Mike Londeau Draws on Inspiration from the Past to Help Lead Westland in the Present

Westland City Council member Mike Londeau credits his late mother, who held a position with a local newspaper, with instilling in him the importance of civic engagement. As a young man, Londeau watched city council meetings on television and read local newspapers to keep informed of local issues. Although engaged, Londeau says he was initially not interested in jumping into the local political arena. "She would have loved the fact that I'm involved because she followed local politics and she made it a point to get me out to vote as early and often as I could as soon as I became eligible to vote," he says of his mother.

Having lost his mother to cancer, Londeau first became involved with Relay for Life, the community-based fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. From there, other volunteer opportunities arose to fill his spare time and eventually, in 2013, he found himself serving on the city's Parks and Recreation Advisory Council and later serving with the Downtown Development Authority.

A lifelong resident of Westland, Londeau decided to try a run for city council and was first elected to a two-year term in 2017. Having already immersed himself in community events and become familiar with both residents and city leaders, Londeau understood his role was to serve his hometown as so many before him had. "I take as much time as I can to look at the history of who served before me and honor those folks because I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for the people that were there before me. We have pictures on the wall at city hall and in our council chambers of every single city council that served before me...a lot of the decisions I make are because of them and I'm doing it in honor of them," he says.

Londeau proved his dedication to the city of Westland and was reelected to city council for a four-year term in 2019.He concedes that his time on city council has been a learning experience and he has come to appreciate that running a city must be a team effort, involving all members of council along with the mayor. Londeau's colleagues on city council elected him to serve in the role of Council President Pro-Tem, acting as vice president of city council and assisting Council President James Hart to run efficient council meetings and stepping in to run the meetings if necessary. "It's an honor to be in this position, my peers selected me to be in this position...I try to respect every one of my colleagues and every one of the residents that I deal with," he says.

Londeau has made an effort to let residents know he hears them, often returning phone calls and emails and working to resolve issues brought to him. "In a world where politics can be pretty nasty at times, people are very, very friendly when they see me in person," he says. "I'm very approachable and folks come up to me and they know that I'll treat them with respect and that I'll listen to them."

Two issues currently at the forefront of city business are the impact of COVID-19 on residents and businesses and the city budget for the fiscal year. He says the city's vaccination efforts in partnership with Wayne County and Kroger Pharmacy have been receiving positive feedback from residents. "I think we're doing all the right things to try to keep our city safe, we're doing all the right things to protect our city, resident, business owners," he says, adding that this global pandemic is unprecedented. "Everyone's scared, it's a scary time so people that want to be vaccinated are doing everything in their power to be vaccinated."

On the horizon for Westland is the promise of federal funding through the American Rescue Plan. Londeau says the funding will help cover lost revenue in the city due to the pandemic shutdown and adds, "What we do with that money is completely up to the residents, we're going to need resident feedback, resident support and resident guidance to guide us in the direction where they want us to spend those dollars, these are their dollars, not ours."

Mike Londeau can be reached at [email protected] or at 734-223-0200. To find our more on Westland's vaccination clinics go to http://www.cityofwestland.com or call Mayor William Wild's office at 734-467-3200.