District 7 write-in race goes to Mike McGuinness
It took a few extra days, but Mike McGuinness will represent Pontiac’s District 7 on the next city council.
McGuinness, executive director of the Oakland County Historical Society and a resident for over 10 years, received 320 write-in votes, or 40.4% of total district votes, in the Nov. 2 election. He defeated Perry Earl, Jr. and Prince Miles El, who received 212 and 180 votes, respectively.
Results for District 7 took longer because all the candidates were writeins. A total of 72 write-in ballots were rejected by the Oakland County Elections Division upon certification.
“It was really important that we meet this moment as a city, with a change in our mayor and the change in city government, to positively and collaboratively make progress,” McGuinness told MediaNews Group.
He bought his first house in Pontiac over 10 years ago and served on the city’s charter commission from 2013-15; served as chairman of the Pontiac Arts Commission from 2015-19; and was first elected to the Pontiac School Board of Education in 2016, where he was president.
In 2020 he was reelected to the school board and currently operates as secretary.
He said major issues important to District 7 residents were neighborhood safety, a need for improved city services, and a desire to see residential areas and local corridors cleaned up.
“There was a real drive for me to want to see more tangible improvements in my neighborhood, and our surrounding neighborhoods,” McGuinness said. “It is something, as we see renewed growth and investment for commercial operations, I wanted to be certain that the long overdue challenges in the neighborhoods would be made a priority.”
He is one of seven new council members scheduled to take office in January, along with new Mayor Tim Greimel.
McGuinness said the sweep of local officials is part of a community-wide effort to become more involved and make a difference. He cited residents being “exasperated by the tension and tumult” between current Mayor Deirdre Waterman and the city council, calling it “a real barrier to residents to feeling heard and change possible.”
“Voters definitely wanted to see results, to see people working together, and wanted to see their government function as effectively as possible,” he said.