I understand that as bigoted and backwards thinking LBP is, he certainly has an excellent reputation as a money guy. Oakland county is consistently under budget and making money under his watch...

but.. his ways of thinking of sprawl and suburbanization are severely outdated. I never knew much about his opponent until this article [[as I won't be voting for oakland county executive anyways).

She seems to be extremely progressive moving forward into this decade, understanding the importance of good public transportation, and walkable communities for young people. some of the quotes in this article are interesting..


"She said Oakland County has changed and Patterson hasn't.Patterson is trapped in an outdated mentality of freeways and sprawl when the growth market is in walkable downtowns and redevelopment of older communities to attract young, college-educated workers, Barnett said."

"Barnett said she supports the Regional Transportation Authority tax that voters are asked to approve in November will fund commuter rail, expanded regional bus service and a streetcar system in downtown Detroit.
Patterson agreed to have tax question on the ballot, but said he's remaining neutral, noting "there are enough issues in that document to give me concern.""

"The two candidates differ on the necessity of expanding I-75 through the county, a project that's expected to cost more than $1 billion and take more than a decade to complete."

"Barnett points to the rebirth of Downtown Detroit as proof that young workers prefer walkable communities with access to public transportation."

http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...rson/92689116/

""I'm proposing redevelopment around transit hubs," Barnett said. "It would increase property values in our older communities, that really need to have redeveloped without being a drag on the county.""

so in summary, she supports the RTA, opposes the I-75 expansion, and wants to further develop the suburbs around transit hubs, understanding the importance... whereas LBP has remained neutral or gone against all her beliefs.

Unfortunately for her she has a STEEP hill to climb to beat LBP. He has raised 700,000 while she raised 10,000. and LBP track record of remaining on budget and with a surplus will surely likely win him the election..

what-say-you Oakland county dyes voters?