Michael VandeGuchte

My name is Michael VandeGuchte. I am 29 years old and have lived in Lansing for the past 10 years with my fiancé; 6 of which have been in Ward I. I graduate from Michigan State university with my Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife with a Minor in Conservation Enforcement. I currently work as a Team Leader for Meijer, prior to that I was a Security Officer for Sparrow Hospital. My experiences in this city are unique, as are everybody else's. I want to be able to hear the people of the Ward and City and be the leader they are asking for. I am driven, I hold myself to the highest degree of integrity, and practice what I preach. Overall, I want to see Lansing become a safer city and be seen as the pinnacle of Mid-Michigan.

• Economy-Lansing is a city that should be on the rise. My plan is to focus on changes that will attract business and labor force to increase revenue to the City while maintaining and supporting the positive structures and policies we currently have in place.
• Public Safety-Fix the small things and the big things will fix themselves. I truly believe that showing that the city cares about small matters will fix a lot of the moderate problems we see in the city in reference to crime. I will work hard with the Mayor and LPD to find ways that we can begin implementing these changes and not ignore the duties that need to be completed.
• Mental Health It's time the City of Lansing has solid programs in place to assist those in mental health crisis. There are proven correlations to mental health, homelessness and crime rates. Great strides in this area will make the City better for everyone.

No

Crime rates are definitely changing. Not only can I speak from my own experience in my current job but statistics from the Michigan State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigations point towards an uptrend in violent crimes. If we look at historical data we will more than likely see a downtrend within the next 5 years but that is a long time to combat these statistics. I truly believe that an increase in giving minimum sentences and plea deals for certain crimes is the root cause of this uptrend we are seeing now.

The downtown area is healthy, the problem I have seen and heard is that it relies far to much on the Capital traffic for business. This is why we see shops downtown closing around 5pm. I think finding a healthy mix of eateries that residents can utilize that are not exorbitantly expensive is the next logical step for our downtown area.

Residents should have the loudest voice when it comes to the decision making process. Its not just the City Council or Mayors town to live in. I would always welcome residents to communicate with me in any form and I would be more than willing to not just listen to them, but hear them, even if they are upset with me. One of the parts of going for a position like this is knowing that everyone has a voice, not just a few select residents.

I still believe that Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests should be filled. I also believe that this process should be easier and more streamlined. Hiding things is the number one way to lose trust with the people. Honestly, no politician should ever feel like they need to hide anything they do in office.

Lansing's number one violent crime is assault. I truly believe that getting back to community policing and interacting with the public is the best way to reduce this statistic. When was the last time you saw officers walking downtown or through a park? Finding ways to help citizens resolve conflict and having officers present in the communities to intervene before a physical altercation occurs will reduce our violent crime rate. Fix the small things and the big things will fix themselves.

There is a very fine line that needs to be walked when dealing with big development and small businesses/ housing communities. The history behind Lansing is one of its most outstanding characteristics and I would never be for any development that would take away from that fact. New is not always better and sometimes a re-furbished look adds to the character of the surrounding area. Also, historical communities should remain as such as long as the homes meet present day safety standards.

By talking to the community. The job of any political office is to execute the will of the people you represent. The first step is by winning an election, which tells you as the representative that your views align with a majority of the people in your district. The next step is to make sure you don't just listen, but hear your constituents and make sure you have a good grasp of how they feel about everything that comes across your desk. I feel that the disconnect the people in the United States have with their politicians is that they do not feel like they are being heard.

I personally feel like the city focuses a lot of time on the top 10% of crimes. I am not saying that these are not important investigations, but I believe getting back into the communities and creating a great image within patrol areas should be high on the priority list.

There has been a lot of talk about trees and the trimming that was done incorrectly for powerlines. We recently had a very severe storm that brought this into the limelight and I feel that we should be taking better care of these resources that not many big cities have anymore. It may be time to revisit the underground powerline idea again as well. Although this would be a lengthy, costly, and arduous process.

Infrastructure falls within my business mindset and making Lansing the pinnacle of Mid-Michigan. We need to focus on high traffic area sidewalks, parking lots and roads. As the saying goes, pretty sells. After that we can begin working on the worst roads in the city, and utilizing patching as an emergency fix and not just the go -to standard.

Lansing Police Department is definitely working with what it has right now. I have seen some great steps in the right directions and I would love to help take them farther in any way I can.

I would have more than likely reacted the same way the world did when Covid-19 started. I would not have been a proponent of allowing it to last as long as it did. Although I know everyone's hands were tied because of federal mandates, I would have had much more lax policies as the pandemic drew on.

Protecting and uplifting small business is one of my biggest priorities. Lansing needs the revitalization and when we hurt our small businesses we are hurting our own economic backbone. There is a fine line that needs to be navigated with large and small businesses to essentially make a city recession proof but I want to be at the table when we have those conversations.

Lansing's number one violent crime is assault. I truly believe that getting back to community policing and interacting with the public is the best way to reduce this statistic. When was the last time you saw officers walking downtown or through a park? Finding ways to help citizens resolve conflict and having officers present in the communities to intervene before a physical altercation occurs will reduce our violent crime rate.

I am extremely passionate about finding ways to cut costs without cutting departments funding. I am a huge supporter of utilizing miscellaneous budget-balancing tactics such as splitting payments, reducing paper budget by utilizing e-services, hiring collection agencies to pursue outstanding debt, limiting employee travel, eliminating overtime and reducing non-essential worker hours before cutting department budgets.

I have always had a fondness for Steve Irwin. He was so genuine all of the time and truly loved what he did. I like to think that I try my hardest to be that way.

I can't say there's anything out there that I know of. If there was to be a book or essay that would describe me it would probably be titled "The Federalist Papers 2: The Views of a Modern Moderate"

-Integrity
-Accountability
-Friendliness
-Equality
-Leader
-Approachable
-Self-Motivated

First and foremost I pride myself on my Integrity. I am also able to talk to anyone, no matter their views or beliefs. I hold everyone to the same standard, and I preach accountability and hold myself to that same standard.

To execute the will of the constituents, to be the checks and balances of the local government agencies, and to overall hold everyone accountable.

I simply want to make Lansing a better place for everyone. Ideally, my vision of Lansing becoming the pinnacle of Mid-Michigan would be realized.

I remember September 11, 2001. Getting sent home from elementary school early my parents had the T.V on in the living room and I saw the planes hitting the towers. I was 7 years old at the time.

I was a grounds keeper for Fellows Creek Golf Course in Canton Michigan for two years.

The Beast in the Garden by David Baron

An excellent book that talks about a Mountain Lion in Colorado that started attacking family pets and eventually people. This book details the difficult time biologists and the City of Boulder had dealing with the animal.

I would love to live in either the Star Wars or Star Trek universes. There would just be so much to do and see!

The Middle- Zedd, Maren Morris, Grey. I literally could not think of anything else for a solid two weeks.

Honestly I am no different than anyone else. I have bills to pay. I have vehicles break down at very inconvenient times and need to find a way to scape the money together to get them fixed. Life in and of itself is a struggle and I am no stranger to the stresses that it can bring.

I do not believe previous experience in government would be necessary, but an understanding of politics would be extremely beneficial.

If anybody asks me a question and uses "surely" in it I pretty much always have to follow Airplane! format and answer their question then state "and don't call me Shirley".

Other than that:

What do lawyers wear to court?

Lawsuits