Madison Heights: Brian Hartwell Resigns to Run for Mayor
(Crystal A. Proxmire, July 28, 2015)
Communities can have different rules about elections, and in Madison Heights those rules are coming into play as Mayor Pro Tem Brian Hartwell was obligated to resign from his seat on City Council Monday night because he is officially a candidate for Mayor.
The City Charter calls for filling a vacant council seat with the person who was the next highest vote-getter in the last election. In this case, that person is Bob Gettings, a former Councilperson. He will be sworn in at the Aug. 10 City Commission meeting.
Hartwell has served for eight years on council and has been Mayor Pro tem nearly four of them. He is running against Mayor Ed Swanson, who has been mayor since November 1999. He and his wife have been married for over 50 years and lived in Madison Heights since 1961. He owns a funeral home business.
Hartwell grew up in Madison Heights and attended Western Michigan and University of Detroit Mercy. He is an attorney and also has degrees in politics and economics. He currently works as a trial lawyer, but before that he worked with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. He also does a legal clinic for the elderly and veterans.
At Monday’s Council meeting, Hartwell read from his resignation letter “My eight years on city council – four as mayor pro tem – would not have been as rewarding or enjoyable without the commitment to service demonstrated by my council colleagues. Madison Heights is a better place to live thanks to your creativity and passion. I note the remarkable positivity of our residents as we survived the painful moments of the Great Recession and then the great flood of 2014. I also look back to those occasional triumphs when we chose to share praise: winning the SAFER grant, saving the nature center, cleaning up illegal dumping at the incinerator, reducing our carbon footprint by 25%, becoming the third most walkable city in Michigan, opening the wellness center, forming a 21st Century Technology Committee, and reforming a modern crime commission.
“I would be remiss not to celebrate the day-t-day success of our staff and dedicated employees who face constant pressure to become more efficient and deliver greater services. Our team in Madison Heights is unquestionably devoted to serving our residents. I will forever be grateful to the people who trusted me to serve in public office. We made our little corner of the planet a little better during our time in charge. More work is ahead. Thank you.”
City Attorney Larry Sherman explained that the rules governing elections in Madison Heights “have saved the city tens of thousands of dollars” over the years in court costs and attorney fees. He said the procedure came into effect in the 1960s when a sitting councilperson, Bill Hoffman, was elected Mayor.
Election Day is Nov. 3, 2015.   To keep up with the latest news, sign up for daily headlines at https://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Oakland_County_115_News.