Politics & Government

Three Running for Council, 2 for Mayor in November

Current Councilman Mike Lennon and current Mayor Dave Coulter are running to keep their seats.

The race is set for the Ferndale City Council and mayoral candidates for the Nov. 8 election.

There are three candidates seeking the two open seats on Council. Sherry A. Wells, Dan Martin and current Councilman Mike Lennon are vying for the two seats. Mayor Pro Tem Kate Baker will not be seeking re-election.

Mayoral candidates include current Mayor Dave Coulter and Ray Willis.

Find out what's happening in Ferndalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Candidates had to file by Tuesday to get on the ballot.

Council Candidates

Find out what's happening in Ferndalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"There is much more about Sherry A. Wells than the noise problem caused by very few, so, stay tuned," Wells said Tuesday afternoon.

For Council, someone will not be elected. "Even if there were two candidates with two seats available, it is still important for people to know what I'm about and for me to know what the people want," she said.

Wells, a 23-year resident, added that one of the issues she'll change once on council is their communication and responsiveness. "We need a council that is more responsive to its residents and communicates more than using just the Internet," she said.

Fifteen years ago, Wells chaired the Ferndale Charter Revision Committee, which was a voter elected position.

Dan Martin, president of the Ferndale Community Foundation, announced his candidacy on June 7 at Dino's Lounge.

"Our campaign has been very well received," Martin said Tuesday. "The community has been very receptive to our campaign of strong neighborhoods and good fiscal stewards of money."

Martin, who moved to Ferndale in 2004 and said he quickly felt at home in the city, said one of his goals is to strengthen block clubs and neighborhood organizations. "I'm a big believer in collaboration in this community," he said.

Current Councilman Lennon is seeking his third term on Council. Prior to that, he served in the Ferndale Police Department for 25 years. His brother David Lennon was also a Councilman and his Father Bernie Lennon served as Ferndale's mayor from 1979-84.

Lennon said he's seeking a third term because there is unfinished business on council for him. "My passion is public service and I want to see this through," he said.

Lennon said in his third term he'll work toward getting a parking structure for downtown Ferndale, work on corridors like Livernois and Hilton and working toward a new courthouse. "We're going to need a new court house," he said. "We're putting a square peg in a round hole. God bless (43rd District) Judge (Joseph) Longo and (Ferndale Police) Chief (Tim) Collins for making it work."

Mayoral candidates

All of the candidates echoed going door-to-door and talking with Ferndale.

But for one candidate, it's part of his job.

Mayoral candidate Willis, in addition to taking care of his special needs son, delivers pizza at Pizza Connection in Hazel Park. "A lot of people know me from delivering pizzas," he said. "I spend 20 hours a week talking to people." Willis said he also has worked in construction and in the service industry in the past, including owning his own construction company,

Willis, who is raising four kids in Ferndale, said he isn't mad at anyone. He's not running on a grudge. He said he's running for the mayor's seat because he said likes to fix things. "I was always the guy that was sent to fix things. I like helping people. I follow politics. I'm not a lawyer but I listen to peoples' problems," he said.

But, he said, he thought there would be more running for the mayor's seat than just Coulter.

"When I found out I was running against coulter by myself, I gotta say, I was a little nervous," he said.

This, however, isn't the first time Willis and Coulter had, in a sense, gone up against each other.

Back in January, after former Ferndale Mayor Craig Covey won his election to the Oakland County Commission's 25th District, a seat previously head by Coulter, Council was charged with appointing a mayor. Several applications were submitted, including Willis. Council selected three candidates, one being Coulter, but leaving Willis off of the list. Willis addressed Council at the time saying: "I would have liked to interview for the job but it's not going that way. I'd just like to say I'll be back in November."

Coulter spent four terms as the 25th District Oakland County commissioner. Last year he took a run at the 14th district state senate seat, but ultimately lost to Vincent Gregory.

"I'm proud of what I've accomplish in the short amount of time that I've been on Council," he said. "I feel we've laid a foundation for Ferndale to grow and we're just getting started. This is the begining of our work."

Coulter said if elected he'll continue to explore things like shared services.

"This is my fifth campaign. I work are at it. Expect me to get out in Ferndale and knock on some doors," he said.

Stay tuned to Ferndale Patch for further details on each of the candidates.


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