better protect our abused children in this great society, there is a reason why I made it a 501c4, and not a 501c3, which is for charitable or faith based organizations (before anyone says they’re not the same thing, yes, duh, I know... the word “or” is an identifier for a choice, not to say that 2 things are the same). Some faith organizations are very charitable, yet many charitable organizations have little to nothing to do with faith organizations.

Faith based or not, there are a lot of things a 501c3 can do. Rescue abused animals; adopt homeless pets; raise awareness and collect money for homeless veterans; create a safe place for those who are abused; organize to ensure foster children have suitcases or backpacks instead of garbage bags to hold their personal items; start a community center; find a faith based organizations; and the options are almost limitless... One thing that does not cover, is how much lobbying, political activism, etc. involved... A 501c3 is also tax exempt, and also can apply for government grants to help fund charitable activities, such as food for the poor. These organizations can also do as much awareness campaigns as they see fit, also. But I think (don’t quote me) that the amount of government campaigning or lobbying efforts are limited to 10% of the money/efforts, and there are rules as to which areas of that are allowed or not.

See, YVI, as a 501c4, can dedicate as much time to political activities, such as changing laws, etc. as it sees fit. Awareness can be anywhere from 0-99%, but taking political stances on issues like child abuse can take anything from 1-100%. Here is the official website: https://sites.google.com/site/youth... 

So, just as an FYI, I want to be able to give you links, to understand what is or isn’t allowed as a 501c3, because without the awareness and charity organizations to put forth toward this topic of how childhood abuse and trauma lasts a lifetime, YVI’s job would be so much more difficult... Here are the links:

Limits on political campaigning - http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclope...

How much lobbying is allowed - http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclope...

Risks to Nonprofit status - https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/...

IRS Reporting issues - https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-p...

 

There are many more articles online, from reputable areas. So... Any 501c3 out there who deals in part or in full about childhood abuse & trauma, I, as the founder of YVI, am offering to partner up with you, to be able to expand your reach into being able to pursue these endeavors under the Youth Voice Initiative mission, to help make our corner of the planet a safer place for abused children. Carry on!

Who is this Terrance Guido Gerin?

Yes, this is a real person. Terrance Guido Gerin is a candidate for Dearborn, MI (it's in the Greater Detroit area) 15th district for state representative.  People may know him better as Rhyno, the professional wrestler who has wrestled in WWE, TNA, ECW, and now has his own Insane Wrestling company in Detroit, Michigan.  So, while yes, he has done some crazy stunts like climb 50' ladders, he is also passionate about serving his community in which he grew up in.

Here are some links to touch on his platform, which includes investing in education, infrastructure, and bringing public pools back to his beloved city.

http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2015/11/04/22569492.html 

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/03/wwe_man_beast_rhyno_to_run_for.html 

In his own words, he talks about his next phase in his road to getting elected to office.

Operation Elect Rhino is in its second stage.

I need to raise $4,000 for yard signs and $5,000 for mailing literature.

Help me by going to www.voteforrhino.com to donate.

By donating you become part of this campaign and part of something special.

Now let's win this thing!

#VoteforRhino

While Mr. Gerin is running as a republican, his stances are very centrist, which will be extremely helpful in uniting the political ends. I agree with him on most of his platform, and I sincerely hope he wins, just because I think he will be great.  Our country need more people like him, in every level of politics.  Local, County, State, and Federal.  If everyone who took office loved their district as much as #Rhyno does his, we would be the greatest country by far.

I know not everyone can donate, but, you can still help out by sharing this information everywhere.  Please?  You will make me, your favorite pain in the tuches a very happy person with your help.  Thank you in advance, people!

For more news, please like him on facebook:  

https://www.facebook.com/voteforrhino/?fref=ts

Accepting the Call: Your Civic Duty

Here in the United States, we are lucky in many ways, even if we are not in other ways. How often were we told as children that we could grow up to be anything we wanted? And often, when we are young, we pick silly things. But, I remember as an 8 and 9 year old that I wanted to become the president of the United States. As a tween and young teen, I wanted to be a baseball player. As a high school student, I was thinking about being an attorney. 

