Joshua LaPeer for City Council

Joshua LaPeer, City Council Candidate.

I plan to use my youth, intelligence and desire to work towards creating a stronger Allen Park.
We can continue to point fingers and blame other people and reasons for things not getting done, or we can put our heads together and come up with solutions.

I hope to have your vote on August 2nd.

Also, for your convenience, I have a website and facebook page available:
www.lapeerforcouncil.com
www.facebook.com/lapeerforcouncil

a brief bio and vision statement, straight from my website.



I have lived in the beautiful city of Allen Park for 5 years. I am a graduate of Allen Park High School.

While Attending Allen Park High School I took part on many extracurricular activities including Marching Band, Drama Club, Choir, Interact Club and I was the founder and President of the Allen Park Animal Welfare Club, also known as APAW.

Outside of school I have also become involved with my religious community. For 3 years I have been an assistant Religious Education teacher at St. Alfreds Parish in Taylor.

Also in that 3 years I have taken on the responsibilities as a Youth Director with the Allen Park based Creative Characters. My time with Creative Characters has been an educational and life enriching experience. As a director I have worked with a number of children ages 5 and up in putting together various stage shows. Behind the scenes I have promoted the shows, performed technical work and helped with the basic performances to keep Creative Characters growing and strong.




I love this city and I know that if we come together as a community we can become the Allen Park I fell in love with. My youth, eagerness and desire to make Allen Park a stronger community make me a valuable candidate for City Council.

Creating a stronger Allen Park starts with these simple steps;



1) Creating Communication and Trust

Over the last few years open communication in this city has disappeared. We need to create an open dialogue so Council and Mayor can openly communicate with the citizens. This can be done through question and answer segments, town hall meetings and council workshops. When we have open communication we can rebuild trust in our elected officials and work together to build a stronger community.



2) City Government

City government needs to work for the people they represent.



They should be accountable for their actions
They need to be well informed by reliable experts
Conscientious on distribution of tax revenue

We must support and provide volunteerism to fill the gaps in city services.

We should give high school teens, college students and the general public means in which they can volunteer their time and talents to our community. It would involve work with city departments to find out what the need is and an open communication so those volunteer opportunities can be fulfilled.


3) Taking Care of Allen Park

Allen Park is home to many beautiful parks, successful recreation programs, excellent schools, well-educated and trained firefighters/paramedics and police officers. We also have many wonderful restaurants and shopping locations with access to three major freeways. If we maintain what makes Allen Park great, we can once again become the gem of downriver.

Thanks for your informative post, Joshua. I was hoping you would get some info about yourself out there. I am encouraged by your youthful ambition and optimism. I am curious as to your stance on the Headlee override and what you think should be done with the city owned Unity Studios Complex.

Also, I don't mean this as a criticism, but, assuming you get elected, do you think other council members might not take you seriously because of your age?

I am not in favor of the Headlee Override and let me tell you why.

Before we even think about increasing taxes, we have to know that every possible way to cut costs and bring other sources of revenue into the city have been evaluated, or at least given the time of day. On top of that, the current administration has not proven themselves worthy of handling money.

When it comes to the Studio Complex, I would love to see something like alternative energy, a program which Governor Snyder's Economic Development Team is trying to bring into the state, find a home. Also, in a recent USA Today article, the list of manufacturing companies leaving China and coming back to the US is growing. While I was reading the article, I thought about how great a place like Allen Park would be for many of these companies.

Although I am a fan of the Hill, I am not in support of the entire property becoming a retail hotspot. I would like to see businesses come in, but there has to be a line drawn. While retail stores would bring people into the city to visit, what will bring people into the city to live. Someone getting an 8 dollar an hour job at a Costco is not going to help them move into the city, and on top of developing the property, we need to develop the community.

I am very open to many ideas, including Senior Citizen Apartments or possibly even an expo center. Conventions, corporate events or even concerts and guest speakers.


Now to answer your other question, I would hope that the same level of respect would be given to me as anyone else. My age is not something that should get in the way of my work as a councilman. The City Council should represent the community, and there are young people in this community who care and do not want to see this city collapse. The response I give to many people when they bring up my age is "was there a 20 year-old up there when any of this happened in the first place?"

Thank you for your response, and I hope I answered your questions fully. Anymore, ask away!

Have a great day!
Joshua LaPeer

P.S. the article I refereed to:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-08-06-manufacturing04_CV_N.htm

Way to step up to the plate and answer questions Josh. Not saying that I agree or disagree with your answers, but I am glad to see this board being utilized in such a critical time for the city.

Sorry you didn't make it, Joshua. It would have been interesting to have someone with young perspectives in the group. Maybe next time. Don't stop speaking out at the meetings though.

Josh showed up at the pocket park and I mentioned to him that actually it was not such a bad thing losing, since the next 4 years are going to be hell for AP and all the elected officials.