3 takeaways from Kinloch's mayoral town hall
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The Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr.'s town hall. Photo: Annalise Frank/Axios
Detroit's mayoral candidates continue meeting voters in town halls and taking audience questions as Election Day approaches.
Driving the news: We attended the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr.'s Sept. 20 town hall at Anderson Memorial Church of God in Christ, where the Triumph Church senior pastor spelled out how Detroit is at a "pivotal crossroad" and in need of great change.
Three of our takeaways:
🏡 Not really affordable: Kinloch pointed to long-held criticism about housing for Detroiters — that units here designated "affordable" aren't actually affordable for families.
- His platform includes a goal to build, preserve and renovate 10,000 housing units.
Context: Affordable housing measures are based on federal rules that use regional median income figures significantly higher than Detroit's. Still, there are many barriers to low-rent housing construction.
- "Don't tell me affordable housing is $1,500, $1,600, $1,700, $1,800 a month when the average working-class family in the city of Detroit ain't even making $800 a week," Kinloch said.
💸 Big business over residents: "Budget is about priority, and for too long, we've prioritized big business. It's time now to prioritize the residents of the city of Detroit," he said.
- Kinloch added that all residents are overburdened by taxes, while tax incentives are used only to benefit select areas of the city.
👀 Land bank accountability: City Council recently called for a state audit of the often-criticized Detroit Land Bank Authority.
- "Why do you need the state to come in to audit the land bank when you got the power to do that sitting at the (council) table?" Kinloch said.
- He thinks City Council should have looked deeper into the land bank long ago instead of approving its budgets "year after year."
Go deeper: Town hall takeaways from fellow mayoral candidate and City Council President Mary Sheffield.