Grosse Pointe Park recently hosted their local primary election, bringing about a new mayor and some new city council members. Some of the recently elected candidates include Mary Hodges as Mayor of Grosse Pointe Park, and Max Wiener and Christine Gallagher as Grosse Pointe Park council members. Hodges shared some of her thoughts on the campaigning period.
“It was a great opportunity to connect with the community and to learn about the issues that are important to our residents,” Hodges said. “I enjoyed connecting with our community and determining what we can do together to move the community forward.”
For Christine Gallagher’s first ever time running for office, she very much enjoyed the campaigning process and found it all to be a great learning experience.
“I found all of it really challenging, but I found all of it really fun,” Gallgher said. “It was a lot of hard work, but I learned a lot, met a lot of people and made some new friends, so it was all very exciting.”
Gallagher wasn’t the only one who got to meet lots of new folks, but councilman Wiener mentioned how he had knocked on almost 3500 doors for his campaign.
“I have to say I appreciate the city I live in more now than I did before, because I knocked on almost 3500 doors,” Wiener said. “I got to talk to so many people I wouldn’t have met otherwise, and overall I’m impressed with the cross section of people that we have in our city.”
With new members being appointed, there’s also many new ideas circulating. Hodges communicated her most important plans for her position that she hopes to put in action sometime soon.
“Our number one priority has to be infrastructure, and we have to be laser focused on that so we can protect property values to ensure that the Grosse Pointes remain a top choice for people to live, learn, work, and play,” Hodges said.
Gallagher also discussed how infrastructure is a problem she would like to tackle as well. One thing that she would like to accomplish is seeing Trombley reopen.
“This is definitely a big ask, but I’d love to see Trombley become an elementary school again,” Gallagher said. “It’s not our responsibility as council people, but it does directly impact the community that we’re in charge of. I’m not sure if it’s achievable, but it is definitely be something nice to see”
With all of these plans that are trying to be accomplished, Hodges feels that the only way to make a step in the right direction is to work towards them as a community.
“In order to get the results we need, we need a community that is working well together,” Hodges said. “I’m really looking forward to bringing us together and moving us forward in a way that we can all be proud of.”