Jim Rinck for Grand Rapids Mayor

Rick Tormala enters the mayoral Race. Here is his campaign announcement:

Grand Rapids is a great city but our future hangs in the balance. Cuts in vital services have tarnished our public image and placed the public safety and quality of life in our neighborhoods at risk. Downtown and Michigan Hill are flourishing while our neighborhoods suffer. We need to find solutions not scapegoats. After being encouraged by citizens throughout our City and with the support of my family I am announcing today my candidacy for the office of Mayor of Grand Rapids.

I run in the name of the citizens of our neighborhoods some of whom feel neglected and ignored. I run in the name of working families, seniors, and the vulnerable who struggle every day to make ends meet and want a fiscally responsible budget for our city supplying them with the vital services they need and expect. And, on a personal note, I run in the name of my Father, Dick Tormala, who served the Park Department that he loved, faithfully and effectively for 28 years until his untimely death and who taught me that public service is a worthy vocation and that you always have to do the right thing regardless of the consequences.

Four years of weak and ineffective leadership by Mayor Heartwell have created a vacuum of leadership at City Hall that has been filled by an entrenched bureaucracy. As a result priorities are more often dictated by staff rather than the City Commission. Whether it is the bungled and unwise proposed sale of public park property, the elimination of vital police and firefighter positions, the closing of pools and park restrooms while millions of dollars beyond the need of bonding requirements are placed in surplus savings accounts, it is clear the priorities and needs of our citizens are not being met. When a Mayor rubberstamps the policy proposed by the City Manager the majority of Commissioners are inclined to follow without major challenges. George Heartwell has been the Manager’s Mayor. I will be the Mayor of the people. My campaign will be a referendum on who runs this City– an entrenched bureaucracy or the elected representatives of the people.

There are clear differences between myself and George Heartwell. Even people who disagree with me admit I get things done, tell it like it is, fight for what I believe is right, and don’t flip flop on issues. Whether it was defeating the Town Hall proposal (saving the taxpayers $11 million dollars in construction costs), creating the Public Safety Committee, cleaning up the Assessor’s office, helping fix our 911 Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) problems, preserving GLR funds for seniors, children, families, neighborhoods, and other human service organizations, and establishing criteria to legally protect our city and provide transparency when dealing with confidentiality agreements to name a few accomplishments, I have proved my ability to effectively lead and take on the bureaucrats.

As Mayor I would push for fully restoring all of our vital services, including hiring the number of police officers and firefighters necessary to keep our neighborhoods safe. Not only would I support opening all pools, parks facilities, recreational programs, and public restrooms on an annual basis; but also will call for the reconstruction of Garfield Park’s swimming pool and the openings of it’s lodge and gym. I will also call for fully funding and implementing our successful 21st Century Infrastructure program to ensure every neighborhood has streets as good as the ones downtown.

As Mayor I would establish a Citizen’s Budget Advisory Committee and charge them with reviewing the entire budget by justifying or removing every job and service in order to help the City Commission achieve the lean and efficient government we need to restore fiscal integrity to our budget. Additionally, I would create a Economic Climate Committee to review all city polices and streamline red tape to ensure all unreasonable impediments are removed that would discourage businesses from locating or remaining in Grand Rapids and to make recommendations on new job creation tools.

As Mayor I will also establish a city wide strategy to address the problems of violence, drugs and gang activity in our neighborhoods. We would work in tangent with our schools to provide recreational opportunities, mentoring programs, keeping open the Paul I. Phillips and other youth centers, job training and substance abuse treatment for our City’s children and young adults. Additionally, I’m calling for the creation of a Regional Anti-Gang Task Force comprised of the Grand Rapids Police Department, the Kent County Sheriff’s Department and every school district and law enforcement agency in West Michigan to take back our neighborhoods and prevent violence. I would also propose the City of Grand Rapids become the regional provider of fire staffing and 911 Dispatch.

I would raise revenue for my initiatives by the following measures:
1) Savings from the consolidation of services and the efficient restructuring of our budget.
2) The leasing of a portion of our Parking System facilities and the sale of surplus city property which could bring in tens of millions of dollars
3) Utilizing surplus millions in our Engineering and Parking Systems Enterprise Funds while pushing the Downtown Development Authority to pay for a portion of our Police and Fire budgets. We must build a pipeline to bring money from our flourishing downtown to directly help serve our neighborhoods.
4) Advocate for state and federal funding increases.
5) And finally if all other avenues have been exhausted, and all fat eliminated from our city budget, as a last resort go to our citizens for a reasonable income tax increase.

Mr. Kimball and Mr. Heartwell are good men, but we have a different philosophy of how this city should be run and how you present a tax proposal to our citizens and secure their support. I believe the City Commission should first set budget priorities and then the City Manager should design a budget reflecting those priorities. Mr. Kimball and Mr. Heartwell believe our citizens have to feel the pain of budget cuts before they will support a tax increase. I have more faith in our taxpayers’ judgement. I believe we should use our surplus to fund necessary services, cut or eliminate everything in our budget that is a want not a need, and then go to the public honestly explaining our situation, backing it up with all pertinent facts and trusting in their common sense and concern for our city to pass the proposal.

A tax increase should always be a last resort, after all other avenues of revenue and reduction have been exhausted. However if there were a need and all the aforementioned criteria were met I would as Mayor lead a campaign for a tax increase unlike Mr. Heartwell who floats trial balloons and then backs down

I look forward to a vigorous campaign of issues and ideas. It should be a hard fought campaign centered on the public records, positions, and accomplishments of all the candidates. The Office of Mayor of Grand Rapids will not be a prize awarded to the highest bidder. To that end I am calling for all candidates to sit down and discuss implementing and abiding by a mutually agreeable self imposed campaign spending limit as well as committing to a series of public debates and forums. As the self proclaimed “unbeatable” candidate Mayor Heartwell with more name recognition than anyone else and all the powers of incumbency should be willing to run for office on his merits not his money. As for myself I have always been comfortable in the role of a hard working underdog placing my faith in God and the wisdom of the citizens of Grand Rapids