Lynn Afendoulis
When families (or individuals) are struggling, I believe the first responsibility of government is to make sure the resources and programs we already have are actually helping the people they’re supposed to help. It's also critical that we look not only at how we help people with immediate needs, but also at the larger picture: Why has it become so difficult for working families to get ahead?
Kent County has been fortunate to have an extraordinary network of organizations and individuals working on essential needs—food, transportation, energy, workforce development, safety, digital access and more. I don’t think the answer is always to create another program. Sometimes the better answer is to make sure the programs we already have are working together and efficiently, reaching the right people and getting results.
We must ask: What is working well? What isn’t? What are we doing with the things that don’t work—maintaining them, fixing them or getting rid of them? What are we measuring so we know the difference? Where are the gaps? Where are we duplicating efforts? And how are we doing on transparency and accountability?
Critically, we must look beyond immediate assistance. People need help when they need help, but we should also be addressing the things that make it harder for families to get ahead in the first place—high housing and energy costs, transportation barriers, barriers to education and good jobs, lack of reliable internet, and government policies that add unnecessarily to the cost of living.
Transportation is one area I’m particularly interested in. When I see a car broken down on the highway, I know there’s a good chance it’s the first in a series of disastrous events for that driver. They can’t get to work. Maybe they lose their job. The family can’t get to doctor’s appointments or to a grocery store. Kids can’t get to school or home from after-school activities. And on and on.
Transportation is a critical link in the chain of productivity and independence, and, unfortunately, all-too-tenuous. I am interested in finding effective transportation solutions that connect people to jobs, healthcare and education without assuming that one model will work everywhere in a county as diverse and dispersed as ours.
Internet access matters, too. According to the state’s own digital dashboard, two out of five Michigan households earning less than $20,000 either have only dial-up service or no internet connection at all. The state has received substantial federal resources to address broadband access, so I think we should be asking some basic questions: Are we doing what we said we were going to do? Are we doing it quickly and effectively? What is preventing progress? And where are the remaining gaps?
My approach is simple: help people who need help, make sure the help actually gets to them and works, stop wasting resources on duplication and inefficiency, and focus on removing barriers that keep people from becoming more secure, financially and otherwise.
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Rachel Crowler
As a State House Representative, I will make affordability a priority in Lansing. I will work to expand affordable and workforce housing, cut unnecessary red tape that prevents responsible development, improve transportation options, and explore ways to reduce the property-tax burden on working families. I will support policies that strengthen workforce opportunities and connect local farms with communities experiencing food insecurity, while working with nonprofits and local governments to bring resources where they are needed most.
My approach will be forward-thinking, collaborative and focused on solutions that work for the people who live here. I will listen to residents, bring people together across sectors and make sure everyone has a seat at the table. We cannot solve these challenges by working in silos. We need state and local leaders, businesses, nonprofits and residents working together to build communities where people can afford to live, work, raise a family and thrive.
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