Michael Bodary for Ypsilanti City Council

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 16, 2008

Michael Bodary for City Council
1206 Westmoorland
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
(734) 483-5831
MichaelBodary@sbcglobal.net

Longtime Westside resident Michael Bodary announced today that he is running for Ypsilanti City Council as a Democrat from Ward 2.

Bodary, 57, was born and raised in Ypsilanti. Bodary has a BBA degree in Management from Cleary University and works as a Senior Buyer for the University of Michigan’s Parking and Transportation Department.

Bodary said, “I am running for Council because the city needs new leadership, new ideas, and a new voice with honesty and integrity. The City has wasted millions on Water Street. The Council spent two years advocating a City Income Tax that was defeated by voters 2 to 1. Days after this vote, Council announced a $1.3 million budget surplus.

Residents have rightfully questioned the council’s ability to make proper use of taxpayer money. Ypsilantians deserve better than that.”

“I will focus on rebuilding confidence in city government. We must preserve vital services like police and fire protection,” said Bodary. “We have to work to keep the Pool and Senior Center open, and we have to work with our neighboring communities and Universities to make sure we keep our public transportation rolling.”

Bodary, employed at U of M in transportation, believes he can bring a unique perspective and new thinking for regional transportation. “We can no longer accept the status quo approach of pitting public transportation against public safety. We need both to develop a vibrant and growing community.” On the forefront in alternative fuel use, Bodary was instrumental in the University’s choice, purchase and continuing maintenance of cars, trucks and buses running on ultra-low sulfur bio-diesel fuel and E85 alcohol based gasoline.

Bodary has been very active in the community. A member of the U of M Parking and Transportation Department’s Safety Committee, S.O.S. Community Crisis Center volunteer, past president, current treasurer Michigan Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association, retired State Director of Referee Assessment, United State Soccer Federation, volunteer, Stop the City Income Tax Initiative, and member, Measure for Measure, a men’s chorus based in Ypsilanti.

Michael and his wife Kathy have been very involved in historic preservation and have lovingly restored a 1949 house on Westmoorland in the Normal Park neighborhood. Kathy is a residential interior designer. Michael and Kathy have been married for 35 years. Son Alex is an author and associate Professor of English at the University of Maine and son Andy is a teacher at Woodhaven Schools and a resident of Ypsilanti. The Bodary’s have three grandchildren. Michael’s father is Vance Bodary, a 25-year veteran (retired) of the Ypsilanti Police department and his mother, Homa, taught at George Elementary School for many years and was a past-president of the Y.E.A.