Issues

Sustainable development.

No more 5 story apartment buildings overlooking backyard swimming pools. Modifications to zoning laws?

Deer overpopulation will become more of a problem as the land is developed and the habitat is reduced. Deer-car collisions will increase unless something is done.

Fiscal restraint.

Propose a 1% inflation-adjusted budget cut each year for five years. Possible property tax cut, or use the savings for the firefighters incentive fund.

Keep Troy family friendly.

Keep funding for the library, parks & recreation, police and fire. Troy is a great place to raise a family, with good school districts in all parts of the city. Let’s keep our emphasis on the library, and parks and recreation while maintaining our great police and fire departments.

Treat government like a business.

Don’t rubber stamp new spending. Keep budget increases to the rate of inflation or lower.

Partner with schools.

Explore city council internships for high school students. Encourage robotics teams as extra-curricular activities.

I support the effort to keep Troy honors programs in middle schools. Students learn best when they learn at a pace that challenges them. The smarter kids will coast and slower students will struggle if everyone is in the same math or English class. See www.keeptroyhonors.com for more about the 2023 school board recall effort.

Energy efficiency and recycling.

Consider fuel economy when updating city vehicles. Encourage recycling for apartments, condominiums and businesses. I have suggested this to Somerset Apartments and Sunnymeade apartments already.

The FIRST LEGO League “Trash Trek” theme on my business card T-shirt ties in with promoting recycling. Reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle. The plastic bags widely used in grocery and big box stores can be repurposed for cleaning cat litter boxes and picking up after dogs on walks. Better yet, bring your own bags to the store!

Modified speech October 18, 2023

Good evening! I would like to explain a couple of phrases used in my newspaper ads for Troy City Council member. Please correct any mistakes I’ve made in the council response time.

Vote for individuals, not a slate.

The Safe Troy Slate is misnamed. The Troy City Council has not done as much as it could to recruit more police officers, who help keep our city safe. The council could have voted for increased salaries and signing bonuses to attract more police officers.

Two of the three Slate candidates are incumbents. Are they pledging to help sign more than ten new police officers? (open requisitions) Is the non-incumbent hoping to ride their coattails to victory?

Besides me, the independent campaigners for council are Mark Gunn, Ed Ross and Ed Kempen. Mark Gunn is the hardest working person in the race and will represent the people of Troy well. Ed Ross is a volunteer firefighter familiar with the past and new incentive plans; his educational background and work experience makes him well qualified to serve on the council. Ed Kempen has some fresh ideas and has also run before.

The council is close to single party rule: all six council members are more liberal in their views than I. Dr. Brooks is a former Democrat precinct delegate. Mayor Ethan Baker is the lone Republican. Being a council member is a non-partisan position but everyone brings their political philosophy to the job. Recently, Ann Erickson Gault sponsored a resolution supporting Black Lives Matter, which is arguably not city business and not a group the majority of people in Troy would want to support.

Necessities before amenities.

This also needs some explanation. Attracting and retaining the volunteer firefighters is a necessity, not an amenity. If enough of our volunteers quit, we will need full-time paid firefighters at a much higher cost to the taxpayers.
The new outdoor skating rink was voted on unanimously by the current council. It is a nice amenity but pretty expensive. I understand the tired argument that was used for the white elephant transit center (“If our community doesn’t approve this, some other city will get the money. Congress has already allocated the money.)” But it is all our American tax money!
The skating rink should at least have chillers like a conventional ice rink. Then it could be used in shoulder seasons or midwinter thaws. Will it have a Zamboni machine and ice time for recreational hockey?
It’s time to restore some balance to the council. Please vote for Murrish, Gunn and Ross. Thank you!

I pledge to work harmoniously with the other council members and mayor. Different ideas do not have to be divisive. “There is no solvable problem that a group of politicians can’t render insolvable.” (Running for Local Office for Dummies, Dan Gookin)

Your issue here.

On the campaign trail: One resident asked about the KMart HQ redevelopment project and said we already have plenty of multi-story condos. People in Troy who want a single floor with smaller space have no good options in Troy and have to move to Rochester Hills.

Send me an email: dalemurrish@gmail.com

I look forward to serving on the council and ask for your support. I think I would bring it diversity of thought.