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| Mayor William R. Wild |
Westland City Clerk Richard LeBlanc received 18 nominating petitions from candidates last week, four hoping to unseat incumbent Mayor William R. Wild and 13 wanting to serve on the city council
The top two candidates for mayor chosen by voters during the Aug. 3 primary will move on to the Nov. 2 general election ballot. The top eight vote getters during the primary will appear on the November ballot seeking terms on the city council.
Candidates had until last Friday to withdraw from any of the races.
Incumbent Wild, seeking his fourth term as mayor, will be challenged by William Asper; Daniel Beier; current City Councilwoman Tasha Green and Edward Pruettt. The mayoral term is four years and is paid $121,564 annually.
Four terms on the city council are being sought by 13 candidates. One of those is that of Green who resigned her council position to seek the mayoral office.
Three incumbents, Jim Hart, James Godbout and Peter Herzberg, have all filed for reelection to their expiring seats. Council members are paid $17,368 annually, while the council president pro-tem is paid $17,802 and the council president is paid $18,247. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes during the November balloting will serve four-year terms on the council while the fourth-highest vote total will serve a two-year term. The president and president pro-tem of the council are chosen by their fellow elected members during the first organizational meeting following the swearing in of the new officials.
The three incumbent city councilmen will be challenged by: Angela Anderson; Sarah Austin; David Cox; Mike Delph; Debra Fowlkes; Jon Haddad; Candi Halton; Antoinette Martin; Josh Powell and Melissa Sampey.
Voters will also be asked to decide on a 10-year, .85 millage to help fund operations at the William P. Faust Public Library of Westland.
If approved by voters, the 10-year millage would generate about $1.4 million during the first year on the tax rolls. Currently, Westland residents pay a .975 millage to operate the library which will expire this year.
Library officials said the millage is needed for operating the library including maintenance, wages, books, programs and services necessary to keep the facility open and accessible to the public.
