Back to Basics

Lansing politicians’ careless spending & surrendered revenue has led to exponentially increasing property taxes via rising assessments, & needless bond issues..

May 19th, the Council passed a budget 10% larger than last years, so get ready for yet another a 10% increase in property taxes, and thus rents.

Higher property taxes mean higher rents, AND, for those on fixed, &/or lower incomes, to neglected home maintenance & eventually being taxed out of their homes. This needs to stop.

It’s time to CUT Lansing budgets, focusing on FULLY staffing NECESSARY services. Far too many vacancies in CRUCIAL departments (fire, police, parks, sanitation, street cleaning/plowing), go unfilled, despite annual promises to fill them & the money budgeted for those jobs then frivolously spent elsewhere.

For 8 years, Schor has promised to fill the $1.5 MILLION in budgeted LFD (3), LPD (25) + park & sanitation vacancies; instead using the money on his own bloated staff & pet projects. THIS (election) year, the council added 2 more LFD positions, (plus a financial analyst for their own staff), which will likely also not be filled, meaning another $250k will likely disappear into the budget, from what was supposed to be a “contingency fund” (storm clean-up?); AND robbed the “rainy day fund” of yet another &130k for a sustainability grant writer. I’m not opposed to sustainability, BUT, considering, we have yet to onboard the 3 positions from the Bloomberg Grant, AND considering current fed & state belt-tightening, the position will likely be a total waste, and is only budgeted for ONE year. THEN Schor wouldn’t “promise” to fill these 30 positions, but only said he “intended” to fill them.

Streets, sidewalks, & parks are neglected, & current budgets will take 32 years to repair them. Is it too much to expect to have ALL streets plowed & cleaned more than twice yearly?

Schor & the Council hand out tax breaks to lure new corporations, with no guarantees the employees will live & pay taxes in Lansing.

Schor has failed to attract State workers back downtown. Working from home, those outside Lansing, are exempt from paying non-resident taxes. This is starving downtown restaurants’,& businesses’, while valuable, untaxed, real estate sits empty.

Lansing wastes $150,000 on each "off-year" election, AND, due to voter apathy, oft burdens us with mediocre city officials elected by only 15% of voters.

Dollars are wasted on: "planning & development" for things we can't afford, subsidizing failing businesses via "façade grants,” unnecessary new buildings, & other "feel good" projects; pandering to small constituencies & big donors.

All this waste means the city can't afford to prevent homelessness, help those who are, & robs those with lower incomes of any hope of improvement in their quality of life.

Andy Schor had EIGHT years to do what he promised. Can we believe he'll do so in the NEXT four years, or are we just paying him to search for his next government office?

Jeffrey Brown violated city ethics rules & is incapable of managing his OWN finances (recently filing bankruptcy, leaving employees unpaid), let alone OURS. He promises to "uplift" Lansing, without either defining “uplift” or his plan for "uplifting.”

Lansing DOES NOT need: polished, entrenched politicians; nor inexperienced, albeit, well-meaning, neighborhood activists. All will pander, promise, & use pretty prose prior to elections, but they all lack expertise in management & budget analysis. This expertise is crucial to surgically trimming the budget.

Lansing DOES need: someone with 30+ years business experience & a proven track record of exceeding goals. Someone with expertise in management & budget analysis, who can prioritize, & maximize how our precious tax dollars are spent

Lansing needs Brett Brockschmidt

Why I'm running

I've been a student of politics economics & religion since I arrived at MSU in 1980; and you really can't separate them. I love politics, but preferred to work on the periphery, and actually spent most of my free time working with charities, sitting on the boards of 3 of them.

When I filed as a candidate for Lansing Mayor, 1.5 weeks before the filing deadline, Schor was unopposed, which both amazed & angered me, as I've heard nothing but complaints about him, and. .

I was not happy with the fact that my taxes were going up 10-14% EVERY YEAR of the 5 I've lived here. Nor was I happy about the condition of the roads, sidewalks, & parks, despite the high taxes. I also was unhappy about the fact my street, though only 1 block from E. Michigan Ave, is only plowed 1-2x/yr, & swept 1x/yr. I finally decide to stop just commenting, and start making the change I think we need.

