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rgillmi
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| I was driving down Court Street today in the Cultural area and noticed that just about every yard has a sign for the school board election and some even had five. I then turned and drove back to my neighborhood, on the Eastside, but the nicer part near Averil and Potter School. In the ten blocks between Davison Road and Richfield, you can count the number of yard signs on one hand. What I want to know is why? I know people in the Court Street area are more involved, but why aren't candidates taking the time or effort to reach out to people in the other neighborhoods? I know we do not have as much money as the folks across town, but we do still have the right to vote, and many of us do care about what happens with our children's education. I am just wondering if anyone has any answers... |
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Sat May 05, 2007 2:48 pm |
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Biggie9
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I doubt your W-2 vice another's has anything to do with it.
But you probably answered it yourself. Perhaps THOSE people were proactive and sought out candidates, are actively supporting, thus want signs.
DO you actively support a candidate[s]? If so, contact them and ask for signs. I doubt you'd be turned down unless they are out of signs.
Let us know if they respond your Dunn & Bradstreet rating isn't high enough. THAT would be worth reporting on versus wallowing in low geopgraphical self-esteem.
and yes, just to affirm, you DO have the right the vote. It is not limited to those with signs in their yard, and thats the most important thing, not feeling your being ignored because you have fewer yard signs than your neighbor.
YAHTZEE!! |
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Biggie |
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Sat May 05, 2007 3:31 pm |
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CrossSchoolBoard
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I will gladly respond to your inquiry.
Anybody who has requested a yard sign from my committee has received one. I would LOVE to have signs in every yard in the city.....but my committe only places them after somebody requests them. If somebody requested one and didn't get it - contact me personally 810 577 6652 so I can find out where we went wrong and bust one of my committe member's chops (figurativly of course) 
PLEASE by all means, request one and you'll get one (crossschoolboard@aol.com)
Thanks,
Mike |
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Sat May 05, 2007 5:14 pm |
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Adam
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I think rgillmi has a point. Hopefuly some progress can be made with the East side. I've personally run into problems with Eastside groups that don't want to be political. This is all fine and dandy except when you want to get things done. It's easier to shun areas that are less apt to complain about things such as their parks, roads, or siding getting stripped.
I have a feeling that a lot of the non Great Schools candidates may not even have the money for signs. I was listening to Alex Harris and it seemed like he wasn't going to spend his own money on signs.
Since the East side is poor the turnout should be lower though so it does make sense to target the areas that vote more and also areas with high traffic. In addition I doubt the superb mobilization in certain areas may have happened over time.
When I was at the Acorn meeting Cleaves and Dillard seemed to be the only candidates passing out their fliers and with Flint being so large its probably extremely difficult running a full scale campaign. |
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Adam
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Sat May 05, 2007 5:49 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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| To rgillmi: Running a campaign costs money. Not all candidates will have the funds to print yard signs, mail flyers or letters, etc. For those who do have the funds, perhaps limited, it makes sense to place yard signs as Adam says in areas with high traffic, on major arteries like Court Street and Miller Road where they will be seen by more people. We have the advantage of networking here online, but neither have all the candidates participated here. Terry's done a great service for us by posting about meetings and candidates in an effort to keep us informed. |
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Sat May 05, 2007 10:59 pm |
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rgillmi
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I think this may go beyond yard signs. I know that none of you will agree with me, but I just think it is strange that some neighborhoods get more attention than others. There were no candidates that came out into the neighborhoods over here, except for at the Eastside Business Association meetings, no phone calls, no letters or any propaganda whatsoever. Did they do this in any of the other neighborhoods? There are many of us that do not get to make it out to the forums and meetings, due to the fact that we have to work nights, I just do not understand why candidates would not reach out to us to grab votes. I am not crying racism, like many would, or am I "wallowing in low geopgraphical self-esteem".
