Only a few weeks remain until Detroit’s city elections. The results will impact the entire metro region.

Candidates want to reach undecided voters like Uber driver Deaujejuan Braxton.

He says he’s seen some positive changes in his eastside Detroit neighborhood.

But Braxton says there are still issues that Detroit’s next mayor needs to address.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length. 

Deaujejuan Braxton: A lot of gentrification, first and foremost, is going on. Even rent prices have almost doubled, in some cases, just over the past few years. And of course, if the people can’t afford it, they’re forced to move. Even looking at a lot of the high-rises downtown, it was elderly people living there and they are getting moved out. New business is coming in. And you can see the switch.

As far as the good happening, there are some small programs you hear about that certain organizations are coming up with to help the people that still live here. Affordable housing programs, a little stipend in order to maybe pay your first month’s rent, even help with paying the water bill or a light bill, things like that.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: Some people I talk to about stuff going on in the neighborhoods say crime is still an issue. What’s your view about that?

DB: I see crime as going down, actually. I spoke to a law enforcement officer who got into the Uber,  he was a 911 dispatcher. And he told me that people have a false perception of there being a high crime rate. He said it’s actually relatively low in comparison to other places. But he said they do have a high theft issue, specifically downtown, as far as stealing cars. He said not really violent crimes as much.

My thing is, we need more programs for children in the city to get them off the streets and out of this poverty that they’re facing. Because there’s a lack of good paying jobs. We’re not even making a living wage here. And if you’re not making a living wage, we know that there’s going to be more crime due to that alone. Because you have to survive, you have to live, you have to eat, have a roof over your head.

QK: We do have the city elections underway right now in Detroit. Have you been following any of the candidates or any of the issues that they bring up?

DB: In regards to voting for anybody to have some type of high office, I feel as though they should have some high level of morality, just in general. You have to believe in God, first and foremost, to me. If you don’t, I feel like you are subject to do anything at any given moment based upon the current circumstances in your life, whether it be embezzling money or anything else, if you fall on hard times. You have to have something outside of yourself to keep you grounded.

I came across some people at grocery stores who try to get you to sign a petition to have people show identification in order to vote. I definitely don’t agree with that. They probably are putting me in a database to try to figure out who I voted for. They’re going to look at the demographics of your race, your age, and they’ll put all that into play as soon as you show your identification. That’s a worry, because when you give up your freedoms in any capacity, you’re subject to give up all of them later on.

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