Optimize To Realize!

East Point, we have the great opportunity to be an OPTIMAL city, but in order for our community to achieve “WHAT WE KNOW WE CAN ACHIEVE!”; we must have OPTIMISTIC leadership.

The “OPTIMIZE TO REALIZE” campaign is about working together to build an OPTIMISTIC community; FOR THE CULTURE. When East Point chants, “No Point Like East Point!”; it should speak to our truest OPTIMISTIC potential.

East Point, let’s OPTIMIZE TO REALIZE and recognize our fullest potential STARTING with recognizing the tone in city hall matters. On November 2, 2021, I humbly ask that you make the OPTIMISTIC choice and elect BANKSTON | WARD A – AT LARGE |

About Elijah B. Bankston

What I Bring

Born and raised in Albany, GA. Graduate of Kennesaw State University with a Master’s of Accounting. I have experience in AUDIT and RISK MANAGEMENT, where I’ve worked with a variety of entities across multiple industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, technology, insurance, banking, construction, and tax to OPTIMIZE processes; identify opportunities, and mitigate risks. I am running for WARD A – AT LARGE so that we REALIZE our truest OPTIMISTIC potential TOGETHER!

ELECT BANKSTON | WARD A – AT LARGE | November 2nd

The Bankston / Auditor Proposition

Independence

NOUN: A characteristic of integrity, required by THE AUDITOR to carry out his duty freely; executing his decisions impartially and objectively on all issues within his responsibility of serving the community.

Transparency

NOUN: A core pillar of trust; integral in maintaining accountability. THE AUDITOR shines an UNBIASED and bright light on truths and untruths in a commitment to CLEAR and ACCURATE communication.

Competence

NOUN: A key tenant of QUALITY decision making; THE AUDITOR applies his knowledge and experience to OPTIMIZE processes, identify opportunities, and mitigate risks.

ELECT BANKSTON | WARD A – AT LARGE | November 2nd

Frequently Asked Question

How to Build an OPTIMIZED Community.

Communities exist to elevate the quality of life for one another. We do this by pooling our resources (i.e., taxes, skill, etc.) together to maximize human flourishing. From a basic point of view, we already do this with public safety, schools, roads, etc. When I speak about optimizing the city, that means applying the same concept of “pooling resources” for economic development. The resources/metrics to “pool” for an optimized community are as follows:

* Median Income

It is my position that the median income level of an optimized city is a middle-class income. It’s my position that we must increase the median income to a middle-class income by increasing the middle-class housing stock, specifically. Also, I believe in creating as many job/skill training partnerships for current residents, so no resident is left out of the growth. Within the metro Atlanta area, I believe that a middle-class income level is somewhere between $55 – 80K. There should be a positive consensus to be a community for middle-class workers. It is my position that a strong middle class yields great opportunities for those that don’t earn a middle-class wage. A “better quality of life” is a community that has a plentiful / balance supply of restaurants, retail, jobs, etc. In several cases, businesses post the metrics they look for when they select a site. The median income is one of those metrics. The idea of “optimal” is understanding the community’s desires and going after the numbers and the metrics to get what the residents say they want… hitting the optimal median income numbers of the desire.

* Density

Like Median Income, density is also one of the metrics that small, medium and large businesses use for site selection. Again, the idea of “optimal” is understanding the community’s desire and acting in a way to get what the residence say they want. Moreover, density is a metric for community costing. The city of East Point has hundreds of millions of dollars of water infrastructure needs. The more people that reside in a community, the better return on investment we have regarding all capital expenditures. For example: If 1 mile of water infrastructure costs $100, and that mile covers 2 people, that is a cost of $50 per person. If we double the number of people in that 1 mile, the cost is $25 per person. Again, the idea is to get capital expenditure cost per person to a level that makes sense.

* # Of vulnerable individuals

Historically, when quality-of-life improvements are made, low-income workers and seniors can see a negative impact (i.e., displacement). It is my position that optimal communities include all income levels. Decreasing the number of low-income residents by losing low-income housing opportunities is not building an optimal community. Let me clearly say, I want our residents to climb the income ladder, but I believe that as residents climb the income ladder, we should be able to offer homes to other low-income workers. Regarding this metric, it is about knowing the number of low-wage residents in the city and maintaining that level of residents because it takes all income to build an optimal community.

Let’s OPTIMIZE TO REALIZE and recognize it takes OPTIMISTIC leaders for an OPTIMISTIC future. On November 2, 2021, I humbly ask that you make the OPTIMISTIC choice and elect BANKSTON | WARD A – AT LARGE |

ELECT BANKSTON | WARD A – AT LARGE | November 2nd

Frequently Asked Question

**Priorities that need OPTIMIZED Solution**.

Priorities are the things the citizens wish to achieve. These priorities are outlined within East Point’s Comprehensive Plan. I believe it’s important to understand the income and density metrics behind the priorities; and pursuit the metrics. For example, several grocery stores have their location criteria metric readily available for review. We mention “grocery store” in our comprehensive plan. Just as we don’t have a national grocery in the city, we also don’t have many other “quality of life” amenities that are available in other communities. The idea is to use available data to get an understanding of what businesses look for when selecting a community, and building in a way that acts towards the opportunities; but also mitigates risks (i.e., displacement) as presented above at metric “# Of vulnerable individuals”.

Example Grocery Store Site Selection Criteria’s:

Lidi: Location Criteria (realestate-lidl.com)

Aldi: https://corporate.aldi.us/…/real-estate-opportunities/

Addressing the metrics doesn’t require policies, per se; it requires an OPTIMISTIC willingness to pursuit. However, I do take the position that metrics and numbers don’t matter if you’re difficult to get along with. My policy initiatives remove the bureaucratic hassle for both residents and businesses. My position is that the less “red tape” the city has to deal with, the better the city can perform on basic necessities for residents and businesses.

ELECT BANKSTON | WARD A – AT LARGE | November 2nd

How You Can Help

Share This Site!

If you believe in the OPTIMIZE TO REALIZE campaign, please share this site with all the East Point friends and family; then get out and elect BANKSTON | WARD A – AT LARGE | November 2nd.

BankstonForEP.com

How You Can Help

Ask a Question / Become a Volunteer / Request a Sign!

This is a city-wide race, which means I will need your help. If you believe in my goal of OPTIMIZING, please connect with me to see how you can help East Point REALIZE its truest OPTIMISTIC potential!

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