Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter announces re-election campaign

Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter filed for re-election with the Oakland County Clerk, officially announcing his campaign Wednesday morning for a second full term.

Coulter said he is focused on continuing the projects and goals laid out in his first term, emphasizing expanding county-wide transit and mental health services, affordable housing, and supporting small businesses.

"I want to build on the strength of Oakland County, but make sure that it is a place where everyone feels included and everyone has the same opportunity for success," Coulter said. "In the past certain people did very well here. But... some others had less opportunity."

Coulter was the first Democrat to be elected County Executive in 2020 after previously being appointed to the position by the Democratic-controlled County Board of Commissioners. Coulter also previously served as mayor of Ferndale for nine years and was an Oakland County commissioner.

In his first term, Coulter supported the passage of a county-wide transportation tax and a $19.2 million plan to move county government operations back to downtown Pontiac. If re-elected, he is excited to follow through on those plans.

"I'm really proud that we enacted a countywide transportation system last year," Coulter said. "But there is work that we can do in the transit space to help people get around and to... help take advantage of the economic benefits that would come with transit."

Coulter said he is committed to expanding and connecting existing transit hubs in southeastern Oakland County to the western and northern regions.

"In those areas, it's not going to be like the fast bus on Woodward, it's going to be more of what we would call micro-transit services," Coulter said. "The kinds of services where it'll pick you up at your door and take you to your doctor's appointment and those sorts of things."

The move to downtown Pontiac is part of a "continued revival" of the traditional county seat, Coulter said. But there is still much to be done, including renovations to the former General Motors building that the county purchased and rebuilding of the Phoenix Center parking structure. County employees are not expected to start moving to the new campus until after the 2024 election.

"There are some big important pieces that have to get done, but my hope is that by 2025, when those employees — up to 600 employees — are able to move downtown, that it will contribute to the vibrancy and the life of downtown Pontiac and help support businesses and restaurants," Coulter said.

After decades of Republican dominance under the leadership of late County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland has trended Democratic in recent elections. Patterson's daughter Mary Patterson, also a Republican, is seeking to unseat Coulter and filed to run over the summer.

Coulter inherited a fiscally strong Oakland County, known for its large surplus fund and AAA bond rating. The county has since maintained that AAA rating and large general fund balance. While Coulter will "fight like heck" to keep the county's finances in order, he plans to leverage this to ensure all parts of the county can access government services.

"We are a financially strong County, we have great strong neighbourhoods, and we can build on that," Coulter said. "I view that as the foundation that allows us to do this other great work — that's not that's not a goal in itself to me."

One issue Coulter plans to continue addressing if re-elected is increasing access to affordable housing. The county initially used funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to create the Oakland Housing Trust Fund but has continued to allocate county funds to finance affordable housing projects.

"The average person here is having a hard time paying rent or making their mortgage," Coulter said, adding that workers are being priced out of their neighbourhoods. "In the past, we have not been very aggressive as a county in helping to incentivize those kinds of (affordable housing) projects, but we're going to do that."

As of the latest campaign finance filing deadline last month Coulter had raised just over $300,000. He hopes to eventually exceed his 2020 campaign budget of $1.2 million.

hmackay@detroitnews.com