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Printer-Friendly ModeAlum throws hat in ring for city council seat
September 10, 2007 —
Saginaw's City Council may undergo a major roster change this November: SVSU alumnus Dennis Woods is running for a seat, and hopes to change the way the council works.
"I just want to help out the community," Woods said. "I consider myself a volunteer."
This is why, if elected to the council, Woods hopes to pass a motion to eliminate council member compensation. The current compensation fee for a council member is approximately $50 per meeting.
Woods also wants to establish a daytime curfew for Saginaw's youth, strengthening the city's truancy laws already in effect and encouraging young people to stay in school.
"I would like to start a daytime curfew for children, because I believe that school is very important," Woods said.
Woods, a Saginaw native, praises SVSU for the opportunities the University has given him both academically and sentimentally. He says SVSU hosted some of the best times of his life and has given him the tools needed to succeed elsewhere in life.
"SVSU had played a big part in my life," Woods said. "In high school I never had the big grade point average or ACT score, so I knew a lot of schools were going to decline me. SVSU accepted me and gave me the opportunity to achieve in life and make something out of myself and not become another statistic."
After the sociology major graduated from SVSU in 2005, he was accepted to Wayne State University, where he completed a graduate program in social work earlier this year.
He currently works full-time as a mental health therapist at the Saginaw Mental Health Authority.
Growing up in Saginaw, Woods employs a homegrown approach to local campaigning that has won him the support of Andy Coulouris, a member of the Michigan House of Representatives.
Woods is campaigning by going door-to-door, asking Saginaw voters for their support. Signs around the community might suggest that Woods' grassroots style of campaigning is working.
And he isn't alone in his efforts. Accompanying him the campaign trail are dedicated volunteers who often go door-to-door in his place while he is at work.
"I have a lot of volunteers that are helping me campaign," Woods said.
"They come with me to the different events and help me door to door and they help me put up signs. My volunteers are very important to me."