TRAVERSE CITY - Amy Shamroe, current Mayor Pro Tem, will be the next mayor of Traverse City, according to unofficial election results. Additionally, all three city proposals passed by wide margins and two new members were elected to the City Commission.
Shamroe received 2,877 votes, defeating Tom Mair, a former Grand Traverse County Commissioner who received 1,631 votes, in a race shaped by the municipal tumult, debates over housing practices and the role of the city’s downtown in its future.
Prior to the election, Shamroe said it was “the right time” for her to run for mayor after eight years on the City Commission and six years as Mayor Pro Tem.
“As we move into this next chapter for Traverse City we need someone to lead and bridge the communication gap between City and citizens,” she said.
Shamroe said that she supports expanding access to affordable housing in and around Traverse City, along with supporting the renewal of the city’s Tax Increment Financing program if it includes revenue sharing with taxing jurisdictions.
“When I think of City taxpayers, I do not see how we can lose nearly half of TIF revenue – about $2 million – forever with no other plan in place to make up for all that money,” she said. “TIF revenue is collected only from that district and spent only in that district – no burden on the neighborhoods.”
Traverse City’s local government has been under the spotlight in recent months as the search for a permanent city manager proved expensive and prolonged. Benjamin Marentette, who was selected as the final candidate for the position in early September, withdrew the next day. The City Commission picked Elizabeth Vogel, Missaukee County Administrator, to fill the role in early October.
Voters also picked three candidates to serve on the City Commission: Jackie Anderson, a retired businessperson and co-founder of the Indian Woods Neighborhood Association who received 1,846 votes; Heather Shaw, a co-founder of Mission Point Press who received 1,788 votes; and Mitchell Treadwell, a current member of the City Commission and Planning Commission who received 1,704 votes.
Caroline Kennedy, a former Michigan State Senate employee who received 1,681 votes, Shea O’Brien, a member of the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and former candidate for mayor who received 1,575 votes and Mary Mills, a city resident representative on the Master Plan Leadership Team who received 1,548 votes, finished just short of Treadwell.
Three local proposals were passed by significant margins: Proposal One, which will allow for city park capital improvement projects and the acquisition of additional city parkland to exceed $250,000, passed with 4,088 votes for and 711 votes against; Proposal Two, which would allow the purchase of additional parkland for nearly $750,000, passed with 4,211 votes for and 612 votes against; and Proposal Three, a 1 mill proposal to fund fire department and emergency transportation services for the next 20 years, passed with 3,124 votes for and 1,663 votes against.
