DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Rachel LaPointe is hoping to earn a seat on the Dearborn Heights City Council.

The proud mother of four is a third generation resident in the south end and a passionate advocate for the city. With a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Detroit Mercy, LaPointe has worked as a communications director while using her time to volunteer and says she is ready to use her talents for research and asking questions to bring common sense and logic to the City Council. In her free time, LaPointe likes to try different hobbies such as gardening, crocheting, painting and woodworking, spending time with her family and playing D&D.

“Four years ago, I ran for City Council with a bit of naïve optimism,” she said. “Now I’m running with a lot of realistic optimism. We’ve had to deal with so much infighting and not a lot of actual progress over the last four years, so I believe it’s time to start getting to work. We need to follow up on many items the Council passed that were never implemented, like our charter revision.”

LaPointe also said that it’s crucial for the City Council and administration to work together as a team to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and reported transparently and she has a few key focus points if she is elected.

“We have so many amazing people in different roles and we can make big things happen, if we just work together,” she said. “We need to pass an ethics ordinance to rebuild confidence and trust in our city government. We need data and public records transparency, particularly dashboards showing city spending compared to the budget. We also need a full forensic audit that tells all of us exactly how much money the city has, and a full investigation into all contracts and obligations. We need to review all ordinances for compliance with state and federal laws, and to ensure that our ordinances are actually enforceable.”

As a board member of Thrive by Any Means Necessary and a member of the Polk Elementary PTO Board, LaPointe said she loves to jump in and help.

“I hope to bring an attitude of optimism in the face of challenges, realistic expectations of what we can accomplish and a bit of fun,” she said. “We need to build our community up with things like block parties and events in our parks. I love to jump in and help whenever someone is in need, whether that’s helping pick up trash at the end of an event or offering to drive kids around the neighborhood at the end of the school day.”

One of her priorities if elected is improving public safety.

“We not only need to improve public safety by hiring more officers, but by starting more neighborhood watch groups,” she said. “The groups already started near St. Sabina and Westwood Schools have shown that there are ways for residents to make their neighborhood safer even without officers present at all times. I’d also like to see more activities for kids and families taking place in neighborhoods like ‘Play Streets’ and regular bicycle safety events. I’m also deeply committed to getting our roads on a proper maintenance and repair schedule. A pot hole should not be fixed only because a resident called it in; we need to proactively address them so that our roads can last as long as possible.”

LaPointe said that she is running to represent the residents.

“I want the community to know that I’m here for them,” she said. “I’m here to listen to what residents want, even if it’s different from what I want. I believe that we need to address people’s needs as a community and I believe it’s possible for us to help meet all those needs. I’m not here for myself, I’m here to make sure that our city is run ethically and efficiently and I’m here to represent all of you. Photo ops are the last thing I want to do; I’d much rather be spending my nights pouring over a budget or a contract to get ready for a Council meeting.”

Council candidates Margaret King and Tom Wencel were also contacted, but did not respond by the time of this publication.