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October 29, 2015
W
ESTLAND
Voters to select 4 councilmen, new clerk
Westland voters will choose
four councilmembers and a new
city clerk when they go to the
pollsNov. 3.
The newcity clerk will be the
second elected clerk in the histo-
ry of the city and will replace
Eileen DeHart Schoof, who
announced her retirement earli-
er this year. Schoof became the
first clerk elected in the city
when she took office in 2004.
Vying for the four-year term
which pays $91,000 annually are
Richard LeBlanc and Jody Rice-
White.
LeBlanc, a lifelong Westland
resident, is the current Wayne
County Commissioner and
served three terms as the State
Representative. He served three
terms on the Westland City
Council and one term on the
Wayne Westland Schools Board
of Education.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree in business administra-
tion at Concordia Collete and is
a 1976 graduate of John Glenn
High School. He and his wife
have two children and three
grandchildren.
Rice-White is a real estate
appraiser and broker and a
“housing counselor.” She is the
mother of two and an advocate
of home schooling while both
her children currently attend
public high school.
Seeking election to the
Westland City Council is William
Campbell, a city resident since
1997. Campbell earned his bach-
elors degree in behavioral sci-
ence from the University of
Michigan.
Campbell has criticized the
current administration and
spending and the construction of
the new City Hall and the instal-
lation of new water meters in
the city.
Incumbent City Council
President James Godbout is
seeking re-election. Godbout
earned his bachelor of science
in business administration
degree
from
Lawrence
Technological University and
attended
the
Michigan
Municipal League Elected
Official Academy.
He and his wife Sande have a
son and are 37 year residents of
the city.
He has served on the
WestlandCity Council since 2000
and has served at the vice chair
of Nankin Transit Commission,
chairman of the Wetland
Recycling Committee and is a
member of the Westland
Technology Committee, the
Michigan Municipal League
Governance Committee and
Energy and Technology
Committee.
Godbout said his goals are to
maintain a balanced city budget
and continue to improve facili-
ties and services to the public.
Incumbent Adam Hammons
earned his degree at Grand
Valley State University. He and
his wife, Melissa, are the parents
of three sons.
He has been a member of the
City Council for six years and is
a former president of the
Westland Planning Commission
and a former member of the
Westland Zoning Board of
Appeals and a current member
ofWestlandMissionGreen.
Hammons said his goal to
keep the city moving forward in
a positive direction while main-
taining fiscal responsibility.
Candidate Peter Herzberg is
currently an undergraduate stu-
dent of finance at Wayne State
University. He said if elected, he
would use his financial skills
and be a voice for homeowners.
He said he has done fundraising
and charity work as a volunteer
in the city and sought election to
the city council in 2011.
He said one of his goals is to
increase police and firefighter
staffing and improve city roads.
Incumbent Bill Johnson said
he is seeking re-election in an
effort to continue the work he
and his colleagues on the coun-
cil have begun. He said the cur-
rent council and mayor tool a
projected fund deficit and man-
aged the city finances to a $5.4
millionpositive fundbalance.
Challenger Judy McKinney, a
graduate of Wayne Memorial
High School, said that she has
attended Westland City Council
meetings since 1988 and has a
better attendance record than
present council members. She
said she has spent 27 years in
customer service and account-
ing at AT&T and that experience
would transfer to the council.
Former Mayor Charles
Pickering hopes to return to the
city council. He has a degree in
Parks
and
Recreation
Administration from Wayne
State University with post-grad-
uate classes. He has been a city
resident since 1971 and was the
fourth mayor of the city, serving
from 1982-1986 and was on the
city council for more than 19
years, six of those as council
president.
He said his goal is to improve
public safety in the citywhich he
described as a challenge.
Dewey K. Reeves, an incum-
bent, has been on the city coun-
cil in Westland for eight years
during three election cycles. He
attended Eastern Michigan
University and said that the
FordRoadProject in the city is a
concept he actively supports.
Reeves said his priorities are
public services including pro-
tecting police and fire staffing
andproviding infrastructure.
He said education of the pub-
lic regarding the use of these
grants and funding is needed to
help alleviate some misinforma-
tion about the way funding has
been allocated in the city.
kids, not just those who are
already performing. The goals
may be as simple as increasing a
grade froma D to a C or a B to a B
plus. Our goal is for each of them
to increase their grade point aver-
age by one-half a point,” Shaw
explained, “we just want to show
them what they can do and that
hardwork pays off.”
In addition to the $200 check,
the students who achieve the
highest percentage of GPA
improvement will also be reward-
ed with a one-year scholarship to
Wayne County Community
College District or Schoolcraft
College, each having donated to
the program.
“We have been fortunate in the
help we are receiving from many
local businesses with the pro-
gram,” Shawsaid. “These are peo-
ple who understand that these
kids have to grasp the importance
of education to their futures.
Many of themwill be the business
people, the employees, the real
backbone of our community in the
next decades.”
“I amexcited to be a part of the
Champion program and currently
mentor four students,” said Marci
Rosen, special educationprovider
at JohnGlennHighSchool.
The adult mentors also agree
that the financial incentive
offered by Westland business and
community partners will help
make this programsuccessful.
“The Champion program has
certainly provided a financial
incentive for our students to
improve. That being said, I think
that once they buy into the pro-
gram and establish a relationship
with someone in the building, the
money, while important to them,
isn't the only reason they are try-
ing to improve themselves,”
Rosen said.
The program will include a
dinner in February which all stu-
dents who sign onto the program
can attend, at no cost, and where
those who have achieved their
goalswill receive their checks.
In addition to Shaw's cash com-
mitment,
the
Westland
Community Foundation has
pledged $6,000 to help fund the
new Champions of John Glenn
Program, along with several other
donors, including Shaw's chil-
dren.
“The fact that an outside busi-
nessman would take this kind of
an interest in John Glenn High
School is remarkable,” Przybylski
said. “This has created a very pos-
itive academic vibe around the
school.”
Contributions to the program
are being accepted at the
Westland Community Foundation
office, 38110 Executive Dr. in
Westland, 48185.
More information is available
by contacting Shaw at (734) 595-
7727.
Champions
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