“We Want Land, Bread, Housing, Education, Clothing, Justice And Peace.”

Lucio Bitoy iv for First Ward Columbia Mo

My name is Lucio Bitoy IV and I am announcing my intentions to run for Columbia’s First Ward City Council seat this upcoming August election. I aim to leverage my understanding and expertise in the systematic study of governance, combined with personal and professional experiences to address the First Ward’s needs and aspirations based on access and equity frameworks. 

I majored in political science at Lincoln University Missouri alongside experiences that extended my interest in governance, systems, and the efficacious delivery of public services. For example, I led award winning Model United Nations delegations , interned with the Missouri House of Representatives, and served as an AmeriCorps Vista for the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture. I have been working since I was 14; while in Columbia I have been a Retail Manager, a Public Information Officer and Community Relations Specialist for the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services, a Program Analyst with the CDC Foundation, and a Program Tech for the Missouri Department of Social Services embedded within Boone County, which requires a hands-on, day-to-day, deep, and nuanced understanding of the community’s needs and priorities.

The First Ward faces challenges such as a lack of affordable housing to rent or purchase, persistent poverty, minimal public transportation access, environmental racism and redlining , and insultingly low wages. I also believe that the Columbia City Council should craft tangible policy solutions aimed at interrupting the persistent increases in poverty. And if we are going to continue having a City Manager ( I do not believe we should), they should be held accountable to the people to deliver nothing short of exemplary administrative execution of the people’s will, and if they cannot deliver, they, along with several City Department Directors and Managers should be replaced. It is unconscionable to have so many 6 figure salaries among city staff while 35% of city residents live in a low-income household. That figure accounts for all Columbia residents, across all demographics. More than 1/3 of the people here are in poverty, and we have 2 six figure members of City Management, a Mayor that is clearly trying to raise her profile for a run at some higher office in the future, a City Council that effectively operates as the political will of the real estate industry and wealthy developers, fast tracking the hyper-exploitation of resources and residents, wasting millions of dollars and years of everyone’s time waiting for projects that never materialize. It shou

I am a political scientist who has lived in Missouri since 2010, and Columbia since 2017. I advocate for the exposure, subversion, and dismantling of colonialist power in all its forms. An immediate and complete cessation of all hostilities against Africans in America. An immediate and complete cessation of the zionist genocide against the Palestinian people. I support Columbia becoming an LGBQTIA sanctuary city, advocate for significantly greater citizen control over public land and natural resources, ecological restoration, anti-poverty policy, and the formation of Liberated Spaces in Columbia.

My platform is rooted in research and analysis aimed at improving the material conditions of Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and low-income White residents in Columbia. My platform is not one of broad generalizations of things i tacitly support, platitudes, or buzzwords.

I believe that after reviewing my platform , it will become clear that I am the candidate with the most concrete policy agenda to enhance the material conditions of Black , Hispanic, Indigenous and low income White residents of Columbia in the short and long term. Approximately 35% of all Columbia residents live in low income households. So an anti poverty platform such as my own is literally aimed at uplifting 1/3 of ALL Columbia residents that have otherwise been treated as disposable.

 “Is it not violent for a child to go to bed hungry in the richest country in the world? I think that is violent. But that type of violence is so institutionalized that it becomes a part of our way of life…” – Kwame Ture

First Ward breakdown

Map (Click Here)

Demographics

Socioeconomic Data : The Ward 1 Median Household Income in the Last 12 Months is below $20,000.

Poverty and Inequality Data

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Policy platform

  • Economic Democracy (Anti-Poverty)
  • Affordable Housing
  • Ecological Restoration
  • Ending Disparities
  • Reduced Waste
  • Housing the Homeless
  • More Schools and Smaller Class Sizes
  • Ranked Choice Voting & a Local Voting Holiday
  • Charter Change
  • Government Accountability

Past Speaking Engagements – Check out the links and embedded videos below for recordings of the candidate forums I have been allowed to participate in. The Columbia Chamber of Commerce and the Columbia Board of Realtors declined to allow me to participate.

  • A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Mid-Missouri Civil Liberties Association (MOCLA) on the afternoon of Saturday, March 16, 2024 at 2 pm. : Contact Dan Viets President of MOCLA to see about getting video or transcripts of the candidates speaking at their March 16 meeting
  • Sierra Club Climate Forum 2024 : https://youtu.be/Ub-SYS3Zuqs?si=BvXrYEronUbGfI8g Lisa Meyer claimed to have a scheduling conflict for this event, but the moderator informed me that she was also offered the chance to send a proxy or representative to a answer the questions she had been given in advance by the Sierra Club. She declined. She was offered the opportunity to send in her written responses to the questions provided in advance, and the moderator would read them on her behalf. She declined.

Missouri Jobs With Justice Candidate Forum – Lisa Meyer backed out of this forum citing second hand misinformation about the forum. Misinformation that she could have clarified with a simple phone call or email to the event organizers or leadership among the organization in question. This also happened to be the only forum where residents were able to ask candidates questions directly .

  • The League of Women Voters of Columbia-Boone County, in partnership with the Columbia Public Library, had a Candidate Forum for Thursday, March 21 , at the Columbia Public Library, 100 West Broadway, at 6:30 p.m. I have taken the liberty of transcribing some the moderators questions and my responses. The Ward 2 candidate section of the forum begin at 16:25.
  • You can find the transcription I mentioned Here: https://wordpress.com/post/bitoysecondward.com/235

Economic Democracy (Anti-Poverty):

Affordable Housing:

Ending Disparities:

Ecological Restoration:

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