Why I'm Running for Reelection on the Wolverine Lake Village Council

I generally try to keep village politics off this wee blog, but as many of you know I am running for reelection on our village council this year. One of my favorite tasks in the election season is writing up my candidate responses for the League of Women Voters' candidate's questionnaire because their 150-word limit for responses forces me to distill my message to its essence.

So, for those of you wondering why I'm taking the leap for another four years, here's what I had to say to the LWV:

Question 1: Please provide biographical information and explain why you are running for village office and relevant qualities and skills you would bring to the position.

As your Village President for the last four years I’ve led a full restructuring of our village government to provide the best possible services for us residents with a much smaller budget. Four years ago our village stood on the brink of financial disaster. We’ve emerged with a strong fund balance, an improved bond rating, improved infrastructure, a strong police presence, and more cost-effective village services. We’ve done this both with our own innovations, and also by working together more effectively with our neighboring communities.

I am proud of your council’s record over the last four years, and I stand on that record. If reelected I will use my experience as your Village President, my previous village experience as Council Member and Water Board Chair, and my professional experience as an editorial manager to keep making this village a great place to live.

Question 2: What are the top 3 Priority Issues that your Village should address and what actions would you, as a village officer, take regarding each of them?

Budget – Our long-term restructuring plan balanced our books and rebuilt our fund balance, despite Michigan’s economic woes. We must continue to look for innovations and improvements to ensure that the painful sacrifices of the last four years are not frittered away by wasteful spending.

Police – We need to continue to improve our joint policing arrangement with Walled Lake. The current arrangement has kept a strong patrol presence on the streets while providing better detective and dispatch services. Now we need to create a permanent management structure for this arrangement.

Real Estate Prices – Home values have plummeted across our region. We need to focus attention on rebuilding our home values. Our pathways and improved infrastructure have made this a more walkable, more livable community. Our real-estate outreach program will let everybody know that Wolverine Lake is a great place to own a home and raise a family.


... and that's pretty much it. I think we have a darned nice community, and I aim to keep it that way. I don't have a campaign slogan yet, but it might very well be: "Keeping cops on the streets and on patrol, and getting kids off the streets and onto sidewalks."

I'm not going to do much fund-raising for this election, but there are some expenses involved for lawn signs, flyers, and a few other things. If you'd like to help out, please send a check (not to exceed $500 per Michigan law, but even $5 will be a great help) to:

John Magee Campaign Committee
814 Wolverine Dr.
Wolverine Lake, MI 48390

Sorry, but we don't have an online payment option for our little campaign account, so if you do want to contribute, it'll have to be by check and a stamp will cost you another 44 cents.

If you want to help without writing a check, we'll need some help to distribute our flyers in October, so just let me know that you'd like to lend a hand.

And most importantly, thanks everybody for all your support over the last four years. We couldn't have accomplished all that we've done in the last four years without everybody pulling together and making a lot of sacrifices. I'm extremely grateful.

See ya on the campaign trail!