Dayne was at Supreme Doughnuts Tuesday morning for his weekly coffee talk with the people of Flint. The Walling for Mayor campaign staff spent several days last week going door-to-door in the surrounding neighborhoods along Fenton Rd. and Dayne wanted another chance to find out what was on the minds of the people of Flint’s 8th ward.

Upon introducing himself to a table of regular customers, one man joked “You’re not ugly enough to be mayor”. “We need young blood like yourself” countered a women across the table. She went on to ask if Dayne was a convicted felon. When he told her he wasn’t, she said” That’s pretty cool”.

Drug sales, break-ins, and prostitution in the area concerned many folks. “My husband was propositioned right outside our home” said one young wife on Lincoln St. “We’re moving to Davison; this neighborhood wasn’t like this when we bought our home five years ago. I wish we could stay, but we can’t”. “They chase the prostitutes out of one part of town, and they just relocate somewhere else.” said her husband. “Now they’re here, but nothing is being done about it”. Unfortunately, stories like this are all too common in Flint. People just don’t feel enough is being done to proactively prevent crime.

The people of Flint are our greatest resource; how are we going to attract new jobs and opportunities to Flint, when we can’t even keep the people we have from moving out of the city? Flint needs new leadership and a renewed focus on putting the citizens of Flint first at City Hall.