Williams GOP Candidate for Canton Township Supervisor

CANTON TOWNSHIP, MI - Canton Township Trustee Pat Williams has declared his candidacy for supervisor in the upcoming 2016 election.

The 55-year-old Republican seeks to replace Phil LaJoy, who announced his retirement at the end of his term next year. Williams has been a Canton Township trustee for the past eight years.

Williams described himself politically as “fiscally conservative,” but told Patch he is “socially as mainstream as you can get.”

“Numbers are my thing,” he said. “I am able to look at finances and see the stories underneath.”

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Williams said Canton Township “still has some rough waters” to navigate to continue offering top-tier public safety services, efficient delivery of water service and quality-of-life activities and facilities to residents.

Revenues are rebounding after a radical, 25 percent decline of the $4 billion tax base since 2007, but it will be 2017 before they stabilize to pre-recession levels, he said.

“We just finished weathering a storm that began in 2007,” Williams said, adding that he wants to continue the work that LaJoy started to maintain services at current levels “without flipping over the apple cart.”

“My passion is Canton, and I will ensure we will continue to be proper stewards of taxpayer money through good governance and transparency,” Williams said, adding that he spends as much time as he can attending community events to get a better sense of what’s needed to keep the community evolving, vibrant and diverse.

Williams cited work in both the public and private sectors as qualifications for the top political job in Canton Township. He said that after eight years on the Board of Trustees, he is well versed in the issues facing the township, and he said negotiation skills, perseverance, and ability to understand and resolve complex issues position him for effective leadership.

His “One Canton” platform encompasses residents, businesses, faith and arts communities, which all are important to continue the township’s success, he said.

“This means we need to be open to both our heritage as a community as well as the trends and changes we see happening every day,” he said. “A great community evolves and Canton will continue to be the leader in this philosophy.”

Williams, who was born in Detroit, said he and his wife of 34 years, Nancy, moved from Plymouth Township to Canton Township 30 years ago because of its relatively low tax base. Their three children — Erin, Sean and Joseph — all attended Plymouth-Canton Community Schools.

He currently works as a commercial sales manager with a Tier 1 automotive supplier that acquired the Saline plant from Ford Motor Co. He is also a partner in a Michigan-based manufacturer of pet grooming products.

He previously was employed with a family-owned operation based in Canton that grew to become six separate business entities located in Canton and Livonia. He worked as vice president and general manager of the company’s heat-treating division before he and his partners sold the company in 1998.