Melissa Sampey the Newest Face on Westland City Council

When Melissa Sampey decided to run for Westland City Council, she felt being an advocate for residents would be a natural fit for her passion to give back to her community and the people around her. Sampey has donated her time to such causes as Toys for Tots and volunteering with the Wayne-Westland Soccer League. She began knocking on doors throughout the city, speaking with residents about her candidacy and the concerns they had. In November, Sampey was elected to Westland City Council and was sworn into her new role on January 3.

"I've lived in Westland my entire life," she says. "I have been in marketing, sales, and business for 15-plus years, I've worked in all aspects from non-profits to entrepreneur to consulting roles, so I have a myriad of experience from different sectors. Politics was never something I thought about but I've always done some type of giving back. I think I fell more and more in love with it when I started talking to people and realizing that public service or being a public servant is more than just making rules or approving budgets, it was really helping people and hearing the residents and being involved in your community."

Since taking on the role of council member last month, Sampey says she has been pleasantly surprised to find so many residents eager to interact with her. "I feel like it's been a short period of time yet so rewarding," she says. "I've had residents reach out to me with questions and I've had residents reach out with problems or concerns, or strong opposition (to something), but I listen to everyone; I think being a good listener is really important."

While her pleasant, easy going personality help to make her approachable, Sampey says she plans to use her business experience to help move the city forward on issues of economic development, essential services, and fiscal responsibility. Public safety and staffing are areas of concern for her as well. "I think public safety is huge, and making sure that our officers have what they need, our firefighters have what they need, whether it be a new fire engine or police cars, the training and support that they need too," she says. "But I know both need bodies; it's a challenging time and a lot of people aren't going into those fields so it's looking at how we can attract the right people and how we can reenergize people to get back into public safety, those are thing that are really heavily on my mind right now."

A graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a degree in Communications, Sampey says Westland, along with many neighboring communities, is still adjusting to using social media to circulate news about programs and services offered throughout the city. "One thing that I've found is a lot of people just don't know that the city offers so many great things for our residents. We need to get better at packaging those to share with the residents the resources that are out there," she says, adding that the city has been using its cable station, WLND to broadcast events. Sampey says she uses her social media account to highlight events and programs in the city which may be of interest to residents. Find her at http://www.facebook.com/IVoteMelissa.

Of the residents she represents on city council, Sampey says the feeling of community among her neighbors runs deep. People grow up here and stay, she says, and adds that often in many families, generations reside within a mile or two of one another. She wants those residents to know she will work hard on their behalf and that she will be present at community events as well. The city council as a whole is an effective team, she says, and she is looking forward to working with them on the business of the city. "We all have different ways of thinking but I think you're really going to see a council that is going to work together and cordially disagree. This is a business relationship that you're engaged in with six other people and it's really important that you work together because that's how you get things done."

Sampey encourages residents to reach out to her with any concern. She can be contacted by phone at 734-637-2078 or by email at [email protected].