Adrian mayoral candidate Will Garcia seeks to create city-wide change

ADRIAN – It was earlier this year in February when Will Garcia, longtime Lenawee County resident and activist, made the official announcement that he was running for Adrian mayor.

Since that announcement, more than 10,000 campaign texts have been sent to supporters and over 700 doors in Adrian’s area have been knocked by Garcia himself or those in his campaign.

Garcia said he feels confident about the projected number of voters who are expected to go to the polls for the November 2 general election, and those who are considering or have already voted absent.

“What drives the public to vote is the field group. I can’t do it on my own, ”Garcia said. “What gets people to the polls is that we are knocking on doors. Ultimately, policies that help improve people’s lives will get people to vote. What makes me confident about the election is that our campaign has policies that address the issues people face and we have a great team of people who make sure our word gets out. “

Garcia will appear on the ballot against current Adrian Angie Sword Heath mayor, who is seeking re-election for a second term. The mayor has a two-year term.

A resident of the Adrian, Madison Township and Manitou Beach areas all his life, Garcia said he has always had a civic spirit in one way or another. In 2020, he beat a main challenger to win the Democratic nomination to challenge outgoing State Representative Bronna Kahle, R-Adrian, in the November general election, where he received nearly half the number of votes. as Kahle, granting him a third term in the House.

Garcia did not take too much loss. He continued to advance his agenda.

“I see local politics as a way to solve the problems people face,” he said.

A pivotal moment in his decision to run for mayor came when Adrian’s municipal commission issued a camping ban, which changed the opening hours of city parks and banned those who do not. ‘had no structured family life of camping in the parks. Garcia said the order simply adds additional punishment to those already suffering in the community.

“When you look at this kind of decision, the city has not been diligent in providing investments in social services and housing,” he said. “It creates a lot of problems. It was around then that I realized we needed to make some changes.

According to Garcia, Adrian’s poverty rate has more than doubled in the past five years and three in five people in Adrian are struggling to make ends meet.

While he credited the positivity of Adrian’s continued downtown development, Garcia said the success doesn’t tell the whole story of Adrian.

“The whole story is, not everything is great. There are struggles in our community. I see it every day, ”he said.

To turn the tide, Garcia said political ideas need to be brought to the collective table through “think tanks” and “brain trusts”. Using all kinds of resources and connections available to prepare people for success has to happen, he said.

Making sure Adrian provides well-paying jobs for his citizens is another “very important” position in his campaign.

City-wide services, he added, such as road works and street snow removal during winter, should be just that – city-wide.

“Yet the city’s services are not provided equally,” he said. “Complaints of this nature should be investigated and there should be an audit of our municipal services. A road on the east side should be treated the same as a road on the west side.

Giving people the opportunity to get a taste of working in the construction industry, skilled trades, vocational and technical skills and even soft skills should be something that the municipal government invests in regularly for its citizens. , did he declare.

“It is something that we should take advantage of,” he said.

Garcia said his campaign and the issues he seeks to address if elected mayor are on track to move forward in the city. It seeks to engage the spirit of civil activism and civil engagement with the public. Yet for the change to be made, he cannot do it alone.

“If I was elected mayor, it wouldn’t just be ‘will Garcia be mayor’,” he said. “If I was to win on November 2 and all of the changes I had proposed hadn’t happened during my tenure, then we let the people down. We would have let down people who have been marginalized for a long time. And those of us who failed them should be held accountable. “

Garcia also said that if elected mayor he would take a closer look at the wealth disparity among the city’s residents.

Garcia works as a program specialist in the Washtenaw County Solid Waste Division of the Office of the Water Resources Commissioner, which helps residents dispose of hazardous household chemicals.

He holds an associate’s degree from Jackson College and a bachelor’s degree in community development from Central Michigan University.