Inkster's Mayor Pro Tem, Kim Howard

INKSTER - Kim Howard is in her third term serving on Inkster's City Council. The Inkster grandmother says she initially became involved in politics more than a decade ago when she began to perceive that some local political figures were actually not interested in directing policy to benefit the city and its residents, but rather themselves or others with influence. "I'm an independent thinker; once I took my oath, I take that very seriously. I took an oath for the city of Inkster, not an oath to a person," she says. "When it's time for me to vote, I'm thinking of the city of Inkster."

Howard spent more than 20 years in the customer service sector, where she sharpened her skills in empathy, communication, and persuasion, all abilities which she has used well as a member of city council. She says that even now in her third term on council representing Inkster's 5th District, she is continually learning about all that must go on in order for a city to operate. She currently fills the role of Mayor Pro Tempore for the city, serving in the mayor's role in his absence.

Howard concedes that working for the residents means you're not going to be able to please everyone, no matter where you put your focus. She says the biggest obstacle the city council faces is the absence of community resources in the city. "We don't have as much as other communities-that's the number one challenge," she says. She says she would like to see more resources made available to serve the city's large senior population. More options in retail including grocery stores, pharmacies, home, and apparel shops would allow most seniors to shop in their own hometown, building the city's economy. Currently, many must travel to other cities to find necessities.

Having grown up in Detroit, Howard says the expanding diversity she sees in Inkster is a good thing for the city. "We do have a lot of different nationalities in our community but I would like to see more diversity up on council because we need everybody's ideas," she says. She encourages Inkster residents to check the city's website for information on viewing the virtual city council meetings held on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month.

While a professional woman on the outside, family and home are important to Howard. A mother of two, she says, "I'm basically a homebody." Howard makes history as one of the first women to serve the city in the role of Mayor Pro Tempore. "Just having the Mayor Pro Tem being a woman, that means a lot," she says. "Right now, women are making progress when at one time, women didn't have any say so...I think a lot of women are coming out and doing things that they normally wouldn't do, especially in the political arena."

She says she hopes Inkster is able to eventually invigorate its downtown district along Michigan Avenue with businesses and eateries to revive the city's image with more foot traffic. "I want to see businesses come back to Inkster and I want to see community," she says. "I just want people to be proud of this city and want people to know that council and I are doing the best we can to make our city's improvements. We are working as hard as we can to make this community be a better place."

To find out more about Inkster's City Council meetings go to http://www.cityofinkster.com. Councilwoman Kim Howard can be reached at [email protected].