Adam Gainsley is seeking your vote for Ypsilanti City Council Ward 3. Here is the candidate's submission for the 2018 WEMU Soapbox Summer.
Hello, my name is Adam Gainsley and I am a candidate for City Council Ward 3 in Ypsilanti MI.
I am a candidate who will bring fiscal responsibility to the table as proven by my successes as board member and the treasurer of the Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority. I am also an effective leader and community organizer as shown by the passage of the Water Street millage last summer by Citizens for Ypsi for which I was campaign manager. More recently, my work with Ypsi Live shows my commitment to transparency and visibility into the operations of our city.
I have been a board member of the Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority (also known as the Ypsilanti DDA), for the last six years. For the last three years I have been the
treasurer of that organization. During my time on that board, we have taken our budget
from deeply in the red to a balanced budget while maintaining programs and grants. During
my time on the DDA, we have supported re-opening the Ypsilanti Freighthouse, Wayfinding
signs throughout Ypsilanti, events at the Downtown Library, and First Fridays Ypsilanti, which is an excellent downtown art and culture walk bringing hundreds of people to downtown Ypsi every month, as well as many other companies and organizations around town.
Last year as campaign manager for Citizens for Ypsi, I led a group of local citizens who successfully campaigned in support of a millage to pay down the Water Street debt. After
several failed initiatives in the past we finally succeeded in passing a resolution that
stabilized Ypsilanti's finance's in the face of the overwhelming Water Street debt. As a
direct result, Ypsilanti for the first time in over ten years, passed a budget without
making cuts.
I'm also passionate about making our roads work for all users. Roads that are safe for everyone lead to increased success for local businesses. Roads that are designed with people in wheelchairs, pedestrians, and bicycles in mind, not just as an afterthought go a long way towards creating a vibrant and successful city.
I've also spent many years working with Bike Ypsi, a local volunteer organization that advocates
for bicycle safety and works with cyclists to make sure they are safe and comfortable riding and navigating in and around Ypsilanti. We've been organizing rides in town for nearly ten years now and have worked hard to make sure Ypsilanti is a friendly home to cyclists of all skill levels.
Over the last several months, I've been working with Ypsi Live to expand visibility into
our municipal government and operations. Ypsi Live is an all-volunteer organization that
streams local board and commission meetings to Facebook, so that anyone can watch these
meetings - even if they don't have a Facebook account. I have taken the lead on streaming
our City Council meetings for the last six months to make sure our whole community
has visibility into what our local government is doing.
As you can see, my various efforts over the years have proven that I will be a fiscally responsible, effective candidate dedicated to safety and transparency for everyone. Thank you for listening and please vote Adam Gainsley for Ypsilanti City Council Ward 3.
website: adam4ypsi.com