I'd like to see the city prioritize it's people & small businesses, over development. I'm not opposed to development, but just building shiny new building in unsafe neighborhoods is putting the cart before the horse.

About Me

I've been a poll worker for 20 years, 15 in San Francisco (5 years as Precinct Captain), & 5 years as a Poll Inspector here in Lansing. I've also worked for other people's campaigns, and normally prefer to be in the background, but felt so strongly about Schor's poor leadership, about how many people seemed to want change, and the lack of competent opponents, that I joined the race.

I've always championed underdogs, & those less fortunate than myself. I came from a lower middle class family, & had to work my way through college, luckily in a unionized meat-packing plant. I've worked hard for what I have, & know how hard life can be for those with lower incomes.

I was born & raised in Grand Rapids, MI. I hold a degree in Financial administration from MSU, also had enough credits for a degree in Economics, or Philosophy.

I worked for multiple large corporations in management positions, including Air Freight, Manufacturing, Securities Compliance & Project Management at BofA; then, tired of corporate politics, then spent 20 years in small business consulting, in San Francisco.

After retiring, I returned to Lansing, having fallen in love with the city while at MSU. For the last 5 years, I've lived in & am renovating my Eastside duplex. I am striving to make my home, my tenants home, and Lansing a better place in which to live, I may be a landlord, but, having lived in some real sh*tholes in my youth, am no fan of slumlords.

Why I feel I'm best qualified

I've been around the block, more than once: I've lived in Grand Rapids, East Lansing, Chicago, Dallas, Portland (Orygun), San Diego, & San Francisco. I've seen which policies work, and which ones didn't, and why.

I feel that someone with 30+ years of business & management experience is better suited to analyzing, & optimizing Lansing's budget than career politicians, or, albeit well-meaning, neighborhood activists.

I've actually managed large budgets & financial reporting. I've managed people. I understand the politics of large organizations.

I'm Progressive, but also pragmatic. I'm not going to just throw money at a problem & hope it works. Every issue will be subjected to a cost/benefit analysis.

I firmly believe that the Mayor's duty is to ALL residents, not just one party, not just donors, not just people who agree with me.

That said, I've always been a champion for the underdog, the downtrodden, the neglected. I've been blessed. Not everyone else has been, let's help them

I'm not going to be spending my time angling for the next political office. By the time I'm done with 1 or 2 terms as Mayor, I'm out. I think we'd be in a better place if politicians were forced to retire at 70 or 75, tops.

I've never been investigated for ethics issues, nor will I ever be. I believe in government transparency & accountability.

I've listed actual policy ideas, not just platitudes, or vague generalities, & I don't use AI to produce huge paragraphs of lovely prose.

Trolling Should be Done in Boats

Questions, Comments, & Debate

Are welcome on my FaceBook Group (or via email (below)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1027362205935083/

I'm actually a very laid back, easy to get along with guy. If anyone presents an opposing view in a civil, polite manner, I will respond, in kind. I welcome disagreement, & debate, BUT, if someone's comments are uncivil, disrespectful, or rude, they should not expect a pleasant reply from me.

When Trolls, with a clear agenda, attack me, don't assume I'll just "roll over & play dead." I'm going to stand up for myself, just as fiercely as I'll stand up for the people of Lansing, especially those who are being over-taxed, oppressed, and/or overlooked.

Maybe what we need now are politicians who are direct and forthright instead of panderers & sycophants?

I'm a very forthright, brutally honest, sometimes cynical, sometimes sarcastic person. I, however save my sarcasm for those who are not civil, or don't think before they write. Most people are not used to this from politicians, and some people, especially snowflakes (from both sides of the aisle), will be triggered. This is not my intent, but I don't have the time, energy, nor inclination to stroke other's egos, or dance around their delicate sensibilities.

I'm sorry, but I call things as I see them. Pure, clear, unvarnished truth. If you want sugar-coating, buy some Frosted Flakes.

Politics are not for the meek, and until Democrats grow spines and stop letting themselves be treated as doormats, we will continue to lose elections.

Insistence on litmus tests, discussing matters that have nothing to do with city governance, and prioritizing ideological purity over pragmatic plans will lose this election, too.

If you want a "Pander Bear" elect those who suck up to you, & then throw you under the bus once elected.

"You get the government you deserve."

If you just want to troll, go elsewhere. I will delete & block.