WOMEN IN POLITICS ARE RECEIVING INCREASED REPRESENTATION; FEMALE MAYORS IN COLOMA AND WATERVLIET

In the past three decades, there has been an uptick in women in politics, and from the November elections this statement is upheld for yet another year.

Madam Mayors for both Coloma & Watervliet

Marsha Hammond, Coloma’s Mayor, is already seeing great support from the community as new and innovated projects proved to be a success.

Serving her first term as Mayor of the City of Watervliet, Deah Muth plans on focusing on capital improvements.

Mayor Deah Muth

Mayor Deah Muth may be the first woman to serve as Mayor of the City of Watervliet, but she has been serving her community for years in different capacities.

Muth was one of the volunteers to take on the Hometown Christmas Event that grew into an event that is self-sustaining, was on the city commission since 2012, and coached many school and recreational sports that led her to serve as Chairwoman for the Parks Committee that was responsible for the fundraising efforts for the Skate Park that was installed in Hays Park.

Muth stated, “My late grandfather, Paul Muth, was also very invested in our community and I share his passion.” She was born, raised, and is a graduate of Watervliet. Her parents, Dave and Cindy Muth are life-long residents, and she has a son Jake that is a current student at Watervliet High School.

“I think it’s very important today to work with the city manager to repair and replace infrastructure in the most economical way to ensure the best utilization of tax dollars while providing quality products and services to the people who live in our community,” Muth said. “We have two open seats on the city commission that we are working to fill.” She adds, “We are looking for people who are doers that have positive energy, and that knows the value of teamwork.”

Being fiscally responsible, addressing aging infrastructure, and focusing on downtown revitalization to make Watervliet a destination city rather than just a town to pass through will be the motivation behind her mayoral tenure.

Mayor Marsha Hammond

Being the second woman, after Pat Beasley, to hold the office of the Mayor of Coloma, Marsha Hammond is grateful for the example that she had to follow. Her father, the late Harold Hammond had advised her to, “always root for the home team.”

Mr. Hammond served 12 years as a Coloma City Commissioner. It was his example of being a part of the “home team” that anchored their family in the community and made an impact on Marsha. She stated, “I have never really put a gender emphasis on me being the Mayor.” She continued, “I see my role as a concerned citizen who wants to work to make a difference in my community. I don’t just live here, I care about Coloma.”

Hammond is rooting for the home team, in fact, she is leading the team. She stated that there has been a female presence involved in the running of the city for many years and points out that two more females joined from the November 2020 elections.

The Mayor also pointed out a few things she is proud of that has taken place recently, one was the success of the Curbside Christmas event that happened on December 21, 2020, and the second is the success of the new launch of the Communications Committee that has started a Facebook page called “City of Coloma, Michigan.”

Mayor Hammond is eager to see what good caring citizens will do for Coloma, and she is happy to lead the charge.

Stark spurs lady leadership

The first-ever female Mayor was Mildred Stark, of Eastpointe, Michigan. She won her election in 1948 when the city was known as East Detroit. Since then, strides have been made throughout the state for women seeking office in Michigan.

The Michigander holding the title for the longest-serving mayor in Michigan, Margaret Doud, has been the Mayor of Mackinac Island since her first win in April of 1975. The November election win makes 45 years and counting for Doud as she continues her tenure.

Also holding one of the record “firsts” is Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). She became the first Muslim woman elected to Congress in 2018 when she won the Democratic primary for John Conyers’ old House seat.

In November alone, Michigan had 92 women running in state-level elections with 42 of them winning their seats. One of them is Watervliet’s own Pauline Wendzel, State Representative for the 79th district.

“I’m only the second woman to represent the 79th District, and also the youngest woman of only 15 in the Republican caucus. As the Vice Chair of the House Republican Women Committee, my hope for the future is to help more Republican women get elected to the House so our voices are heard,” stated Wendzel.

She then continued, “While I believe you should always vote for a candidate based on their values, qualifications, and integrity first and foremost, each and every one of us in Lansing brings a unique perspective to governing as we serve as the voice of about 90,000 people from our communities.