People here are not as active politically, but they should be and they probably would be if people let them know that there vote does count. It is not because they are poor, but perhaps because they are uninformed, and that is not necessarily there fault either. Not many of these events or forums were publicly announced, and if they were they were either done the day before or buried in a back section of the Flint Journal in a half paragraph blurb. It is the folks in my neighborhood that have the most to lose in these elections. It is my child and the children in this neighborhood that have to attend the schools that are falling apart. We cannot afford to send our kids to private schools like many of the people in Flint of higher income brackets.
I am sure that you will disagree and say if we weren't lazy or stupid we wouldn't be poor. You have your own opinions as do I. You have tore apart every post I have put on this website, but that is fine. I am not on here to debate or to tell people they are wrong, I am here to learn about my city and try to take part in a discussion to improve things or get involved. If you spent less time picking apart other people's posts and took a little time to look past the stone gates in your neighborhood, perhaps you would see the need to reach out to the "grunts" of society, the majority of us that are here and want to vote and be involved in the process but cannot afford to take a night off to get to a council meeting or a public forum.
It is not a matter of the grass being greener on the other side, but of the grass being brown and dead in three-quarters of the city and the folks from the other quarter telling us that we are wrong or candidates pretending like we are not here. |
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Sun May 06, 2007 9:29 pm |
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terrybankert
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GOOD MORNING FLINT
5/7/07
By
Terry Bankert
REMEMBER TO VOTE MAY 8TH
Election returns are in first on the site of Genesee County Clerk Mike Carr. On election night I will be at the White Horse with my lap top, lan card watching the returns.
The returns for the candidates and proposals will be updated every 10 minuets. Remember to hit your refresh button.
See: http://co.genesee.mi.us/clerk/election.htm
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A conversation with regillmi ON FLINT TALK http://www.flinttalk.com/post-11918.html#11918
regillmi said: I think this may go beyond yard signs.
bankert said: It does. The school board election generates grass roots campaigning as opposed to big money campaigns. Most of the people running including 3 of the incumbents have never run for public office before. They are using their family members five friends and a couple thousand dollars of their own money. This is the first time in their life they have ordered campaign material from a printer, spoke to a candidate forum, or gone through the interview process of the Flint Journal, a Union or a community group. They feel isolated, uncomfortable, attacked, abandoned and vulnerable. This was a city wide campaign. The professionals have to organize an army and raise 10's of thousands of dollars to do it right. I would offer that most campaigns do not have the organizational depth to conduct a city wide campaign. See for your self. Don’t rely on your impression of yard sign saturation by what is going on the main street. Inside the NBH , no neighborhoods in Flint have a large amount of signs. Few candidates have distributed literature in all neighborhoods, they do not have the person power nor the money.
regillmi said: I know that none of you will agree with me, but I just think it is strange that some neighborhoods get more attention than others.
bankert said: Most campaigns are targeting. You can buy a list of people that have voted in a prior school board race. Most campaigns have that list. This list has been activity mailed. I have received 10 pieces of literature. The people who vote regularly in school elections are getting the attention. The people who would be motivated to vote with more information are being missed. I am not saying this is right, it just the way people decide how to spend the little money they have on a campaigns.
regillmi said: There were no candidates that came out into the neighborhoods over here, except for at the Eastside Business Association meetings, no phone calls, no letters or any propaganda whatsoever. Did they do this in any of the other neighborhoods?
bankert said: Yes.
regillmi said: There are many of us that do not get to make it out to the forums and meetings, due to the fact that we have to work nights, I just do not understand why candidates would not reach out to us to grab votes. I am not crying racism, like many would, or am I "wallowing in low geographical self-esteem".
bankert said: 5 out of a 100 registered voters will vote tomorrow historically. In some precincts it is less that. Look at the prior election return on the Mike Carr site.
regillmi said: People here are not as active politically, but they should be and they probably would be if people let them know that their vote does count. It is not because they are poor, but perhaps because they are uninformed, and that is not necessarily their fault either.
