The Importance of smart economic development

As I have been knocking on doors and listening to neighbors, one theme has come up over and over again. While it is critical that we improve city services and invest in education in our community, it is also essential that we focus on what we can do to bring true stability to our community through good paying jobs, jobs that end the unacceptably high poverty rate that we see in our city and jobs that mean that people don’t have to leave our city to feed their families and provide a solid, middle class living. We know that poverty creates a series of detrimental social challenges, and Flint remains one of the poorest cities in the United States. Gun violence and more are very closely related to the lack of economic opportunity in our community.

I want to thank former 5th Ward City Councilman Wantwaz Davis for raising this point so clearly in the primary, and I think he could not be more right. As a city that was one of the key industrial centers of the world which mass produced goods that were sent across the globe, we have shown an ability to scale up quickly when economic opportunity arose. My own family came to Flint in the 1920s to work in manufacturing, and we need to focus on ensuring the next generation has accessible, quality employment opportunities. 

Thanks to close partnerships between the City, the Flint and Genesee Economic Alliance, and employers like Lear Corporation, Victory Packaging, and more, we have seen recently what can happen when we focus on delivering results. Hundreds now are employed at Lear and Victory along Hamilton Avenue in an area that just a decade ago was largely empty. Councilman Davis said repeatedly that we needed to bring masses of good paying manufacturing jobs back to our city to get masses of folks off the streets, and it’s clear that we need a focused economic development strategy to do just that. 

Thankfully, the city has the opportunity to partner with local agencies to have a seat at the table in making this happen. Sites like Buick City and AC sit well connected to rail lines, interstates, and more. The city should make it as easy as possible to support environmental cleanup on these sites to ensure that they are shovel ready for new industrial investment. We should be sure to partner with nearby neighbors to ensure that any investment is a type that Flintstones actually want to see, and with smart planning we can do this. Continued working partnerships with local agencies will ensure that as we invest in our education system, whether through things like the new Flint High School under construction today or stellar programs like the Flint Promise, that those graduating have opportunities for good paying jobs right here at home. 

So many of our challenges in this community are a result of poverty, something that flows from a lack of good paying jobs. We need to work to add jobs that our neighbors can qualify for today and as your councilman I will be committed to ensuring that Flint has a voice at the table to bring good paying jobs back to our community.