Candidate Profile: Ken Paris For Dearborn City Council

Ken Paris

Age (as of Election Day)

65

Position Sought

Dearborn City Council

Party Affiliation

Dearborn City Council is a non-partisan position

Family

My wife Jamie and I have been married for over 40 years. Jamie was a stay at home Mom and worked in Early Childhood Education. She is a graduate of HFC and UM-Dearborn. We have two adult children and are blessed with two grandchildren. My children are both police officers in other communities and my daughter is also a practicing Clinical Psychologist. My son-in-law is also a police officer and my daughter-in-law is an X-Ray Technician in a hospital.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

I’ve had family members involved in local politics and government in other cities, but none in my immediate family.

Education

I attended Dearborn Public Schools and obtained a Criminal Justice degree from HFC. I attended the University of Michigan and I’m a graduate of the EMU School of Police Staff and Command. I have considerable police supervision and executive training, including FBI National Associates Executive Leadership Training.

Occupation

I am a retired Dearborn PD police and command officer (27 + years) and also served as the Operations Supervisor and Acting Chief/Director for the University of Michigan-Dearborn Department of Public Safety (12 years). I currently work as an armed Corporate Security Officer for AAA Michigan (7.5 years).

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

I was elected as a Trustee for the Dearborn Police and Fire Pension Board, and elected to serve ten years on the Executive Board for the Dearborn Police Supervisory Union. While at UM-Dearborn., I was appointed by Dearborn Mayor O’Reilly to serve on the Dearborn Traffic Commission and was elected twice as Chair of the Commission.

Campaign website

Campaign website: https://kenparis4council.com/
Facebook Campaign page: https://www.facebook.com/paris...

Why are you seeking elective office?

I grew up in this community and served as a career law enforcement officer in both municipal and university policing. I ran for Dearborn City Council four years ago because the city wasn’t adequately addressing issues critically important to our community. Some of those concerns were insufficient information given to residents about police dispatch consolidation and a lack of attention given to traffic safety concerns. In the last four years there has continued to be an increased need to upgrade infrastructure and technology, a need for better customer service and we have failed to eliminate impediments to development and business opportunity.

All of these problems continue to exist and motivates me to run for office once again. Our residents and police officers face real challenges and concerns about traffic safety and crime. There are active individuals and groups wanting to drastically make changes to law enforcement services in our community. We need to continue to provide professional law enforcement services to residents while addressing the needs of residents, police officers and supporting them in their efforts. I tried to address traffic safety concerns four a number of years, and the problem has only worsened.

To my knowledge we’ve never had a prior police officer serve on City Council. Isn’t it time we have someone on city council with local law enforcement experience to better help address our issues and concerns?
The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The June 26th flooding crisis is the current priority and we should demand an independent investigation into the cause and how to resolve this from reoccurring. This certainly is a fluid and regional problem that will take considerable time and collaboration from local, State and Federal resources to resolve.

Besides the recent flooding, traffic safety and apparent lack of a long-term solution is still a serious, on-going problem that the city has failed to adequately address on a long-term basis. I served 39 years in law enforcement. During my tenure as Chair of the Dearborn Traffic Commission, we advocated for the City to look into Traffic Calming measures and utilizing the Traffic Commission in the way it was designed many years ago. Traffic safety issues have increased with the City not showing long term solutions to address the serious problem.

For a number of years, I’ve advocated for traffic safety unit formed using part-time officers to avoid overtime costs. This directed traffic safety unit would report directly to the Traffic Safety Bureau Sergeant and direct efforts by the use of data and analysis of the overall problem. Crash reports provide data for accident causation and priority-based enforcement locations along with verified citizen complaints. Engineering (including traffic calming) and making better use of expert traffic safety consultants will assist in organizing and sustaining a long-term traffic safety program.

Why not at least try to use a speed hump pilot program in select residential areas on a trial basis? There has been no political will by our city to address the problem. That needs to change. I’ve reported on this and many other important issues via my Facebook Page Dearborn Eye: https://www.facebook.com/Dearb...

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I had an extensive law enforcement career that has shown my dedication and commitment to public service to our community. I also served a number of years on the Dearborn Traffic Commission and as Chair. This, coupled with running for City Council four years ago further shows my commitment and dedication to this City. I have attended the majority of City Council meetings in the past 5 years along with a most budget workshops, Mayor’s Briefings, Study Sessions, Town Halls and a number of meetings of Boards and Commissions. I have addressed City Council and have spoken before several Boards and
Commissions on important matters. This has added to my overall knowledge, understanding and education about city issues and concerns. This broad-base experience and knowledge of City Council functionality and process will allow me to immediately make a positive impact when elected, without prolonged on-the-job training for the position.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

The recent flooding issue has drastically affected many people for the second and third time since 2014. Whereas this may be more of an infrastructure problem for our entire region, an independent investigation is required to learn what happened and what needs to be done to prevent or mitigate any future occurrence. Federal, State and local agencies need to be involved. The Michigan Public Service Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers need to be an active part of this investigation as well as EGLE and other agencies. We cannot rely on local officials just doing and independent evaluation.

