Mayoral write-in candidate speaks to group

Phil La Barge, a write-in candidate for the mayor's race, was the speaker at the Eastside Business Association meeting June 1. He was the second candidate running for the mayor's seat to address the group.

La Barge, who said he had more than 1,200 signatures on his petition, was disqualified by the city clerk's office because of false signatures.

"I hired people to work for me to get the signatures," La Barge explained. "It turns out the people I hired made up names. I'm going to City Hall after this meeting to register as a write-in candidate."

Asked if he would be a write-in candidate for the primary election or the mayoral election, La Barge said he didn't know but would find out.

La Barge said he's been a resident of Flint for more than 14 years.

He graduated from Mott Community College with an associate's degree in accounting and is now a student at UM-Flint working on his bachelor's degree in mathematics. He previously worked as a bookkeeper for five years and as an accountant for five years, he said.

"Failure is not an option," La Barge announced as he began his address. His T-shirt echoed his opening remark as he explained how his recent kidney failure left him unable to walk, but hasn't dampened his concern for the community.

"I've been active in the community for over 30 years," La Barge explained. "I started my service as an Eagle Scout and I've been involved in the Optimist Club and the Knights of Columbus. I want to turn our city around. We need to change our culture," he said.

"Jobs are the key to improving our community," La Barge explained. He said if elected he would work to bring 1,000 new manufacturing jobs to Flint.

"The previous administrations want to live on the back of GM," he said. "I want to promote our city and bring real jobs by encouraging businesses to relocate here. We need to sell all the good things in our community. I want to be the fertilizer on the ground that will create jobs. I can't do this alone, I will need the city council to work with me," La Barge said.

According to La Barge, if elected, he would work with the police and fire unions.

"If we stop making mistakes like we have in the past we would have at least $1 million to hire more police," La Barge said.

To balance the city budget La Barge said he would evaluate every appointee to see if they are performing in their jobs.

"I will cut my pay in half," he said.

"The youth and elderly of the city have fallen through the cracks. We need to restore the idea of community within our city. We can get millions in grant money to save the kids and restore our police force. I don't have a magic bullet but we need to band together to get things done," La Barge said.

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