Announcement for State House of Representatives

McCann to Seek Jones’s House Seat

(Kalamazoo, MI) August 1, 2009 -- Five-term Kalamazoo City Commissioner Sean McCann announced today that he will seek the 60th District State House of Representative’s seat in the November 2010 general election.

“In nearly 20 years serving Kalamazoo, I have met challenges and solved problems on behalf of my diverse constituency in a way that has prepared me well to represent this district,” McCann says.

“While I have been gratified in my years of service to help our community progress, many of Kalamazoo’s challenges are regional if not statewide and national. I want to take the work I’ve been doing to the next level for the district and make a real contribution in Lansing.”

McCann cites excellent constituent service as his personal hallmark. “I have come to know the people of the 60th district very well, as it includes all of the City of Kalamazoo,” he says. “I have always tried to respond swiftly to constituent needs and requests, and will continue that service for the citizens of this district,” says McCann.

McCann has served for ten years as a city commissioner, elected in 1999 at the age of 27, and will not seek a sixth term this fall. Robert Jones recently announced that he is running for the 20th District State Senate seat next year.

“Based on many factors – my years of hard work to help Kalamazoo prosper, my love of Michigan, my friends’ and family’s future – I have a huge stake in making sure those in our community have a good quality of life and have access to people in government,” says McCann.

Among McCann’s growing list (attached) of public endorsers for his bid are current city commission colleagues: Mayor Bobby Hopewell, Vice Mayor Hannah McKinney and Commissioners Don Cooney, David Anderson, Barbara Miller, and Stephanie Moore. “Sean will work tirelessly for the success of Michigan as he has for Kalamazoo,” says Mayor Hopewell. “I fully support his election as our State Representative.”

Accomplishments McCann cites during his service to the city include: fighting the dumping of PCBs into the Kalamazoo River; keeping the city’s public safety department strong and focused on community involvement and responsiveness; improving neighborhood quality of life, revitalizing downtown Kalamazoo; and cleaning up polluted brownfield sites for re-use.

Retaining and creating jobs in the state will be a driving focus for McCann. “The Kalamazoo community has fared better than the rest of Michigan and that is not by accident. As we reinvent Michigan’s economy, I will work to bring Kalamazoo’s unique success in this arena to the state level.”

Sean McCann has lived in Kalamazoo for 20 years, and graduated from Western Michigan University in 1993. He is Director of Financial Development for the Greater Kalamazoo Area American Red Cross and resides in the Milwood Neighborhood with his wife, Priscilla Lambert, and their dog, Arnold.