Platform
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The Calhoun County Democratic Party is focusing on the issues that matter most to working families in Michigan: creating good-paying jobs; recruiting prosperous, socially responsible companies; preparing children for successful futures through access to a quality public school education; providing high-quality, accessible and affordable healthcare to all; promoting financial security through economic growth and secure retirement benefits; ending discrimination in all its forms; protecting voter rights; reforming government to be transparent and accountable; improving our state and local roads; improving public transportation; and protecting our priceless natural resources for future generations.
Education:
Public schools are the foundation of our democracy. We support early childhood education and high-quality public schools and believe we should eliminate funding for charter schools and reexamine the impact of schools of choice.
Infrastructure:
Michigan’s infrastructure provides the backbone to its economy. The State of Michigan is responsible for raising the revenue necessary to repair and replace aging infrastructure, rather than relying on local communities to pass millages or special assessments.
Job Training:
In an ever-changing economy, people need access to educational opportunities to prepare them for the careers of the future. We need to support retraining opportunities for people of all ages in our community and encourage students to enter vocational programs or apprenticeships to fill the increasing number of jobs available in the technical or skilled trades. As part of this initiative we need to encourage businesses to provide co-op or apprenticeship to students.
Community Health Care:
The unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness should be at the forefront when communities think of health. We need to promote healthy lifestyles through active community design, the consumption of fresh food, providing healthcare for everyone including teaching responsible sexual practices and support for drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.
Economic Development:
Our economy is local. It is an eco-system of its own and needs to be supported by reducing blight; improving the appearance of the community; hiring locally; shopping locally; supporting and growing union labor; providing a living wage; supporting the educational development of local workers; and expanding entrepreneurial opportunities. We need to make the built community more vibrant and attractive so that young people who pursue post-secondary educations will choose Calhoun County as a place to work and raise a family.
Social Justice:
Societies are most successful when all citizens are valued and respected by their fellow citizens and all citizens receive equitable treatment by their government. Consequently, the CCDP and the candidates we support will advocate for policies that ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.
Environment:
The planet Earth supports all life and therefore should be respected and cared for. We support policies that help protect our natural resources, green the economy, and allow citizens to adopt more environmentally friendly lifestyles.
Voting:
The CCDP is committed to ensuring a fair voting process that allows everyone’s vote to matter equally. We support fair districting policies, a county wide ID, and Chartered Commissions to review the ward and mayoral systems.
Government:
Big money is having too much influence on our political system. We support reducing the amount of money in the political process at the state level through legislation. We should hold our candidates to a high level of transparency and disclosure. Politicians and government officials should be held to the highest ethical standards, and held accountable when committing conflicts of interest.
Judicial System:
Our criminal justice system, while protecting society from violent individuals, should also increase opportunities for rehabilitation, especially for those who are non-violent first time offenders or lack access to adequate mental health services to manage their symptoms.
The Calhoun County Democratic Party is focusing on the issues that matter most to working families in Michigan: creating good-paying jobs; recruiting prosperous, socially responsible companies; preparing children for successful futures through access to a quality public school education; providing high-quality, accessible and affordable healthcare to all; promoting financial security through economic growth and secure retirement benefits; ending discrimination in all its forms; protecting voter rights; reforming government to be transparent and accountable; improving our state and local roads; improving public transportation; and protecting our priceless natural resources for future generations.
Education:
Public schools are the foundation of our democracy. We support early childhood education and high-quality public schools and believe we should eliminate funding for charter schools and reexamine the impact of schools of choice.
Infrastructure:
Michigan’s infrastructure provides the backbone to its economy. The State of Michigan is responsible for raising the revenue necessary to repair and replace aging infrastructure, rather than relying on local communities to pass millages or special assessments.
Job Training:
In an ever-changing economy, people need access to educational opportunities to prepare them for the careers of the future. We need to support retraining opportunities for people of all ages in our community and encourage students to enter vocational programs or apprenticeships to fill the increasing number of jobs available in the technical or skilled trades. As part of this initiative we need to encourage businesses to provide co-op or apprenticeship to students.
Community Health Care:
The unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness should be at the forefront when communities think of health. We need to promote healthy lifestyles through active community design, the consumption of fresh food, providing healthcare for everyone including teaching responsible sexual practices and support for drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.
Economic Development:
Our economy is local. It is an eco-system of its own and needs to be supported by reducing blight; improving the appearance of the community; hiring locally; shopping locally; supporting and growing union labor; providing a living wage; supporting the educational development of local workers; and expanding entrepreneurial opportunities. We need to make the built community more vibrant and attractive so that young people who pursue post-secondary educations will choose Calhoun County as a place to work and raise a family.
Social Justice:
Societies are most successful when all citizens are valued and respected by their fellow citizens and all citizens receive equitable treatment by their government. Consequently, the CCDP and the candidates we support will advocate for policies that ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.
Environment:
The planet Earth supports all life and therefore should be respected and cared for. We support policies that help protect our natural resources, green the economy, and allow citizens to adopt more environmentally friendly lifestyles.
Voting:
The CCDP is committed to ensuring a fair voting process that allows everyone’s vote to matter equally. We support fair districting policies, a county wide ID, and Chartered Commissions to review the ward and mayoral systems.
Government:
Big money is having too much influence on our political system. We support reducing the amount of money in the political process at the state level through legislation. We should hold our candidates to a high level of transparency and disclosure. Politicians and government officials should be held to the highest ethical standards, and held accountable when committing conflicts of interest.
Judicial System:
Our criminal justice system, while protecting society from violent individuals, should also increase opportunities for rehabilitation, especially for those who are non-violent first time offenders or lack access to adequate mental health services to manage their symptoms.