Dexter Guardian Article

Published August 21, 2020

By Aimee Bingham Osinski

Saturday morning at the Dexter Forum, I realized current Dexter council member Zach Michels was running for council again. I was a little surprised as I honestly did not think he planned on running again. I emailed him to see if he might be available to chat.

The first question I had was what made him decide to run again when I was under the impression that he was not going to run. Zach stated that for him, it takes a lot of energy to participate, time preparing, and hours in the meeting, plus he has a demanding job. But he thought about the good he’s done and the good that can still be done and it’s exciting. So he’s running again.

I asked him about his current platform. The first issue Zach brought up is good government. He believes the Dexter Council is doing well but there’s a lot more that can be done. Zach has been working hard on conflict of interest ordinance. Zach believes the council does an excellent job getting information out but he’d like to make sure more people can participate and more opinions are heard. He did add that this is a challenge for government everywhere. Zach believes his voice is important, citing a standard history of council members, long term Dexter residents, and a different generation than Zach. He believes he brings fresh eyes to the council as a younger professional. He believes he represents a large portion of Dexter residents. He spoke of his father’s career as an investigative journalist and being raised with ideals of speaking truth to power. He has a strong desire to represent the voices that aren’t otherwise heard. Zach feels it is an important duty of his as an elected official. Another important issue for Zach is quality of life. He mentions his desire to ensure residents and businesses have nice amenities; water, sidewalks, and roads. He believes this is important to the businesses in town because many of the customers do come from out of town. A pleasant, comfortable experience will help bring return customers back. Finally, he feels it’s very important as Dexter grows and changes, as every town does, that Dexter remains uniquely Dexter. Zach explains that he is Dexter by choice. He looked at homes all over Washtenaw County. Each town has its own flavor. For him and his wife, Dexter was the perfect fit. Downtown centric and unique from Saline, Chelsea, and Manchester. Zach wants to be aware of redevelopment and respect the nature of Dexter. He wants to keep the nature and the feels of Dexter the same, even as it grows and changes.

I asked Zach to tell me some of the things he’s most proud of having accomplished on the Dexter City Council. Zach talked about helping connect the organizers of the senior procession with the right people needed to get it accomplished. He was contacted on a Friday, helped connect the organizers with the right staff, got it on the agenda and it was approved the following Monday. I imagine seeing it to fruition had to feel good. As the mother of a child going into a very uncertain senior year, the gravity of getting it done for the seniors and their parents is not lost on me. Zach would like to make a senior processional a new tradition, something positive to come from a difficult time. One of the long term projects he’s most proud of working for is having student reps on our governing bodies. He discussed that prior, a quarter of the population was not participating. This change falls directly in line with his platform of having more voices heard. I have to say, as an objective observer, I’ve been very impressed by the student reps thoughtful contributions to important discussions. There is something to be said about fresh eyes and a different perspective. Zach also discussed his fight to have a housing task force. He mentions that as a solidly upper-middle-class professional, he was only able to afford to move to Dexter because of luck and the desire of the seller to give a young couple a chance. He adds that he could not move here today or buy his house. It took him 3 or 4 years for folks on the council to say yes to the task force, but he’s very glad that they did and he was persistent in his work to get it done. He’s also very proud of drafting the emergency ordinance for downtown outdoor seating. He believes it serves the community by providing safer outdoor options and helping the downtown businesses survive. Zach mentions the vibrancy of the community right now, and has heard that people would like to see outdoor options continue after the pandemic. He, as an urban planner, explains that he is a code nerd and loves helping to write code. An asset, for any council I assume.

I asked Zach if there was any information he’d like to leave potential voters with. He stated that it’s hard to pay attention to all the local elections. He specifically mentions city and county spots as having the greatest impact on citizens’ local day to day life and pocketbook. He hopes voters will take the time to learn about all the candidates and select the ones that represent you the best. Zach states that the Council’s inability to do anything on the fire department for the last five years has cost the community double. He encourages everyone to do their research, especially for the local positions. And vote accordingly.

To learn more about Zach visit www.instagram.com/zachfordexter/ or https://twitter.com/zachfordexter.