Though, during college, I wanted to be able to work with various legislators in hopes that eventually, I would have a name enough for myself to become an ambassador after reaching retirement age, just because I inherently understand people of other cultures. Because of that, I chose to major in International Relations with a minor in Political Science. Throughout my college years, I had been active in many different organizations such as the International Student Organization, Adult Student Alliance, Women’s Center, Gay-Lesbian Organization, and more. But, when I was asked to sit in for the Multi Cultural Committee for the Student Government Association asked me to stand in for me during the summer, I discovered advocacy. 

Eventually, I ended up on the Women’s Issues Committee, I helped get Act 177 passed for equal pay; the “Mini-Skirt” Bill, a state bill that would render the attire of the rape victim could not be used as evidence against the victim (only for biological evidence against the perpetrator), and purposefully gender neutral; and the Violence Against Women Act, to make various situations safer and to combat domestic violence. So, that is when the bug hit me, that advocacy is what I wanted to do. My first official job after graduating was with the Women’s Resource Center as a crisis counselor, where I started off as a volunteer counselor. Currently, I serve as an advocate with the Sexual Abuse Services along with the fact that I am the founder of Youth Voice Initiative to combat child abuse by speaking to area legislators to stiffen up on those who abuse our children. Of course, I do not get paid for these activities, but, it is my calling, and I am quite good at it.

So, speaking of being called to step up into a civic position, I want to point out Mr. Terry Gerin, who is better known for being a professional wrestler named Rhyno - The Man Beast. He is quite an accomplished wrestler, being that he has wrestled under WCW, TNA, ECW, and WWE, and has had several championships won during his over 2 decade run as a wrestler. Terry is lucky to have been able to live his dream out so far, and is still in good health enough to keep wrestling, but, another calling has been whispering in his ear, and is running for State Representative in Dearborn, Michigan, which is in the greater Detroit area. He is centrist, with a good work ethic, and to support him on facebook, please come to this page to like his page, and encourage your friends who vote in the Dearborn area to also like the page, make posts, and pass around his page to get his name out into the votersphere.

https://www.facebook.com/voteforrhi...

Rhyno's full name: Terrance (Terry) Guido Gerin

For those of you who are not on facebook, please support Terry’s efforts to win the office on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vote_for_rhino

If you prefer Instagram, please go here: https://www.instagram.com/voteforrh...

Like with any campaign, a successful run for office depends on people like you and I to promote the candidate for the office they are running for. So, please, check him out, share his page, get more people to come in, like and share posts, give encouragement for his run, and most of all, please target people you know in the Detroit area to support Mr. Terrance Guido Gerin for 15th District State Representative. The more we share the posts, the better he will fare in the upcoming elections. The slogan is, “Vote for Rhino, he will fight for you”.

Of course, before we go endorsing and voting for someone, we want even MORE information, and here is an interview to listen to, so you can get a feel for who he is as a person and candidate, as opposed to a professional wrestler. I haven’t had time to listen, because it is 1+3/4 hours long. But, figured it is worth putting it out there for the fans to listen to. I am sure he will appreciate your support.

http://www.itinthed.com/18549/ep138...

Campaigning: Terrance Guido Gerin, for Michigan State Rep

To find out more information about Mr. Terry Gerin’s run for office, please visit his website, and please consider making a donation at - http://www.terranceguidogerin.com/

You can get more information on Terry Gerin and Rhyno’s run for office at these other links... He is running as a Republican, though his stances are very centrist and reasonable, like most of us in the regular population.

http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2016/0304/608276/rhyno-on-getting-into-politics/

 

http://www.chinlock.com/2015/11/reflective-rhino-talks-career-politics-near-death-experience/

I personally think that for a professional athlete, he is a lot more knowledgeable, smart, and in tune with the political arena than the average guy. As a people pleaser, I also relate with him wanting the good people of his home town to be proud. So, we need YOU - to help by growing his likes, sharing his posts, and getting his name out there in the Detroit area.

Thank you in advance, your loyal advocate for the betterment for our children, the future leaders of our country.

Your Patron Saint of Miss Demeanor,

Lika!