Greetings!

My name is Mike Smith, and I humbly ask for your vote in the upcoming election for Alderman in the 1st Aldermanic District. (the east end of the city).

I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and attended Michigan Technological University. I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1995. My career has focused on mechanical system design and plastics. I currently hold a position as Senior Mechanical Engineer at GE Healthcare in Pewaukee. I am very fortunate to love my job. I am also currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Theology from Covenant Theological Seminary.

I am the proud father of two Whitewater Middle School students, Melody & Eric. Both are active in several extracurricular activities. I am appreciative of the availability of these activities by the school district, local area clubs and the Park and Rec Department. I am honored to be involved as both a volunteer and coach in several youth sports clubs.

Whitewater has been my family’s home since 2011. I am proud to serve on the Planning and Architectural Committee for the City of Whitewater. I regularly attend City Council and School Board meetings. Outside of coaching, parenting, practicing my faith and performing my civic responsibilities, I can be found walking my dogs around our small town and its once picturesque Cravath & Trippe Lakes. Finally, I am the author of “Discerning Whitewater”, a blog about local issues affecting Whitewater.  DW has been a strong medium for my voice and the voice of others to be heard.

Ultimately, my city property taxes going up 50% over the last three years has driven me to run for Alderman.

The housing issue has gotten much attention over the last six months. The $5.1M TIF subsidy given by the city to the 128-unit apartment on the east side of town has gotten much deserved scrutiny.

TIF can be very helpful with the development of businesses. Businesses will, in return, create jobs and tax revenue rather quickly. Unfortunately, the city’s focus on apartments restricts the opportunity to use TIF money to bring in businesses and jobs. It’s like maxing out a credit card with nothing to show for it, and the taxpayers will be paying the bill for a very long time (seventeen years in the case of the 128-unit apartment).

I want to see the focus shift to making the quality of life significantly better in Whitewater. Whitewater can have a downtown area that competes with Delavan, Elkhorn, Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, and other neighboring communities.

I also want to see quality of life improve with cost-effective fixes to Cravath and Trippe Lakes.

I absolutely love this community. I very much want to be part of the leadership that improves the quality of life in such a way that every citizen sees it and feels it.

I hope to get your vote on April 1st. I will strive to be a candidate of integrity.  One that will not look for the easy answer, but the correct one. It is with great conviction that I wish to be of service to this community.

If you want to chat, whether you are on the east side of town or not, give me a call. I would love to hear from you.

Respectfully,

-Michael Smith
262.366.0467
mike@mspd-llc.net