Thank you for taking a moment to visit my campaign website. It has truly been an honor to represent you on the City Council for the past four years.

 

Our nation, state and region has experienced historic challenges, and certainly Rochester Hills has not been immune to these challenges. Everyone knows someone – a family member or a friend – who has lost their job or lost their home during these tough economic times. With these challenges come opportunity for reform in government – and I believe we have done exactly that in Rochester Hills. Governments can no longer operate as though they have boundless resources – they must plan for the long term (the way our families plan multiple years down the road) and they must look towards shared services, consolidation and doing more with less in order to right size government for now and for the future.

 

I am proud of the record that we have in Rochester Hills – implementing a multiple year balanced budget (without tax increases), increasing our bond rating to ‘AAA’, downsizing our work force by 20%, entering into shared service agreements and contracting out services. In addition, we have looked for ways to save residents money through the Single Trash Hauler program and Recycle Bank. Our city has made economic development a priority and we have been successful in fostering an economic environment for job creation with the second lowest unemployment rate in Michigan.

 

The reason why I decided to run for City Council this year is that challenges still lie ahead and I want to continue to be a part of the solution. Like many other communities, we must find a long-term solution to our Public Safety and Local Road budget problems so that our quality of life remains high. I believe that the council can continue to use the experience that I have within state and local government to make sure that county road projects within our community are completed over the next few years.

 

I remain committed to the community that I grew up in, that I went to school in and that my wife and I call home. Rochester Hills is a great place to live, to work and to raise a family – and the challenge is to keep it that way. Negativity has never created one job, plowed one road, put one public safety worker on the street or solved any problems. I intend to run a positive campaign for City Council. I hope that I can earn your support again this year.

 

Michael