Royal Oak 2023 Mayoral Race: Fournier Seeks Reelection Vs. Oliver

ROYAL OAK, MI — Two candidates are running for Royal Oak mayor in November's general elections. The winner will be elected to serve a two-year term.

Incumbent Michael Fournier, who has served as Royal Oak's mayor since 2016, is running for re-election against Trish Oliver, who works as a senior communications consultant for Fortune 500 corporations and non-profit organizations.

Royal Oak voters can vote in person at their local precinct anytime from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Any absentee ballots must have been requested by Nov. 3 by mail and by Nov. 6 in person.

Absentee early voting began on Sept. 28 and voters had until Nov. 6 to vote early. All absentee ballots must be returned by Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. You can submit them by mail, or by hand-delivering the ballot to your clerk’s office or their drop box.

Here is a little about each candidate running for Royal Oak mayor:

Michael Fournier

With 12 years experience in public office in Royal Oak, Fournier said some of the most pressing issues facing the city are public safety, aging in place, and environmental sustainability. We will continue to fully fund our police and fire departments, implement our SCAP (sustainability and climate action plan) and prepare our community so that our elders will have dignity and independence as they age.

He also cited some of the things he's accomplished in public office, including:

• Put our city on a strong financial footing after the great recession
• Invested in public safety and becoming one of the safest cities in America
• Development of Normandy Oaks Park, Centennial Commons, and countless park projects
• Fixing the neglected roads
• 12 years of balanced budget and fund balance (rainy day amount)
• Maintained strong and sturdy bond rating-Leading our community through the COVID pandemic
• Planted more trees than anyone in recent history can remember
• Put into action our first sustainability and climate action plan (SCAP)
• Put in place our first Human Rights Commission
• Historically designated the Farmers Market
• Kept the animal shelter open and funded
• Modernized the equipment for both fire and police
• Put in place Aging in Place task force
• Investments in our Senior Center
• Safer street measure to keep our neighborhoods safe!
• Taking measure to remediate the impacts of extreme weather and storm water
• Any many more improvements and innovations that have kept Royal Oak a wonderful place to live

"I am incredibly proud to serve as your mayor for the past 7 years," Fournier said. "I feel blessed to raise my family in a vibrant, safe, and welcoming city. Experienced leadership matters more than ever before and I am eager to continue with the work we started together."

Trish Oliver

As a Royal Oak resident for 37 years, Royal Oak mayoral candidate Trish Oliver is a senior communications consultant for Fortune 500 corporations and non-profit organizations, a Harvard University Master of Liberal Arts candidate, a University of Michigan alumnus and has been a Royal Oak Historical Society board member and the newsletter editor for 20 years.

Some of the things she said she'll focus on include:

• Balance the budget
• Reduce - not raise - our debt and taxes
• Protect our single family neighborhoods — NO to rezoning and the proposed Master Plan Direction
• Make data-driven decisions with resident input on building height and density
• Clear the roads for traffic flow and emergency vehicles - no more obstructive medians, road narrowing or road diets
• Use current gas tax revenue and state revenue sharing to maintain our roads WITHOUT the new $100 million dollar millage
• Support downtown businesses — competitively bid a more favorable parking meter contract
• Ensure senior millage money is used to expand and increase senior services as recommended by the Aging in Place Task Force — rather than merely replacing the current funding
• Use our public safety millage to increase the number of police officers instead of putting more administrators in City Hall
• Preserve and support existing green space and green features
• Promote the greening of Woodward and other major corridors
• Protect and improve all Royal Oak parks — we will not sell Royal Oak parks