Hillsdale city voters will decide between incumbent Republican Adam Stockford and challenger Rondee Butcher for mayor in November. 

While the candidates agree on many of their top priorities, including improving the roads, saving taxpayer dollars, and increasing business investment in Hillsdale, their means to achieve those goals differ. 

Stockford has served as Hillsdale’s mayor since 2017, when he defeated incumbent Scott Sessions. Before that, he served on the city zoning board and was elected to serve on the city council in 2013. Hillsdale voters will elect their mayor through a nonpartisan race.

Butcher is a stay-at-home mother and has served as assistant regional commissioner of the American Youth Soccer Organization and head of the Hillsdale Preparatory School parent council.

Stockford touted the city’s progress on road reconstruction, growth in police and fire funding, and establishment of growth targets during his time as mayor.

“I was on city council for four years and during those four years, we’ve really started to change directions from where we were going and we started to put a lot more focus on streets,” Stockford said. “We hired a new city manager. Those last years I was on city council and the early years that I was mayor, we saw a transition to completely new leadership in the city.”

During her campaign, Butcher has sought to differentiate herself as a political outsider who will listen to the community and bridge divisions on the city council. Butcher said her volunteer experience doing administrative work for local groups is one of her key assets.

Butcher said she had changed drastically over the years since her conviction of felony retail fraud in 2016, emphasizing her involvement in the community and her recovery from drug addiction to opiates. She said she has been clean for six and a half years.

“Ten years ago I thought I wouldn’t be able to walk by the time I was 40,” Butcher said. “But now, I am proof that people can make a recovery. I guess the people who have never made mistakes in their life, shouldn’t vote for me.”

Butcher contested the city’s endorsement of special tax assessment districts, where residents pay an additional amount in taxes for road improvements. The policy has stalled meaningful progress on side streets in low-income neighborhoods, she said.

“I think that special tax assessment districts are disgusting, to be honest, because you’re saying that I already have money to afford an extra $5,000 in taxes to get my road fixed,” Butcher said. “We need to get back to where we used to be a very united city and I feel like we are very divided now.”

Butcher said she wasn’t familiar with the particulars of the council’s budget but argued that the council should explore alternative revenue means, such as exploring grants to alleviate the burden faced by taxpayers.

“I can look up and find grants available to us, in five minutes, and they are not just for roads but also sidewalks and bike paths,” Butcher said. “If we don’t use them, another city will.”

Stockford said the city council has sought creative solutions to fund road construction by applying for grants, doubling the pilot payment made by the Board of Public Utilities, hiring a city engineer, and using special assessment districts. Hillsdale voters approved a street improvement levy in May 2020. 

“A lot of people don’t realize that how we fixed Mead, Garden, and Vine streets was through a public safety grant, not an infrastructure grant,” Stockford said. “We made the argument that the streets were in such bad condition that it was a safety hazard.”

Both candidates agree on the need to continue to bring in new businesses. Stockford said he hopes to continue Hillsdale’s post-pandemic recovery, while Butcher stresses that the city should not waive property taxes on new businesses.

“I think this city handled the pandemic best out of any city in Michigan,” Stockford said. “A virus is a natural thing and it’s going to be up to each individual how to decide to protect themselves. We had local businesses here telling the council how thankful they were we didn’t force them to close down to comply with the governor’s orders. The evidence shows us we handled it well, and I’m delighted.”