Trio of incumbents seek re-election in Walled Lake

Three incumbents have filed petitions to run for a trio of Walled Lake City Council seats during the Nov. 8 general election.

An absence of challengers filing for the council seats means there will be no contested race on Nov. 8.

The candidate filing deadline for the election was 4 p.m. yesterday, Tuesday, Aug. 16.

Mayor Pro Tem Linda Ackley Councilmen Casey Ambrose and William Sturgeon’s terms are scheduled to expire in November.

Sturgeon took over former Councilman Ed Bennett’s term once he resigned from the position; however, Bennett’s term was set to expire this November. This time around Sturgeon will be running having been in the job for awhile.

“I feel I can contribute a great deal to the work left to do,” Sturgeon said. “The county will soon be telling us we’ll be experiencing more revenue losses and, with the expertise I have, I can help make those tough decisions without cutting central services.”

Sturgeon served on the Walled Lake Downtown Development Authority (DDA) for five years, including one year as chairman. Much of his expertise comes from his 25 years as a superintendent and Department of Public Works director in Livonia, Taylor, and Alma.

Ackley has accrued 30 years of service on the City Council.

“My years of experience and dedication to the city have shown I have the best interest of Walled Lake at heart,” she said. “I have a lot to offer and want to get the city through this challenging economic time.”

Ambrose is running for his second term on the council after first being elected in 2007. In tandem with his council post, he currently serves as the DDA board chairman.

“When I first ran, the city was having financial difficulty so I ran on a platform of accountability, transparency and fiscal responsibility,” he said. “We were a few hundred thousand (dollars) in the hole with projections of a few million (dollars) in deficits over the next five years, (and now jump) to where we are today. We have a healthy fund balance, so I feel that’s a mission accomplished. Now, because council members like the direction we’ve (been) going, they want to keep us together and keep moving forward.”

Each of the three candidates elected will earn four-year terms on the council.

City council members are paid $35 per meeting; the mayor is paid $50 per meeting.