Experience Leads McShane to Seek Another Farmington Council Term

If you’re a resident of Farmington or are familiar with the city, you most likely know JoAnne McShane. A city council member for 21 years, including two terms as mayor, McShane has been with the city during good times and bad.

It is this longevity and experience that prompted McShane to seek another term on the city council. She was first elected in 1989, served as mayor from 1995 until 1997 and again from 2005 until 2007.

“In this time of change in Farmington, I feel that experience, leadership, continuity of service and stability are paramount,” McShane said.

This is especially true given the fact that there are three available seats on council and eight candidates running—something that has not happened since 1969, according to McShane.

She has seen the city go through many transformations. Through it all, maintaining the city’s financial stability has remained a priority and a challenge. That is especially true this time around.

“We’ve had some really tough years financially,” said McShane. “I want to help work through these hard times that we’re facing; I want the council to be proactive.”

One of McShane’s priorities is to form an economic development commission, led by a highly trained leader to implement what she calls “retention, recruitment and redevelopment.”

“We have so many of the elements needed for a great downtown and a great city, but we haven’t connected the dots,” she said. “I feel that a leader will be the ‘go to’ person that will help us pull all the elements together.”

McShane’s plan also includes developing an entrepreneurial culture and finding ways to eliminate barriers to development. She wants to bring various stakeholders together including property owners, Oakland County officials, the , the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Small Business Administration and Main Street Oakland County, in the hopes of finding ways to attract new and sustainable businesses to the downtown area.

“We’re going to need additional funding and resources to reach our goals,” McShane said. “We need to form those partnerships in order to achieve those goals through a well-constructed program for the whole city.”

That program also includes reviewing the parking situation in the downtown area, as well as sharing more services with Farmington Hills.

“A parking structure is helpful, but it is not the entire solution; it is part of the problem,” said McShane. “Parking in the downtown area needs to be reallocated.”

In addition to working for the future of her city, McShane also has many accomplishments of which she is proud; among them, the city's purchase of the and developing the .

McShane is running against seven other candidates for three vacant seats on the council: Greg Cowley, Bill Galvin, Kevin Giannini, Kristin Kuiken, Sean Murphy, Greg Sako and Jeffrey Taylor.

Council member David Wright initially filed petitions, but later withdrew his name from the ballot.

The two candidates who receive the most votes will serve four-year terms; the third highest vote-getter serves a two-year term. Elections will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 8.