Labor, unarmed crisis response and homelessness emerge as distinct voter concerns

Labor relations, unarmed crisis response and homelessness were grouped by the moderator and drew extended answers.

On union contracts, Christopher Taylor said city workers deserve fair wages and a contract but criticized an initial union demand for 12% annual increases as unsustainable, and stressed negotiations must produce fiscally sustainable agreements. Taylor also noted prior bargaining choices that included a year without raises during COVID and said across-the-board sustainability matters.

Ysef Robi strongly backed the workers, citing endorsements, saying he stood on picket lines and calling the city’s past approach to negotiations disrespectful. He accused the city of privatizing services and said the city had available funding streams it had not prioritized for public-safety mental-health programs and shelter.

On unarmed crisis response, Taylor described progress toward an unarmed supportive-connections program via county partnerships and county millage rebates to fund services. Robi said repeated RFPs had produced unsatisfactory responses, advocated for an in-house city department of social workers and mental-health clinicians rather than contracted co-response models, and connected the need for crisis response to a larger shelter shortage — saying the city currently has over 800 people experiencing homelessness and arguing for a right to shelter.

Neither candidate announced binding commitments to specific contracts, budgets or implementation timetables during the forum.