The final installment in this series concludes with a public servant better known for his role as our mayor than his single term immediately prior as City Council Member. Most know him as his subsequent time on the bench with the Michigan 22nd Circuit Court, now Criminal Justice Program Director for the University of Michigan – Dearborn. [1-5]
The Honorable Donald E Shelton moved to Saline only two years prior to being elected to Saline City Council in 1976. After that, he was elected mayor four times, holding the position until 1986. Our own political dialogues with Judge Shelton began during the summer of 1981.
Now it’s time to gather his insights going in to the 2019 Saline City Council races.
Saline Journal: “Describe the appropriate role of ‘local government.'”
Donald Shelton: “Provide basic services. That’s what people expect — rightly expect. Provide good drinking water, take sewage away.
The other part obviously is schools. There are mechanisms for how this happens, but it has to be a major focus of attention. I think that’s still true. [6]
Saline Journal: “How would you describe ‘Saline Politics’ to an outsider?”
Donald Shelton: “Well, legally, in the political science sense, our Charter makes us a ‘strong council, weak mayor’ setup.
What that really means is that the Mayor and Council make policy decisions and provide leadership and guidance. But for that form of government to work, they have to rely on other expertise, trust decisions of their City Manager. This is not just about getting along; it means having a good working relationship. [7]
All of our elected officials have other jobs that they depend on. Someone comes in and asks, ‘Where’s the mayor?’ ‘He’s at his =real= job.’ That doesn’t mean Council Members are not responsive. It means they have to rely on good administrators. That is how Saline government functions on a day-to-day basis.
Saline Journal: “What trait or approach do you think made you most effective during your time as a part of City Council?”
Donald Shelton: “My focus was to preserve what was so good about the community, but also plan for the future of the community in changing times. To have a vision of what the city could be. That takes an effort, a focus. Funding that can be difficult.
I’ve always said that anybody can make six-month decisions. What people elect you for is to make twenty-year decisions. During the time I was mayor, I was very fortunate to have council members and administration who had a vision of what this city could be, as opposed to only gauging the temperature on what’s needed tomorrow.
You have to do both, of course.
Saline Journal: “Is there ‘something bigger’ — perhaps timeless — that you believe could be viewed as a unifier for this community?”
Donald Shelton: “On a practical basis, I still have to say the schools.
I don’t just mean education. I think the community has always been a place where people not only felt comfortable but excited by the entire life experience their children get here.
It’s bigger than the city limits.
Saline Journal: “Where did you draw the line between your responsibility to make decisions based on unique access to informatiom on issues and following popular will of citizens?”
Donald Shelton: “The whole FOIA is an attempt to balance those. I think the Executive Sessions and decisions made in these have to be kept to a bare minimum. The whole idea of FOIA is that these decisions will eventually be made public — whether contracts or real estate purchases. [8-10]
‘Popular will’? How do you determine that?
The reality is that most people are unaware of these issues unless they affect a more basic issue. In municipal government, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Popular will is not necessarily reflected in a few voices that show up at Council Meetings. Just because they show up, how do you determine if that is a bigger sense of the community?
I’d tell homeowners they can’t pay enough taxes for the services they need. So Saline cannot simply be a bedroom community. When we looked at funding the middle school, we used to say, ‘That was the school that Ford built.’ There has to be a strong industrical component to this community, because their operations use less services in proportion to taxes paid.
That’s the balance municipal government has to strike: Keeping the sense of the community that people moved here for while providing the taxes to pay for it. We expanded the industrial park for this — not to be an industrial community, but to provide for lifestyle.
All of that is more complicated today because of surrounding township relationships.
Saline Journal: “Out side of Saline, what is your favorite town in Michigan? why?”
Donald Shelton: “In terms of aspirations, I’d have to say Plymouth. They’ve done a good job of funding a role as an ex-urban community. It’s a tough balance: Taxes, infrastructure. [11]
Additionally, each our former mayor was offered the opportunity to put forth a question of their own and then answer it for publication here.
Donald Shelton: “What do you value most about living in Saline?”
Answer: “My family. I’ve been fortunate: Both my children graduated from Saline — my son and my daughter. Now my wife and I are grandparents, and all of our grandchildren are in Saline.”
References
- “A perspective on past service as part of Saline City Council, Part 1 of 3: Our discussion with former member David Rhoads” Dell Deaton (October 23, 2019) Saline Journal.
- “A perspective on past service as part of Saline City Council, part 2 of 3: Our discussion with former member Mary Hess” Dell Deaton (October 24, 2019) Saline Journal.
- “Exactly Thirty Years Ago, Saline Hosted Its First ‘Pre-Prix” Race” Dell Deaton (June 4, 2016) Saline Journal.
- “Emotional retirement ceremony marks end of Judge Donald Shelton’s 24 years on bench” Ryan Stanton (August 28, 2014) mLive.
- “From the courtroom to the classroom: Retired judge Donald Shelton named director of UM-Dearborn criminal justice program” (October 9, 2014) University of Michigan – Dearborn.
- Saline Area Schools (home page).
- “City Manager” Saline.
- Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (home page).
- “Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)” Michigan Department of Health & Human Services.
- “City of Saline Municipal Code” Saline.
- The City of Plymouth Michigan (home page).
