To help our community members make informed choices in the upcoming election, we asked candidates running for important local, state, and national seats to participate in our Forum to help you get to know them better. Today, meet Michael A. Seals.

With collaboration in his nature, Michael A. Seals is seeking to continue his tenure as a Kalamazoo County Commissioner to represent District 4. “I believe we as a community can make a difference because of teamwork. All things are possible when we work together. I love this job and wish to continue serving our community.” In this role, Michael’s top priorities are maintaining the financial position as a government with an AA+ rating, being responsible with taxpayers’ money, providing good-paying jobs to citizens, making sure the County is diverse and inclusive to all citizens, providing extraordinary governance to citizens, and collaborating with all entities and local governments to provide the best service. In addition to the policy-focused questions, Michael also shared with us that his favorite song to listen to and play is “In the Mood.” He enjoys Sci-Fi and has met the entire original “Star Trek” cast. Meet Michael A. Seals.

NAME
Michael A. Seals

POSITION SEEKING
Kalamazoo County Commissioner

DISTRICT POSITION REPRESENTS
District 4

AFFILIATION
Democrat

EMAIL
Mikes0123@aol.com

WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION FOR RUNNING FOR OFFICE?
During my tenure on the Board of Commissioners, I have tried to maintain a stable environment for the county by supporting all the local county construction projects from the airport to our newest courthouse on Gull Road, supporting local jobs and companies, serving as the lead on the new justice facility downtown, and working with Ron Kitchens and PlazaCorp on the site planning for our new building. Collaboration is my nature. I believe we as a community can make a difference because of teamwork. All things are possible when we work together. I love this job and wish to continue serving our community.

PLEASE LIST YOUR TOP PRIORITIES WITHIN THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THIS ELECTED OFFICE.

1. Make sure that we maintain our financial position as a government with an AA+ rating. Being responsible with the taxpayers’ money. Providing good-paying jobs to our citizens.
2. Make sure the County is diverse and inclusive to all our citizens. Providing extraordinary governance to our citizens.
3. Collaboration with all entities and local governments to provide the best service we can. Having helped finish the Central Dispatch is one of my greatest achievements.

HOW DO YOU PLAN TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS WITHIN THE RESPONSIBILITIES AND RESTRICTIONS OF THE OFFICE?
By working with my colleagues on the Board and the administration. Listening to the experts on how we get to our goals. There is no “I” in team—I have been working the last 10 years on a team, and I believe it is the only way to get things done. My long list of accomplishments includes buildings, working on the homeless issue, and multi-collaborations with different municipalities and businesses. The last ten years have been challenging times with the PFAS crisis in Parchment; I went door to door with our staff warning people of the crisis and worked with the City’s mayor to get the help they needed. I spent a lot of time learning all aspects of the county business and have been successful in all duties of a Commissioner.

HOW DO YOU PLAN TO SUPPORT THE GROWTH OF THE ECONOMY IF ELECTED?
I will continue my collaborative nature and support projects that provide local jobs and support local companies. We must meet the needs of our economy here. I supported efforts by Southwest Michigan First to bring new businesses, like Hark Orchids. I supported brownfield redevelopment across our county. This community has a lot of potential and I would love to see it grow. These all drive our economy but, most importantly, no one organization can do it alone—we have to do it together.

FAVORITE CAMPAIGN SONGS
I am a big fan of classical music like Mozart, as well as Classic Rock like Queen and 80’s pop to current, but my all-time favorite is “In the Mood” because I have played it on my trumpet in front of an audience.

FAVORITE MOVIE
I’m a big sci-fi fan and have met all the old “Star Trek” cast. I like some horror.

FAVORITE FOOD
My favorite foods include pizza, asparagus, prime rib, and chicken.

The Primary will be held on August 4. The General Election will be held on November 3. Michael A. Seals is seeking this seat as a Democrat.