Pontiac Mayor November 2 Election Candidate Guide

Voters head to the polls on November 2 to cast their votes for local leaders, ballot proposals and more. 

Get to know the candidates running for local office in your community with 101.9 FM WDET’s Candidate Guides. Surveys were distributed to candidates to complete and you can see the responses for candidates for Pontiac Mayor below.

See a full list of races covered here.

Related Race: Pontiac City Council

Wanda Coates

Candidate did not respond to survey request.

Tim Greimel

Age: 47

Current job: Director of Legislation and Public Policy for AFSCME Council 25 (the Michigan council of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees)

Education: Bachelor’s in Economics and Political Science, Master’s of Public Policy, and a Juris Doctor, all from the University of Michigan

About Tim Greimel: I worked as an attorney in the field of labor, employment, and civil rights, representing employees who were discriminated against in the workplace. I previously represented Pontiac for five years as an Oakland County Commissioner and for another seven years as a state representative. As the House Democratic Leader in Lansing from 2013-2016, I played leading roles in expanding Medicaid coverage to provide health insurance to over 700,000 previously uninsured Michigan residents, including many thousands in Pontiac, and in increasing our state’s minimum wage and indexing it to inflation for the first time ever. In addition, I secured state funding for a major job training program in Pontiac and renewed millions of dollars in funding for school-based health centers around the state, including centers at Pontiac High School, Pontiac Middle School, and Walt Whitman Elementary School.

Why are you running for Pontiac Mayor? I am running for mayor because I love Pontiac and believe in our future. Having represented our city for seven years in the state legislature, I have a proven track record of delivering results in Pontiac and a demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with other elected officials to get things done. 

“Having represented our city for seven years in the state legislature, I have a proven track record of delivering results in Pontiac and a demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with other elected officials to get things done.”

What is the most important issue facing Pontiac? The most important issue facing Pontiac is establishing a robust youth recreation and youth enrichment program. By providing opportunities for our young people to participate in sports, arts, and music, to access after-school tutoring opportunities, and to take computer coding and programming classes, we would improve their odds of living up to their full potential, while reducing crime and improving public safety for everyone.

How would you address that issue? Voters already approved a youth recreation millage in 2018, which generates over $900,000 in annual revenue. Sadly, our community has nothing to show for this revenue stream as discord between the Mayor and City Council has prevented the establishment of one or more permanent youth recreation centers. I will establish several youth recreation centers around the city in partnership with the school district.

What actions/decisions by the current mayoral administration or city council have you disagreed with? In addition to my disappointment with the inability and/or unwillingness of City Hall to establish a youth recreation program, I have disagreed with the mayor’s decision to engage in protracted litigation regarding the Phoenix Center (which has wasted many millions of dollars) and the paralysis of City Hall in failing to issue medical marijuana licenses three years after city voters approved medical marijuana dispensaries in Pontiac.

Alexandria Riley

Candidate did not respond to survey request.