Ryan Bartholomew

I have a renters’ protections section on my website. But first and foremost, we must adopt a tenants’ bill of rights locally. We also need to ban price-fixing algorithms that keep rent prices artificially high and give prospective tenants the ability to lock in quotes for at least 48 hours

“As a policy director, I have worked on legislation to fight for working people and stand up to corporate monopolies. Together, let’s build an Ann Arbor that prioritizes taking care of the people who take care of us.”

Our teachers, nurses, and first responders deserve better.

#annarbor #a2council

If you want more of the same and not trying new, bold ideas to lower the cost of living for the people who take care of us, then I’m probably not your guy

But I do take issue with one thing, I’m incredibly serious about making life more affordable for the working people of this city

But one specific idea to trim the fat would be to stop throwing millions of dollars at consultants. We have so much talent and intellect in this city. Surely we could hire people to work for city hall as analysts for a fraction of the cost to hire consultants

A2 has the most expensive childcare in the state and AAPS’ enrollment numbers keep dropping. We have to do something to ensure working families can afford to live here

We have a roughly $640 million budget and we start pilot programs all the time. It’s not a matter of how, it’s a matter of will

Ann Arbor’s politics is insular and built around a machine that keeps folks in line. As someone who works in and around it, trust me on this. Many folks in that machine are not as progressive as our city is and are in the pocket of certain donors. The only people I want to serve are the community

And I have! I’d love to do an AMA in the near future 😊

I would propose to do listening sessions around town in that regard and creating a task force to come up with policy ideas for council. One thing that I would like to see movement on is having the city and homeowners repeal racist, restrictive covenants from landmarks and homes

I feel the best way to craft policy is by listening to people’s lived experience and using that as a starting point, particularly if their lived experience is different from yours. As a straight, white, cisgendered man, I don’t have the same lived experience as Ann Arborites of color

Of course! I really commend Councilwoman Harrison’s efforts on highlighting the history of racism and segregation in our city and I highly recommend everyone go watch her film, A Ripple in Arbor. Ending segregationist policies is imperative

I also want to ensure we work on banning private equity firms from buying up our limited supply of starter homes, there is a more comprehensive protection plan for our trees, that we are doing more meaningful communication with residents, and we strongly enforce short-term rental regulations (2/2)

The plan will likely be passed by the time I would serve on Council, which is so also why I put responsibly implement it on my website. As I said, in the implementation, I want to stop giving corporations handouts, have a greater emphasis on affordable housing with social housing options (1/2)

I also want to ensure there are more affordable, social housing options like co-ops and land trusts. I worry about teachers and nurses who serve us being able to live here, not people who can afford the many $1 million condos that are being built

I go into detail on my website about my concerns: ryanbfoward3.com

As I say, I’m largely in support. I just want to responsibly implement the plan. That starts with stopping corporate welfare. People in our community are struggling; I don’t think multi-million dollar development companies are

What would you call the parking garages at Arbor South that will cost us over $300 million over 30 years? Curious that Oxford was awarded that contract after giving thousands of dollars to members of council’s campaigns 🤔

Of course! I want my campaign to be incredibly accessible, lead with listening, and center the working people of this city who take care of us 😊

The 10000 tree plan and Dean Fund have been great, but I want to see an ordinance that explicitly protects non-invasives bigger than 6” thick and builds in more funding to replace them if they are chopped down. Other cities in MI have balanced increasing density with larger canopies than we have

I think we should modernize our tree protection policy and review standards. I view trees as infrastructure. In addition to being part of the city’s legacy, our trees combat climate change. I want to ensure we that we preserve non-invasive trees and have money set aside to replace them if we can’t

Councilwoman Disch admitted that they could have done a better job sending postcards in the beginning of the process. Regardless of how it was, community buy-in is important as we implement the plan going forward. I’m not saying folks will always agree with me, but they will always feel heard

I do. I’m running independently of the Mayor’s slate because I don’t like the machine politics that shuts down more progressive ideas and the coziness they have to corporate developers. I love it here, and I want the teachers, nurses, and first responders to be able to afford to live here too

As for my ideas, I’m well aware that some of them will need state approval and that some will be an uphill battle. But we owe it to the people who take care of us to try new, bold ideas to lower their cost of living

I’m very excited about my municipal-run daycare proposal 😊

Rightly or wrongly, many people feel they were left out of the loop in the development of the CLUP. And that stems from the current city council having a habit of taking a top-down approach to issues instead of leading with listening

I also care about ensuring our trees are protected as the vital infrastructure they are to combat climate change and my philosophy to policymaking is always to bring everyone to the table. We might disagree, but I care that everyone is heard, and that ultimately leads to stronger policies IMO

I want more affordable housing options for the people who can’t afford to live here, and oppose giving large, private developers hundreds of millions of our tax dollars that could instead be going to help take care of the people who take care of us

Hi there! This is Ryan. In general, I’m in favor of the CLUP. My campaign is centered around making A2 affordable for working people and not being beholden to corporate interests

I have some exciting news! Today, I’m launching my campaign for #AnnArbor City Council representing Ward 3! Together, let's build an affordable Ann Arbor that prioritizes taking care of the people who take care of us.

Learn more: www.ryanbforward3.com
And look for the 🐝