No Shortage of Experience with New Fenton City Council Members

No matter how it turned out, there was going to be plenty of experience joining the Fenton City Council.

Incumbent , former Department of Public Works director and former Fenton Mayor will join the council after being elected on Tuesday, while Downtown Development Authority and Local Development Finance Authority member came up short in the race.

Lockwood led the race with 1,468 votes, followed by Bland's 1,310 votes and King's 1,229 votes. Piacentini tallied 1,158 votes.

"It feels wonderful. Local government is where it's at and I'm glad to be a part of it," Lockwood said. "I'm real excited."

King, Bland and Lockwood will serve four-year terms and join Benjamin Smith,  and Bradley Jacob on the city council. and a new member will be appointed for the remaining two years of her term by the council.

Council member John Rauch did not run for re-election and councilman Tim Faricy ran unsuccessfully for mayor.

Lockwood is no stranger to Fenton politics. She will join the council after serving in 1987 and 1988 and then serving as Fenton’s Mayor from 1988 to 1999. She has also served on the Genesee County Board of Commissioners and as a state representative for the 51st district.

“Fenton is a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family,” Lockwood said. “I want to do anything that I can to help keep and improve what we have here. “ 

She said a lot has changed since the last time she was on council.

"There has been a lot of development and I'm anxious to be part of that," Lockwood said. "A community works 15 to 20 years to make that cornerstone and it's coming to be. It's nice to be a part of that."

Bland may be a new face on city council, but a very familiar face to those involved in the city. Bland served as Department of Public Works director for 41 years before retiring earlier this year.

“I felt, with all the knowledge I know about Fenton, it would be a good time for me to run for council,” Bland said. There are a few things council has done that I don't agree with. I'll see if I can do it a little different. I have a little more insight with the years of service I have. It's a good time for me to do it. I'm retired, and everything is pretty fresh in my mind.”

Bland was honored to be the second leading vote getter.

"I feel privledged to help make Fenton a great place to live and raise a family," Bland said. "I'm looking forward to it."

King has plenty of experience in the positions as she served 20 years on the city council.

“You have to love what you do. If you really love what you do, because you believe in your city, that's what you should be running for,” King said. "I'm happy to carry on the projects we had in motion. It's a great community to live in and I want to thank everyone who supported me and believed in me."