MARTn:; FOR MAYOR

POLICY STATEMENT
HEVENUE GENERATION
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We are entering into a new era in the attitudes of municipal
governments throughout the na tion.
A major component of this era is the new generation of creative
and independent public service minded men and women who claim no al-
leigance to wealthy special interests and who initiate policy propos-
als on the basis of community need instead of political favoritism.
These new breed politiclans are unashamedly l eading the way in
actively searching out ways for cities to generate revenue in an eq-
uitabl e and consciencous way so that the burden of inflation and ris-
ing taxes on ordinary citizens may be lessened, providing much needed
relief from the economic crunch.
I have proposed tax and expenditure reforms designed to cut costs
for the vast majority of taxpayers but I do not believe that these
ref orms , although substantial they may be,are, in themselves, far
reaching enough to cope with the tough financial pre(\icament .that most
families must face.
We must use the resources of government and the combined intellect
of residents to evolve novel and dramatic new programs to generate
needed revenues for the city if we are to meet social needs in the
coming years.
In line with these needs I am unveiling a proposal today that
would lead to significant benefits for the entire community and, at
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the same time, would generate thousands of dollars in uncommitted
revenue for the Urban County Government,
Early in my administration I will propose that the government
move to create a non-profit, community controlled retail food coop-
erative.
Using operation models of existing coops from various localities
as a guide I will submit the following plan and suggest that the
subsequent benefits would be derived from the project.
STRUC'rURE
1) The governing structure for the co-op should be fully democratic
with elected representation from each district comprising a board of
directors which would be primarily responsible for policy decisions.
These persons would receive no remuneration.
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2) 'I'he individual retail components of the co-op sho,uld be similar
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to a supermarket in size and appearance but would different
in. content and orientation. (more on this later) The individual sto.res
would be run by experienced retailers and staffed by community residents
who would be responsible to the board of directors.
J) Each store would maintain a full-time home economist on staff to
guide store policy and to advise consumers.
4) The co-op would make arrangements with farmers in the Fayette Co.
area to purchase fresh produce.
5) The co-op would open initially in two stores. One each in the
northern and southern ends of the city. It would expand on the
basis of need, to other areas of the city, not on the basis of prof it
motive.
BENEFITS
There are two crucial benefits that can be derived from this plan.
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1) Consumers would be paying substantially less for products
2) The Urban County Government would gain thousands of dollars in
revenue to be utilized. for any chosen purpose.
Other major be nefits that c ould be accrued include:
3) Increased earnings for area farmers provided by a permanent local
source for purchasing agricultural goods.
4) Consumers would have access to a faT superior array of fresh,
quality produce due to the policy of purchasing from area farmers.
5) Consumers would be encourag ed to utilize their food dollars wisel;y
through home economics and n.utrition counseling. In contrast to the
typical food market found in our community today the stores would
include high quality, nutritious foods as well as the normal stock
and customer would be be educated toward the purchase of these foods
instead of "junk", low-nutrition foodstuffs.
6) The supermarket could serve as a centralized point of coordination
for the community nutrition program I neigh- 1
borhood projects i
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7) The stores would pe providing jobs'.:; t6 c;urrently persons
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and would provide training to to allow them to become

a proctuct i ve part of ];he work force
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8 ) Consumers would be secure in that the incentive for chain
supermarkets to rip them off. would be\ _'1iminished. (A recent stucy . has
indicl?-ted that large supermarkets consumers by
millions of dollars in recent years)
Clearly the practical benefits to the government
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from an undertaking of this sort would be monumental and merit our
immediate consideration. As a I would also support a small
g rant from the government to the non-profit Good Foods Coop, already
in operation.
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