Candidate Profile: Beverly Kindle-Walker For Detroit Clerk

Beverly Kindle-Walker

Age (as of Election Day)

67

Position Sought

Detroit Clerk

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

Jesse Walker, husband City of Detroit retiree, Justin Walker, 36, son musican

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

sister, Mayor Valerie Kindle- Harper Woods

Education

Masters Certificate in Public Admin and Bacholers in Community Development/Minor in Public Admin both from Central Michigan University, Asso Degree-WCCCD

Occupation

Legislative Assistant to Wayne County Commissioner Tim Killeen D-Dist 1, 2007 to present

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Elected Precinct Delegate, 30 years

Campaign website

www.beverly4detroitcityclerk.c...

Why are you seeking elective office?

I want to restore trust in the Office of Detroit City Clerk. Essentially to protect the vote and to defend the integrity of Detroit voters. To end voter suppression in Detroit by improving the dismal record of poor voter turnout due in part to unmotivated voters. I will execute Section 3-103 in the current Detroit City Charter to force Trump and the Republicans to produce their evidence of “voter fraud” in Detroit or be sued.
The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The main area of the problem is in the absentee counting boards in the precincts. There are too many simple human errors that could be avoided if proper checks are in place. A 70% error rate is ridiculous. Election workers must be truly committed to the task of delivering a clean and efficient election. Each one should be encouraged to have pride in their contribution to a successful election that can stand up to a recount. In addition to performance audits, the election equipment must be regularly tested to ensure its integrity. During elections the equipment should be transported to the various polling locations at least three days prior in order to test the unit’s functionality. If a machine needs to be replaced it can be readily done before the election date. Finally, new legislation could be advocated for more time in the pre-processing of absentee ballots envelopes without actually counting the votes prior to the election date.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I have been a candidate for public office several times and have had to deal with a number of inefficiencies and irregularities from the City Clerk's office that has negatively affected the outcome of the election. I was on the Aug 2020 ballot where the Clerk had a 72% error rate rendering the election un-recountable. I will work to reestablish the public's trust in the Office of City Clerk which has lost the confidence of Detroit voters.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

The failure to properly process absentee ballot applications was a huge problem in the 2020 General Election. The Clerk had to be sued by the ACLU to process 70,000 plus applications that were in an internal bottleneck.

Recently the Clerk made the decision to eliminate some of the Satellite Voting Centers and Ballot Drop Boxes that will adversely impact voters in District 4 (48224 & 48236) and voters who rely on public transportation. There is only one Satellite Voting Center and drop box in the entire District 4. The list of centers/drop boxes that the office published is erroneous because Butzel Family Center is in District 5. There is no drop box/vote center at the Rosa Parks Transit Center (imagine what Mrs. Parks would say about that!) where bus riders are already challenged in casting their votes. COVID-19 is another reason why people are choosing to vote absentee. We need to be more accommodating not less!

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

I would have utilized the 10 vans that the Election Commission purchased to help facilitate getting information out into a community leary about being exposed to COVID-19 but desiring to cast their vote.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Providing accurate, consistent election information to the public will be paramount. Better use of social media technology would be employed with staff dedicated to that charge. Will reconcile the Qualified Voter List in real time so that there is no wasted effort reaching out to voters who are not or should not be on the QVL. Those who are verifiably no longer a qualified voter due to death, non-voting history or have moved should be removed. There is alleged to be over 500,000 registered voters on the QVL which is difficult to be believe considering that the population in Detroit is 675,000. Will utilize Global Positioning Systems to verify addresses of actual structures. I would also have a marketing plan to inform voters of the ease in voting following the 2018 Promote the Vote action in Michigan that now allows same day registration/voting; absentee voting without excuse and expanded use of ballot drop boxes among other issues. I would like to revamp civic involvement in government opportunities in the public, private and charter high schools so that graduating students can make the connection sooner on the importance of voting.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Life.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Be consistent.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I will function in total concert of the three Detroit City Charter mandated areas for the Clerk and The State of Michigan's Elections Manual. The other areas of responsibilities that the Clerk has as it relates to serving as the Clerk to the Detroit City Council and being the keeper of the Corporate Seal. One area relating to the Detroit City Council would be to improve the turnaround time in providing formal transcripts of meetings to the public. I think the Clerk’s office could make available the Closed Caption text information as an informal transcript of the various committee meetings for immediate reference to the public. Plans will be in the works to gain control over the Detroit City Clerk’s website from the City of Detroit website platform.
Also, I would promote an interactive voter education program that would be made available to voters via Cable Access Channel 10 and will host a yearly informational community meetings to help acclimate people to the entire process of voting.The instructions to voters on "how to vote" needs to be rewritten in a more direct format. This will help cut down the number of spoiled ballots with a more informed voter.