Southfield Mayor Race: Ken Siver vs Sylvia Jordan – what to know about the candidates

SOUTHFIELD, MI (FOX 2) – As Election Day approaches, Southfield Mayor Ken Siver is working to return to workplace for a 3rd full time period as town’s chief, however he’s dealing with a problem from longtime Metropolis Council veteran Sylvia Jordan.

The election will pit Siver’s decade-long document of management towards Jordan’s platform of reviving revitalization and addressing perceived declines in important metropolis companies.

The 2 candidates collectively collected greater than 96% of the vote within the August primaries, with Siver successful 56.4% in comparison with Jordan’s 39.8%.

Siver, who was first sworn in as Southfield mayor in 2015 after serving 14 years on the Metropolis Council, has largely campaigned on a message of continued progress and stability.

Siver was first elected in 2015 after which re-elected in 2019 and 2023. He calls himself a “Southfield fanatic” with deep roots as a former trainer and deputy superintendent of Southfield Public Colleges. Siver factors to tens of millions of {dollars} invested in infrastructure initiatives, including replacement of roads and water pipes, as well as new housing developments, parks and public art. His focus for a potential subsequent time period consists of strategically repurposing underutilized business areas to encourage new growth and funding within the metropolis.

His challenger Jordan brings her personal intensive background in native authorities to the race. She served on the Southfield Metropolis Council for greater than seventeen years, together with a number of phrases as president.

Jordan’s campaign has constantly highlighted the perceived hole between residents’ excessive property taxes and the standard of metropolis companies they obtain, citing points similar to trash assortment delays and the long-closed municipal swimming pool as factors of frustration. She emphasizes the necessity for extra transparency and a extra responsive authorities that’s “deeply related to the individuals.”

A central pillar of Jordan’s platform is her dedication to neighborhood revitalization and an formidable plan for a group middle. She states {that a} multifunctional middle with a public swimming pool and health services is an important lacking facility for a metropolis with greater than 75,000 inhabitants and greater than 10,000 corporations. Jordan proposes utilizing strategic public-private partnerships to make this group middle a actuality, specializing in insurance policies to strengthen homeownership and assist native, small and minority companies.

The controversy usually returned to town’s financial well being and tax burden. Whereas Jordan Advocates Reducing the Metropolis’s Tax Burden”over time by expanding our tax base“by attracting new corporations, Siver defends the city’s financial investmentswith Southfield’s financial efficiency and public security sources touted as sturdy.

Siver has acknowledged challenges in service supply, particularly within the space of ​​stable waste, however confirmed that enhancements are underway and funding has been secured for brand new parks and recreation initiatives, together with a plan for the brand new swimming pool that he stated will likely be coming quickly.

Silver and Jordan have additionally confronted off previously, with Siver successful the mayoral seat from Jordan in 2015 by almost 2,000 votes.