Where the city failed seems to be in the response to the emergency. It sure seemed that a quick response wasn’t prepared for in advance of probable flooding, especially with the knowledge about prior floods. We had to know it was going to happen again and pre-plan accordingly. Who was in charge of our Emergency Management Team? Why wasn’t the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) activated? We have trained upwards of 300-400 citizens to assist the city in emergency response with maybe 30-40 readily able to respond. They could have freed up first responders and workers from some duties to attend to important duties elsewhere. Protocols need to be in place to alert, inform and educate residents in what to do during emergencies and what our city is doing. Effective use of
emergency sirens with a distinct flood emergency sound can be used. Pre-recorded Nixle or other messaging should be made available in a more timely fashion.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

For the past 1.5 years I’ve observed and reported on the inability of our Mayor to be the out-front face of our city providing pro-active leadership when confronted with a number of important issues. This was important during the COVID Pandemic to have our Mayor be an active presence instead of delegating authority to others. You can delegate authority for only so long, but you cannot delegate responsibility and accountability. I had concerns with how the City responded to a few issues. There was inconsistency in messaging, enforcement, unity in decision-making and no sense of who was really “in charge.”
Examples of this are 145 COVID emergency order violations written through July 2020, none in July and only one through mid-August 2020 even though City Council wanted more consistent enforcement. There was controversy surrounding the use of 9-1-1 as a COVID violation reporting policy. Although the Performing Arts Center was a hugely successful vaccine center with nearly 70K vaccinations for those who wanted it, there was a delay in opening and taking earlier proactive measures. The city was particularly slow in helping and addressing the needs of our businesses, especially small businesses and restaurants in their efforts to financially “stay afloat” during in the crisis, while some comparable cities
were much more responsive.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I favor a priority-based budget process to ensure services demanded by residents are provided. Economic Development is a huge priority. Dearborn needs to really stress the importance of encouraging business and residential development in order to increase revenues. I propose a “One Stop Shop,” 311 type service system, or at least a “See Click Fix” service available on-line 24/7. The Property, Maintenance and Development Services Department (PMDS) has taken recent steps to improve services, but processes need to be user friendly and on-line 24/7. Inefficient, outdated city-wide enterprise software needs replacement. Future American Rescue Act funded projects ($47.2M) need to be scrutinized, or we will be burdened with support costs when funding for various future-proposed projects expire. I am not in favor of voting for a supplemental millage renewal unless
less than a previous voter approved 3.5 mills and less than five years in duration.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

The Dearborn City Charter defines the powers of City Council. Besides revising and approving the Mayor’s Annual City Budget, the most important responsibility is that City Council “shall provide for the public peace and health and safety of persons and property.” As a prior police and command officer, I am uniquely qualified to fill the role as a member of the Dearborn City Council. I’ve made many critical decisions affecting people in real crisis situations. I am essentially a problem solver with good listening skills who is not easily rattled when under pressure. I have budget experience in both a municipal and university setting, had a lot of administrative responsibilities and training, and have considerable
experience writing rules, regulations and operational procedures. Because I have attended so many City Council and other City meetings over the years, I understand the role and process of the Council and would not require a lot of “on the job training” for the position.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

I had some pretty influential supervisors during my career. Two of them stressed the importance of doing the right things, even if not popular to do so, and take advantage of opportunities to become more educated and knowledgeable.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am an active member of the Dearborn Federation of Neighborhood Associations because I strongly believe that neighborhoods matter. I’ve attended all but one City Council Study Session regarding amendments to the Medical Marijuana Caregiver Ordinance. Council needs to move forward soon to resolve portions of the proposed amendments to make it equitable and fair for all areas across the city. I favor Medical Marijuana Caregiver licensed facilities if they are tightly controlled with adequate oversight requirements. I’ve attended a number of city meetings and events over the years. I have reported about many community issues to better inform residents on my Facebook Page “Dearborn Eye.” I firmly believe in citizen participation and holding elected and appointed officials accountable, which was the reason I created the “Dearborn Eye” FB page: https://www.facebook.com/Dearb...
Although no longer active, I was a previous member of the Dearborn Exchange Club, Knights of Columbus and the League of Women Voters D/DH. Professionally, I was previously a member of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police (MACP) and the Michigan Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (MACLEA). Along with one of my Sergeants, I was one of the first two certified police officers to serve the UM-Dearborn campus.