Ryan Kost

I am a 4th Generation Lansing resident and the current 1st Ward Council Member. I have fought for better housing, more money in our roads and sidewalks, world class parks, and investing in our neighborhoods. I have been able to secure many new investments in our housing and parks. I have also made the seat I was elected to transparent again and returned stability to it. I look forward to serving the people of Lansing.

• Investing in Neighborhoods and our residents
• investing in our roads and sidewalks
• Investing in our housing to end the crisis

no

I believe crime is never going to be all gone. I believe that many issues that are labeled as a crime are mental health issues that get ignored. I look at the data from LPD and I do believe we are headed in the right direction but we have hurdles and I am ready to jump each one.

Yes I think Downtown Lansing is coming back. I also think there is potential to have a boom in our city of small local business. I keep in contact with the local business in the 1st Ward and make sure their needs are being met and address any issues they have. We must support them and it will show we care about our small business and it will create growth.

It is the reason I hold this office. people must and always will have a voice with me. I have been transparent holding monthly meetings, posting info regularly on social media, and returning every call that I have received.

They should receive what they ask for. I have had to push FOIA requests for residents several times and that process should not drag on the way it does now and I have been pushing back to make it much faster.

We need to fill the massive hole we have in our departments, fire and police. We also need to start being proactive and not reactive to issues. We preserved increasing their funding this year and that is the right choice. We also need to hold them accountable when they make mistakes but not just that person but the people who made that culture possible. I also believe we need to put more focus on social workers and neighborhood policing, we currently have 8 of the 12 spots filled.

already responded.

Again everything I do is for the people I represent and not my personal beliefs. The people of the 1st Ward know they can pickup the phone and call me and I will be on the other end for them every time. To me the value of the people is my top concern.

I think the approach is the correct one with the shortages we have in police and fire. We still need to try to do our best and better everyday.

I believe Lansing should be working to make things more eco friendly. We need to and are expanding biking and walking paths. This is a car city but we have a chance to change that and it is coming.

I have made it a priority that we cut wasteful spending of our dollars and put more money into infrastructure. I refused to cut the budget for our public service department as we need them more then ever. We also need to look to the state and federal government for that money. We need to create a trash system that is universal and we are currently looking at that. The old ways are gone.

At this time we are increasing their funding, as well as fire, to get more social workers and community police on the streets.

We have no polices active in Lansing.

I am passionate about people. that starts with a great neighborhood and you can't have that if housing is unsafe. We are in a red tag crisis and we need to clean it up and tell these slumlords their meal ticket is over. These are people they are using and only see them as $. I have fought hard in my time in office to turn this around and we are making headway. I am passionate about our parks. We have so many green spaces and we need to see them activated. I was able to activate several parks with new items this spring and will continue to do that.

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I look up to my Grandmother, who is gone now. She was a neighborhood advocate in Lansing for decades and pushed me towards a life of service to others.

No I don't think so. This is real life and I can't pretend to be something I am not.

Honesty, transparency, and listening.

I am honest. I tell people the truth and I stand by my word. I am a workhorse and will work until its done to help people. I have helped hundreds of residents already and work everyday on issues. I don't take time off as the community is 24-7.

Make ordinances, pass resolutions, pass a budget, and provide services to residents or connect them to the service.

To leave Lansing a better place that loves its people again.

I remember the debate in 1992 that happened in East Lansing. I was 4.

I started out at 16 like most kids at McDonalds.

I enjoy books on history. I don't read as much as I would like.

Mickey Mouse.

Wasteland by 10 Years

I have been very lucky in my life. I struggle seeing what we can be and how we treat our residents and I want to change that.

That we pass the budget and control the money. That is when the important stands mean something.

No. I did not have experience but I also got involved. I do believe you need to be involved with your community and understand the issues. You need a reason to run and it has to be the people and a belief you can serve them the best and truly care. That is why I ran.

I believe you have to know your community. The people who live in that community and have an understanding of the needs they have. One size fits all is not a option here.

I am always the guy that when I see a stud finder I pass it along my chest and it lights up and say ope a stud!! Thats a total dad joke...

I am a 4th generation 1st ward resident who has been out in our community working to make it better and am fed up with the same old responses or none at all from our local government. The Local government has stopped listening to the people and I want to be there voice, its not mine. I will lead not from the front but side by side with the residents of the first ward as equals to take back and improve our community.

• Housing is in a pandemic. We have houses that have been tagged for years and left to decay all around the 1st ward. We also have major issues with houses that are being rented and not inspected. many times those houses are inhumane to the resident. We need to end the cycle of abuse of our citizens when it comes to housing. We should all have the right to live in a save and affordable place.
• Parks are the key to any city. It seems only the select few get the attention they need and others get ignored and those are the parks that are used the most. We must bring back balance to how we spend park money and find creative ways to improve our parks as well. We do this together because the parks are for all of Lansing. We used to have world class parks and we can again. I spent much time touring park systems across the state and we can benefit from what they are doing and how they are doing it.
• Trash. We need a better system then we have in place now. Dumping is so common they have a list of the hottest dump spots. This has to end. I have been working with the public service board members to find a creative solution and reaching out to other city officials around Michigan to see what they do. We can find a solution and will.

I am passionate about giving a real voice to the people. Every vote I take will be based on the peoples voice in the 1st ward. We need to start betting on them. It is their voice not mine and I want to be that voice. Too long have we been ignored and I will work everyday to end that. The tired old line of roads, public safety, and neighborhoods has been on mail flyers for years, I know I dug up some old ones, and little has ever been done in these areas once we elect someone. I am passionate when I ask for your vote in November that I will not just disappear I am going to be in the community constantly and keep the conversation going and will hit our issues head on as I have already been doing as a private citizen.