2022: Get to Know Your Candidates

The Normal was Never Enough campaign is working to bring attention to childhood disparities in Kent County. While many are working at the community level to bring about change, we also know that policy plays a big role in helping “to build a community where children are happy, healthy and living their best childhoods.” As the November election approaches,  we encourage you to get to know your candidates. This is a perfect time to find out what you can about them, attend a meet and greet event, and peruse their campaign websites. 

Redistricting has changed many people’s districts, so you may be getting to know a whole new slate of incumbents on top of new candidates. As we continue through the campaign, we will equip you with various topics that affect kids’ well-being and give you questions to take to your candidates. We need policymakers that understand the many needs of our children, and the obstacles they are up against and be willing to fund interventions that can change outcomes. We need candidates to put kids first! Be it a congressional candidate or a school board member, all have tools that they can utilize to make sure our kids are getting the resources and tools needed to thrive.

To get started, take a look at the various websites and get familiar with your candidates. Together we can vote Kent County Kids First! 

  • Redistricting Maps: You can look at all the redistricting maps –including county–via the Kent County website here
  • Sample Ballots: To view who is on your ballot, you can visit Ballotpedia or Vote411 websites. As we get closer to the election, you will also be able to find this information at the Michigan Secretary of State Website. These sites will be helpful in identifying your congressional, statewide races, and state house and state senate candidates.
  • School Board: However, who is running for your local school board is often harder to find. You can find a list via this MLive article. We also encourage you to scour your local community facebook pages to find individual campaign websites and questionnaires that they have filled out.