Council Member Stanley Martin: "Don't Give Up When the First 'No' Happens"

Councilmember Stanley Martin started her career as a therapist, working with inmates in the Rochester jail. For many of those in the jail, their issues were systemic – poor socioeconomic backgrounds, most came from single parent households and these issues led her to community organizing, which led her to running for office. -            First elected in Nov. 2021 & re-elected in Nov. 2025, she sits on the Budget, Finance & Governance Cmte. & Public Safety Cmte. The Budget & Finance Cmte. is the lead committee that runs through the mayor’s proposed budget, it should be responsible for making amendments and making the public aware of what is in the budget. **The Budget really is a moral document**. It determines what the city’s priorities are, how we are going to care for our community. The budget passed in June.  -            She supports the continued funding of **The PIC Team** (Person in Crisis) & the **Credible Messenger Violence Prevention Program** (violence intervention by trusted community members with shared lived experience that provides 18 months of intensive mentorship that focuses on youth at risk for gun violence)**.** -            She does not support the large budget granted to the RPD. The Public Safety Committee members have differing views on what it means to “be safe”. Some members say it means affordable housing, access to quality education, food, and resources; others believe it means more armed police officers. The committee works to find compromise. **RRRN: Rochester Rapid Response Network**: volunteer-led network of people who respond in real time to stand side-by-side with people impacted by ICE, or immigration raids. RocRapidResponse@gmail.com **Free the People ROC** began in the summer of 2020. It’s an organization centered around care and mutual aide. People in Rochester had concerns about policing in black and brown communities. It started as a “safe space” to share feelings of anger and rage and turned into an organization created to address issues of public safety and to make sure people weren’t experiencing harm by *any* government institution. ftproc@riseup.net **Daniel’s Law**: across NYS people in mental health crisis are at higher risk of being killed by police. When someone was in crisis anyone BUT police were prioritized to respond to the call: social workers, mental health counsellors, peers with lived experiences. The law was written and has been advocated for with its champions Sen. Samra Brouk and Assembly Member Harry Bronson. DanielsLawNY.org **Rochester People’s Assembly**: designed to provide a unified, inclusive space for residents and partners in government to discuss, organize and stay informed about issues that impact ROC.  **Housing Justice for all**: Rochester is facing both a housing crisis homeless crisis. We need levels of care to address this problem. We need rent stabilization. Almost 2/3 of the city’s population are renters. We need funding, and grants for people ready to buy homes. We also need homeowner prep. programs to make sure they have all the tools they need to be successful. info@roctenantunion.org Housing options are needed for the deaf, disabled and elder communities. The city should be able to transform abandoned and vacant buildings into housing, and they can partner with small developers. The city can become its own developer. We had a very active community land trust at one point (City Roots Community Land Trust). It’s cheaper to address the root problem than to ignore it and deal with the consequences later. **Salary Issues**: the job requires a minimum of 30 hours/week. Weeks where legislative packets are reviewed require more time to research, read, prepare, ask questions. During the budget cycle it’s so easy to go to 60 hours/week reading the budgets, comparing it to previous years, finding out if certain elements can be amended, finding out where funding comes from. To make City Council more accessible to working class people the pay must be equal to a full time job. City Council Members shouldn’t just be for those who can afford it. To Contact Councilmember Martin: Natalia.Lauer@cityofrochester.gov If you are in the Rochester NY area and would like to be on the podcast, please send me an email and tell us what you do or what organization you represent that contributes to the bettering of the people or the Greater Rochester area. We bring local businesses to the forefront of the community and we look to keep you always informed in terms of what's happening in your community. MarciaGlenn53@gmail.com Please email your questions about today's episode or any questions you have about real estate, or buying or selling a home to glennadvantage@howardhanna.com. We will be answering these questions in our future podcast episodes. Marcia Glenn is a licensed Associate Real Estate Broker with has worked tirelessly since 1992 for her clients, whether they are buying or selling a home. Her team of agents brings with them experience, innovation, perspective and drive to make them part of the top 10% of all REALTORS in the Rochester NY area.  Join us next time for "On the Go with the Glenn Advantage Team". Search for "On the Go with the Glenn Advantage Team wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to our YouTube channel @glennadvantage, or follow us on Instagram and Facebook.