This was not a difficult decision for me. I have been pleased with Mike Wojcik, the incumbent councilmember for my ward, and I will definitely vote for him in this election as I have previously.
Mike is as dedicated a public servant as anyone I have come across in Rochester. He takes his role on the council as a more-than-full-time position. Mike consistently advocates for and models transparency in all government practices - to the point where he has made enemies of people who didn't want the level of transparency he has brought to our city government. He is deeply knowledgeable and experienced in many areas of local government and takes the time and effort to learn given an issue outside his area of expertise.
Observing what Mark Bransford has made available on his site and in the recordings I've seen tells me that he has a clear focus on affordable housing. I absolutely applaud this goal, but it doesn't set him apart from his opponent, and he doesn't bring any special qualifications to the table with regard to housing/construction/permitting/real estate/development, so my feeling is to go with the guy who has 12 years experience on the council and knows how to get things accomplished in the city government.
As of this writing on 9/28, less than 40 days out from the election, Bransford's website does not have any detail beyond a few bullet points on his other priorities of 'relationship building' and 'revive the economy'. Aside from the platform page on his website, Wojcik's active blog contains a public record of his thoughts on many issues and goes back years.
On issues that matter to me more personally:
Transit:
Pre-COVID I rode the bus daily, I still do occasionally, and I fully intend to make use of it again as it feels safe from a public health perspective. Transit has been a central issue to Mike, a way to push Rochester into a progressive future with easy, safe, affordable, and equitable access to sustainable and eco-friendly city resources from electric buses to bike lanes. Transit doesn't make an appearance on Mark's platform, but he did mention in an interview that he seems ready to hold back on public transit plans for reasons that weren't clear - perhaps cost? Advantage Wojcik.
Theatre and arts:
Mike sat down and listened to the theatre community in 2017 when revelations about RCT leadership were made public. In early 2020 when another RCT executive director was in charge and driving the theatre off a cliff, he led a city audit of the organization and listened to the community again, going so far as to organize a public forum for the arts community to voice its thoughts about public spaces for the arts in Rochester. When COVID prompted RCT to undergo another leadership change, this time a positive change back to a place with active community engagement, he kept abreast of the situation and continues to seek information and listen actively when he finds it.
While Bransford mentions being involved in local theatre productions, a google search just shows me about one show at RCT from Jan-Feb 2020, the tail end of the second period when leadership had burned bridges with the theatre community at large. That's all I know - never heard of the guy in my theatre circles before, so clear advantage to Wojcik.
Progressive policy:
Mark sounds most of the time like a progressive candidate. Sometimes he'll word something in a way that makes me think he's hedging a little. That would be a reasonable tactical move, if he is trying to court folks who aren't progressive, because Wojcik very clearly is, so maybe he thinks to create some space for himself there. Mike has 12 years of city votes and endless other documented evidence of his desire and intent to work toward progressive policy goals. This looks like a lot of things: recently he pushed back on the school board's choice of location, because he noted that it would denude diversity of racial and socioeconomic student populations. He shows up at BLM protests and rallies against gun violence. He led pushback against an ordinance that would criminalize homeless staying in the skyways for warmth. Maybe all these things would be true of Mark if he'd been on the council for 12 years, but I don't know that. I know Wojcik values these things, so clear advantage to him.
As a final thought, Mike Wojcik has gone from being a consistently outvoted progressive voice on the Rochester City Council to being in a place where he has a bit more support from his colleagues. I think this election could push our city council to be yet more progressive, which I believe will be very beneficial for Rochester as a whole.
That's it. The End. Vote Wojcik.
No comments:
Post a Comment