jerryprice

BH Entrepreneur Jerry Price Steps Away from a Proposed Fall Campaign

jerryprice

Benton Harbor entrepreneur and community leader Jerry Price beams when he talks about his Saturday mornings. As he puts it, “There’s nothing like a Saturday morning when neighbors and I are out cleaning our block and cutting the grass, and having dozens of residents pass by and wave or honk and say, ‘Thank you for a great job.’” Recognizing that his focus lies there at the heart of the neighborhoods, Price has made a difficult decision this week, and says, “I have decided not to run a campaign for the November 7th election for Benton Harbor City Commissioner at Large.”

After working for months setting the stage for a run, Price, who serves as Community Development Director at the Benton Harbor-St. Joseph YMCA Family Center, says that a proposed city income tax and two other key reasons lie at the heart of his decision.

He tells me, “First, I think Benton Harbor needs a new type of leadership. I think sometimes leadership means knowing when to change course, and knowing when to go in a different direction. I think Benton Harbor has been going in the same direction for a while now, and we see where that’s led us. So, I think it’s time to lead differently. That’s the first reason.”

Pausing briefly to contemplate how to frame the second reason, Price says, “The second reason is, I think it’s time that we really start working within the community, to build a coalition of “One Benton Harbor.” Not a segregated Benton Harbor. Not ‘us-against-them.’ Instead, how do we make our region succeed as a whole. I think that’s the charge I’m looking to lead differently.”

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The gregarious community advocate, who also serves the community in a multitude of ways including his role on the Executive Committee of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship where he’s one of the masterminds behind the free community concerts at City Center Park during championship week, has also put his money where his mouth is. He’s invested substantially in a number of parcels around the community of Benton Harbor. I ask him how moving in a different direction impacts his investments. He says, “Moving in a different direction doesn’t impact the investments I’ve made. Rather it enhances the investments that I’ve made. I think my focus will be those investments. My focus will be how do we rebuild our community.” He recognizes, “Rebuilding a community takes time, dedication and work, and I’m ready to do the work. I don’t want to play the politics, I’m ready to get down and do the work to make Benton Harbor the best that it can be.”

Regarding the decisions to invest in what is often referred to as one of the poorest cities in the state, Price stands tall, saying, “My wife and I made the decision a few years ago that Benton Harbor is our retirement home. We’re not leaving, we’re not going. It’s a beautiful city with beautiful people, so what do we do? We looked at it and said, ‘Let’s double down!’ In order to make this our lifetime home, let’s look at how we can continue to build here. So, over the last several years, we’ve acquired several properties throughout the city, and put those properties back on the tax roll. We take care of those properties.”

Having invested across the landscape, Price says, “Right now we’re focused on the long term success of those properties, and we truly believe that reinvesting in housing and creating neighborhoods of scale and affordability is the way Benton Harbor will become prosperous. That will be our focus for the next several years.”

With the Benton Harbor City Commission focused on passing a new city income tax measure, I asked Price what, if any, role that plan played in his decision to step away from the ballot box. He says, “I think the proposed city income tax for the city of Benton Harbor has to play a role in my decision. Anytime you make decisions that will affect the course of the city, that also has to be a part of my thought process. Does something need to be done? Yes. Is the city income tax the way to do it? I don’t think so.”

Rather, Price contends, “I think as we look long-term, we have to build revenue that is sustainable. We have to build the city. In the last five years, we’ve lost 1.8-percent of our population. If that trend continues, a city income tax won’t even matter. It’s about how do we bring people back to our community who think that it’s just as beautiful as we do.”

So…for now, Price, who attended both Lansing Community College and Florida A&M University, will continue to invest his time, talent and treasure into creating the dream city he sees when he looks out his window, and he’ll leave the politicking to somebody else. He will not be on the ballot this fall.