bankert said: We should all help increase the public awareness of policy information and candidates.
regillmi said: Not many of these events or forums were publicly announced, and if they were they were either done the day before or buried in a back section of the Flint Journal in a half paragraph blurb.
bankert said: There is no perfect way to promote these events.
regillmi said: It is the folks in my neighborhood that have the most to lose in these elections. It is my child and the children in this neighborhood that have to attend the schools that are falling apart.
bankert said: I agree.
regillmi said: We cannot afford to send our kids to private schools like many of the people in Flint of higher income brackets.
bankert said: My child graduated in 2000 from a Flint School. It has been an eye opener for me to hear how many of my neighbors took their children out of public school.
regillmi said: I am sure that you will disagree and say if we weren't lazy or stupid we wouldn't be poor. You have your own opinions as do I. You have tore apart every post I have put on this website, but that is fine. I am not on here to debate or to tell people they are wrong, I am here to learn about my city and try to take part in a discussion to improve things or get involved. If you spent less time picking apart other people's posts and took a little time to look past the stone gates in your neighborhood, perhaps you would see the need to reach out to the "grunts" of society, the majority of us that are here and want to vote and be involved in the process but cannot afford to take a night off to get to a council meeting or a public forum.
bankert said: I hope you take this as a positive discussion.
regillmi said: It is not a matter of the grass being greener on the other side, but of the grass being brown and dead in three-quarters of the city and the folks from the other quarter telling us that we are wrong or candidates pretending like we are not here.
bankert said: You are on line, you have an email address, you post on public forums, collect the email address of your neighbors and friends and keep them informed. Support candidates. I would speculate that if you have 200 email address in you community that you regularly communicated with two way you would have political impact. There are no easy answers.
Thank You.
VOTE MAY 8TH
Posted Here by
Terry Bankert |
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Mon May 07, 2007 5:43 am |
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Biggie9
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Its not about agreeing with you or disagreeing with you.
its about slapping you up side the head [not hard, just a "dope slap"]
and yelling
"SNAP OUT OF IT!!!!!"
you are wallowing in no body loves me, everybody hates me, I ain't got no attention, no signs, no literature in the mail etc etc...
TRB and others have accurately explained WHY campaigns of this level perform the way they do.
IT AIN'T PERSONAL.
its YOUR [and your neighbors] RESPONSIBILITY.
Get informed.
Get active.
VOTE.
and the candidates will certainly COME TO YOU in the future because you have something they want and need, YOUR VOTE.
But if you demonstrate none of the above, don't expect any of their attention. They don't have the time, money and people and personnel to contact people who may NOT be interested or care.
So SHOW you do.
STOP BEING A VICTIM. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOU & YOUR CHILD'S DESTINY.
SNAP OUT OF IT!!!!! |
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Mon May 07, 2007 1:17 pm |
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Adam
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quote:
Biggie9 schreef:
its YOUR [and your neighbors] RESPONSIBILITY.
Get informed.
Get active.
VOTE.
and the candidates will certainly COME TO YOU in the future because you have something they want and need, YOUR VOTE.
But if you demonstrate none of the above, don't expect any of their attention. They don't have the time, money and people and personnel to contact people who may NOT be interested or care.
So SHOW you do.
STOP BEING A VICTIM. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOU & YOUR CHILD'S DESTINY.
SNAP OUT OF IT!!!!!
Biggie does have a good point. You'd be crazy to think a candidate who most likely has a job can attend 100+ events, and go door to door across the city. We have 61 precincts. When I went to vote today there were no signs or supporters for any candidates. |
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Adam
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Tue May 08, 2007 1:13 pm |
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mark thompson
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| Well .. i don't know about that. You may not be able to hit all the precincts and events but you can make a good effort and hit a large percent of them. The candidate just has to be determined and want to talk to the voters. Most politicians don't! That's a shame. |
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Tue May 08, 2007 4:04 pm |
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