Michele Hodges

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Michele Hodges has a degree in urban planning from Michigan State University. She lives with her husband, Matt, and their two daughters in Grosse Pointe Park. She is a member of St. Ambrose Parish.

Michele is the President and CEO of the Belle Isle Conservancy, where she has served since 2012. She previously worked as a non-profit executive, and held leadership roles at the Detroit Athletic Club, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and other organizations. Earlier in her career, she served as the Executive Director of a Downtown Development Authority and worked in local government. She was also a gubernatorial and Detroit mayoral appointee.

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Staff Directory • Michele Hodges

Michele is currently the mayor of Grosse Pointe Park. She was elected in 2023 and her term ends in 2025. She previously served on the Grosse Pointe Park City Council from 2019 to 2023.

As mayor, improved the city's financial situation from a $1 million deficit to a surplus budget in fiscal year 2023, and is on track to permanently resolve the deficit by fiscal year 2024.

Supports selling city owned properties to reduce the deficit.

Supports returning city owned properties to tax rolls.

Economy

Opposes multi-family housing developments.

Housing & Urban Development

Supports the implementation of Medstar to provide advanced life support, allowing more officers on patrol and serving as a long-term cost-saving measure.

As mayor, Hodges reorganized the police department to be less "top heavy" and put more officers on patrol.

Said, "Staffing is a priority and is good. Safety has NOT been compromised. Claims suggesting the contrary (because we are not fully staffed 11% of the time) are a misguided interpretation of the data."

Supports maintaining police staffing levels.

Said, "Overall crime is DOWN... The data shows a misleading 61% increase in larceny/motor vehicle theft/burglary which is primarily attributable to the KIA thefts that are sweeping the country... The truth is we remain far better than we were ten years ago, and the patterns since then have remained consistent, with no sharp decrease in safety, as has been suggested."

Plans to develop shared service and consolidation initiatives.

As a city council member, funded all requested capital improvements.

As a city council member, implemented the Cost Recovery Ordinance.

Plans to partner with the Grosse Pointe Park Public Safety Foundation to enhance public safety and provide essential equipment like safety vests.

Plans to stabilize borders by partnering with neighboring jurisdictions.

Supports educating the public on crime prevention.

Wants to improve morale for public safety workers.

Public Safety

Supports the implementation of Medstar to provide advanced life support.

Healthcare

As mayor, created a Community Engagement Committee to ensure residents have a voice, and established an Ethics Review Board.

Supports financing projects through the Grosse Pointe Park Foundation, the Public Safety Foundation, and private donors.

Public Services

Supports sustainability initiatives, including green parking lots, rain gardens, and tree planting.

Supports the construction of an Energy and Environmental Resource Facility (EERV) with proper funding and permits.

Energy & the Environment

Supports building a rain garden and green parking lots.

Supports city-wide energy efficient streetlight replacement.

Plans to address lead service lines and other infrastructure needs.

Plans to pursue additional funding for infrastructure improvements.

Plans to partner with St. Clare of Montefalco to coordinate infrastructure improvements in the area.

As mayor, created a downspout disconnection ordinance.

Plans to replace old alleys and the city hall parking lot.

Plans to work with DTE to address outages and storm recovery.

Plans to complete and move into a new Department of Public Works (DPW) building.

Helped secure $1 million for multi-jurisdictional planning on Mack Avenue.

Supports border stabilization to improve the tax base, reduce crime, and enhance public safety.

As a city commissioner, Hodges made investments to optimize, repair, and rebuild aging infrastructure to prevent flooding.

As a city council member, created a downspout disconnection ordinance.

Plans to build a rain garden and green parking lots.

Transportation & Infrastructure

Served on a committee created by Grosse Pointe Public School System (GPPSS) to identify solutions and reached out to GPPSS to build relationships with leadership to initiate problem-solving and accountability.

Education

- A mayor’s job can be different in each city, but they usually make sure city laws are followed, help create and manage the city’s budget, appoint people to boards and committees, and oversee city services like police, fire departments, parks, and public transportation.
- The mayor works with the city council and sometimes helps make decisions by voting.
- They may be elected in partisan elections or nonpartisan elections, depending on the city. 
- They are elected to a two- or four-year term, depending on the city.