Dayanara Ryelle
Which office? District 1 Commissioner for Eaton County, Michigan. (Chester, Roxand, Sunfield and Vermontville Townships.)Party: DemocratAny political experience? Nope. I ran because my party chair gave me the telephone equivalent of puppy eyes. (The closest I’ve gotten previously is student council in high school and that was by default.)Distinctions:
Why no other endorsements? Organizations are very clear that they want candidates who are community activists with a good chance of winning, not someone who signed up because they were asked nicely. I’m not going to waste their time and mine if I’m not what they’re looking for.
Personal
Education: Charlotte High School, 2004. Bachelor of Science - Everglades University, 2010; Master of Science - Purdue University Global, 2024 (graduating in May 2025).Work: I’ve been an election inspector at Bellevue Township since November 2020 and have the honor of co-chairing this year’s elections. (We split what’s usually a sixteen-hour shift into two eights and I’m the afternoon chair.) I also served as a deputy chair (in precinct 4) for this year’s bond proposal in East Lansing.Family: I’m a live-in caretaker for my dad and our two cats and I see my mom at least once a week (and talk to her frequently). I also have an “adopted grandma” who I keep in touch with. (I call my grandma after each election, and then I call my mom to compare notes, because she inspects in another township.)Fun: I write sometimes and read a lot. I play internet games and used to gamble online, but I prefer “gambling” on Pokémon cards instead. (Can’t resell lottery tickets and completed blackjack games!) I keep some of them; my favorite artists are Yuka Morii (medium: clay) and Asako Ito (medium: amigurumi).
by Susan Q. Yin from Unsplash
Important Things
I don’t want to call it a “platform” because it sounds more formal than I feel...Mental Health: Did you know that people on the Healthy Michigan Plan (Medicaid) are only allowed 20 visits per year? If you see a mental health provider every other week and allow three extra weeks for illness, vacations, etcetera, you still come up at least three short.Need a psychiatrist to evaluate you for disability? There goes one of your visits. (If your attorney wants you to be under a psychiatrist’s care for something like six months? Forget it! You’re better off finding a new attorney.) Your primary care physician doesn’t want to mess with prescribing medication? Even more visits gone.Besides expanded access, we also need to do better with educating the public. For instance, many people are under the impression that all anxiety is merely situational and that it will go away as soon as you “relax”, when in fact it can be a long-term illness that requires therapy and clinical monitoring and can be eased with medication. (I have medication, but I still won’t be going around knocking on doors!) One person even tried to tell me that depression is “the work of the devil” and that depressives need Jesus, not medication!Healthcare in General: Why did Cherry Health shutter their Charlotte clinic and is the community suffering because of it? (It’s not because of COVID…I was seeing their therapist at the time and he said the doctors were busy through the duration of the pandemic.) It’s been more than six months…what is UM Sparrow doing to fix the water issue at the former Hayes Green Beach and why haven’t they told us about it? (They didn’t quietly go off and fix it—the fountains in the medical buildings are still turned off.)Rural Broadband Access: Although some effort has been made by AT&T and others to expand into rural areas, districts like ours are still largely underserved, with the only options being satellite (expensive!), sticking to your phone (tiny screen!) or buying a portable hotspot (some models of which cannot support streaming through your television). Yet people who live inside Charlotte city limits can get Xfinity for $30 a month? How is that fair?! (HughesNet is three times slower for $74.99 a month after the first year.)Education: Probably out of our scope as county commissioners, but I can still wonder about things like, “Do we have free or low cost preschool access after the closing of Charlotte Community Nursery School?”“Are we ensuring that our children are aware that career/vocational schools are just as viable as regular college?”And for those who decide to go to college, “Are students aware of financing options other than student loans and scholarships, such as the Go Blue Guarantee?”Those are just my top issues. I fully support the protection of our parks and wildlife and other things that my fellow Democrats have highlighted!
by Stephen from Pixabay
FAQs
No fancy website? Nope. Running on a bare bones budget. Just whatever the party or donors send my way.But you have yard signs? Sure. I used a designer from Fiverr, money from the party and contributed the rest out of my own pocket.Can I donate? Sure! I chose PayPal because most everyone already has an account and their fees are lower than ActBlue.Caveat: PayPal will take 2.89% + 49¢ for every donation I receive. Therefore, a $20 donation would give me $18.93. (Don’t try to outfox the system…even adding 2.89% + 49¢ will still come back $19.97.)Can I meet you somewhere?• August: Vermontville Youth Pride Festival on the 17th. It runs from noon to six, but I don’t know how long I’ll be there.
• September: final stop on the Tour of the County on the 21st - Third Street ball field in Vermontville, 6p. (The field where they park all the motorcycles during Syrup Festival.)Any other questions? DRyelle [dot] D1 [at] outlook [dot] com.