Posted by MeadowMutt on December 31, 2020, 1:39 pm
When asked to list his agenda for the city, his response was as follows.
Possible, or too ambitious? Too aggressive, or not aggressive enough?
Park Michael First let me thank all of you for being interested and taking time to listen to my thoughts and ideas. Crime in this city has to be a main focus to restore our neighborhoods. I want to attack the drug problem with more unmarked, plain clothes officers in high crime high traffic areas. I want to enforce existing ordinances that are designed to keep rental housing from becoming criminal housing and go after the absentee landlords who are failing to keep their properties to the standards of their neighbors.
I want to hold the mental health agencies in this town who are eating up tax dollars to a higher standard of care so that our police can be freed up to actually seek out criminals instead of being mental health providers.
I want to set daily, weekly, and monthly maintenence schedules in all areas of the city for roads, drains, grass cutting, and other cosmetic issues that make this city look run down. We have a great group of workers that are ready and want new challenges.
I want to assist new business and seek out new business and streamline the "red tape" to get them here. If we need to provide tax incentives so be it, but we are dying for new business. I want to develop Hwy 3 at Hwy 270 from a run down trucking area to a profitable exit for traveling motorist.
I want to work with the current shopping center owners to find money to upgrade the storefronts to entice a business to want to move in. Right now one of the bigger ones looks absolutely unacceptably terrible.
I want to have a music venue for ticketed sale music events combined with an arts center for young musicians to be able to practice record music and socialize in a safe environment. A combined effort with the GCHS Band community. This could be in the downtown area and would spawn more foottraffic to local restaurants, the theater, and hopefully pull in new locally owned shops in that area.
I want to foster a building trades program with GCHS to remodel run down buildings to current housing standard to get tax dollars from ownership.
Funding for these ideas come from more economical constraints, Tax Increment Financing District funds, Community Development Grants, some tax dollars as avaliable and allowable, and through community based grass root hard work fundraising. Please understand this is just off the top of my head of what I see as SOME important issues needing immediate attention. Clearly, I will set up committees to assess and formulate plans to implement my ideas.
I also do plan to find an outlet for transparent government. I'm not sure FB is the right place but I do want the citizens to see what I am doing if elected. I have no problem failing with an idea and letting people know what went wrong, then finding another way to accomplish our needs and wants. This is not about me. This is about the town I have lived in my entire life and what we all can do to improve it.
I have been asked about parties, I will answer this one last time. This is not a partisan election. I could care less about the screwed up Democrat and Republican issues. I can work with both to do what we need. The only letters I want in front of my name are GC! I appreciate any real questions, suggestions, or comments.
I also want to reduce the burden in property tax, we are dying for relief. This can come with community growth, business and placing vacant properties back in the tax rolls.
Re: Parkinson for Mayor
Posted by Dave Williams on December 31, 2020, 4:44 pm, in reply to "Parkinson for Mayor"
I also want to reduce the burden in property tax, we are dying for relief. This can come with community growth, business and placing vacant properties back in the tax rolls.
But i bet you never hear the word "pensions" mentioned by this guy. The policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits. -Thomas Jefferson
Re: Parkinson for Mayor
Posted by Dave Williams on January 3, 2021, 2:28 pm, in reply to "Parkinson for Mayor"
There really is no way (that politicians will go far) to fix Illinois. So this guy is just blowing BS....
All the things that were promised are things that should have been done many many moons ago, when Walmart was built, all the shopping centers built, and now all the empty buildings, and now the culture of Granite City has changed and now Granit e City has become a East St. Louis with no help in site.
DW, given that our choices are a former cop, Daryl and his other brother Daryl, I'll take the cop.
You have a guy named Bailey who talks and writes like a first grader from Bug Tussle Arkansas. His claim to fame is that he can dig a sewer line without caving it in. Can you imagine him speaking on behalf of the city?
Then you have a guy named Cohen who apparently just wasted several thousand dollars of taxpayer money bringing charges against Parkinson for not filling out nomination petitions. His argument was based on assumptions and a lack of knowledge (actually blatant stupidity) He talks like a Baptist preacher promising things he can't deliver. He's a boob and sounds like a crackhead. He actually approached Mrs. O. in the parking lot of Schnucks not too long ago and got in her face about Parkinson. He's lucky I wasn't there.
Parkinson at least speaks like an educated adult. He has apparently come on too strong as a cop on occasion according to some people but at least he knows the city.
This election is over before it starts. Too bad we just can't wind the clock forward and start a new way of doing business.they did not fail, because they did what their country asked of them....
The problem is these idiots just pander to the public. Illinois and Granite aren't going anywhere but down the drain until pensions are addressed in this state. God couldn't fix this state. As far as the capacities of the other two candidates, have you heard the current mayor speak or study his intelligence levels?The policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits. -Thomas Jefferson