One of the Jonesville Fire Department’s rescue trucks. Courtesy | Facebook
Two years after Jonesville City Manager Jeff Gray fired him from his position as fire chief, Dean Adair was elected to the Jonesville City Council Nov. 5, garnering the most votes of any candidate in a five-way race for three seats.
Incumbent Andy Penrose and newcomer Annette Sands won the other two available seats. Mayor Gary Arno will retain his seat after running unopposed.
Adair said his goal is not to reawaken past grievances, but rather to make sure the council handles taxpayer dollars responsibly.
“It’s not a vendetta or a ‘get even’ type of thing,” Adair said. “It is just me being able to serve my community.”
Born and raised in Hillsdale County, Adair graduated from Jonesville High School before leaving his hometown to serve in the Navy. After returning to Jonesville and starting a family, Adair joined the fire department.
He served 20 of his 25 years as fire chief before Gray and then-Interim Public Safety Director Mike Lance removed him from the position in August of 2022.
“That’s OK, as long as it’s for the best of the community I’ll step aside if that’s what needs to be done, but I didn’t feel at the time that it was just or fair,” Adair said. “I’m a year and a half past that point now, and I decided, ‘Well, if I can’t serve my community in that fashion, then I can serve them in other ways.’”
With an election approaching, Adair said he thought that after 25 years of service to the city, he might be able to help resolve any issues that people in the community were having.
“I put my name in the hat, and the election went well,” Adair said.
Despite his history with Adair, Gray said he anticipates everybody will approach the situation professionally to get the important work of the people done.
This work includes a $1.4 million street infrastructure project and renovations to the Klein Tool building in downtown Jonesville, according to Gray.
“I expect that we’re going to continue to deliver on those high levels of service and meet the needs of our constituents,” Gray said.
The City of Jonesville operates under a council-manager form of government where residents elect six council members and a mayor to the governing body. The council then hires a manager as the chief administrative officer, according to Gray.
“Typically in smaller government, you have folks that run for those positions, that have full-time jobs,” Gray said. “They bring in a professional manager to handle the day-to-day operations. They provide policy direction. The manager works closely with them to make sure that their policies are being implemented.”
Each council member serves a four-year term while the mayor serves a two-year term, and council elections are staggered so only three of the six seats can change at a time. This arrangement provides some stability for the governing body, according to Gray.
Arno said he expects the new council members to bring a different perspective to the table.
“It doesn’t matter who is elected to the city council as long as that candidate is there to help make decisions for the best interest for all the Jonesville city residents,” Arno said.
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