Wesley Prater
District 4 « Democrat
Washtenaw County Commissioner
A Conversation with Wesley
Tell us about yourself, Commissioner Prater –
your time on the Board of Commissioners, and before that?
I was first elected to the Board of Commissioners in the year 2000. Prior
to that, I had spent 22 years on the Ypsilanti Township Board as Trustee
and as Supervisor there for two terms, which is eight years. I spent
about 12 years in a skilled trade – as a bricklayer, a mason by trade. From
there I went to the Ann Arbor Fire Department as a firefighter where I worked
for 25 and-a-half years. During my time there, I served as the president
of the Firefighters Association for 15 years. I took an early retirement
when I was elected Ypsilanti Township Supervisor, because the Supervisors
position is a full-time job. In addition to my elected positions,
I have participated in several civil organizations. I am still involved
with two organizations which I have served with over the years. One is the
American Legions Post 282 which sponsors the Independence Day (4th of July)
parade. As a member of the Parade Committee, I have served as both Chair
and Co-Chair over the years.
That takes a serious work ethic!
I come from farm people. My Dad was very active in the school district and
some local politics in eastern Kentucky, Floyd County. And I think that’s
the basis for my involvement in the community. There were six boys in our
family, and three of us have actually served our communities in elected
positions over the years.
You’ve been on the Board of Commissioners long enough
to see the before, and after of redistricting. How do you think the change
from 15 to 11 commissioners has gone?
I wanted to continue with 15 commissioners. I do believe that each individual
brings a unique perspective. But the transition has gone very smoothly,
and this current Board operates very well together. It works well with County
Administration, and seems to work well with the public. The reduction in
the number of commissioners has increased the workload of each current commissioner
I think that this Board, well, we’re a little more in tune than the past
Board regarding customer service, public service and related issues. This
Board seems not to get so involved in personality issues. I believe that
every board member has the right to their own opinion –whether it’s different
from mine or not. And as long as we view those opinions with respect, it’s
fine. You know, you deal with issues, you get over them and then you go
on to the next issue.
That’s no small accomplishment…
It’s really unfortunate what’s happened in politics from this local level
all the way up to the federal level. For the last fifteen to twenty
years, the League of Women Voters conducted studies on the fall-off in participation
in government – especially in elections. What I’ve understood those studies
tell us is that people are becoming disenfranchised with government. It
starts at the federal level when people promise everything and don’t deliver
– in fact, there are some who have actually lied to constituents, and it
really seems to have worked its way down to the local level. It’s
not a good thing. If it’s a democracy, you have to have people participate
and you have to try to create consensus.
If people tried to define your role on the Board, the type of
Commissioner you are or what you care about, what would they say?
I would hope that they would say that I’m a people person - a citizen constituent
advocate. And that could be on any number of issues. At least that’s the
role I think I should have.
You’ve become pretty familiar with the operations of the County,
is there anything that strikes you as special about this organization?
I give County Administration and former Commissioners credit for putting
together what I believe are some high quality programs – and staffing from
top to bottom – to really serve this community. And I think that quality
is owed to the continuing education, professional development, that’s offered
to employees throughout this organization. I think that’s really important
and something we absolutely have to give if we’re going to continue to provide
world-class service to this County.
What personal accomplishment as Commissioner makes you most
proud?
One of the things that I feel was most important was our change from the
Metropolitan Planning Commission to an Advisory Board that is responsible
to County Administration. We were trying to get that Advisory Board
working with communities throughout Washtenaw County – as they’re supposed
to. Overall, that’s probably the most important thing that I’ve been part
of. And I’ve heard some very positive feedback from communities that
really had been in opposition to that change, which is a good feeling to
know that we had the right idea – and that it’s working.
What about any disappointments you’ve had as Commissioner?
Well, the law enforcement contracts with the local units have been extremely
difficult. I don’t know if I’d call them a disappointment, but it has been
very hard. It’s been hard to get accurate costs for law enforcement services.
And frankly, I hope we’re there with the numbers now – but I’m not sure.
Any future project you’re excited about?
Well, Commissioner Armentrout and I approached County Administration regarding
local jobs that are being taken offshore – to other countries. Even
though this County might not be able to make a significant impact on losing
local jobs this way, I certainly think we should be taking a look at it
and, at least, making a statement concerning it. To me right now the
biggest challenge we have is jobs, and finding a way to maintain our quality
of life and standard of living. Here in the United States, I think it’s
going to be a real challenge in the future. You know, in my opinion,
if we’re going to have free trade, we’ve got to come up with a way to have
fair trade. It just seems to me that you cannot have a global economy without
global democratic ideas and global environmental & labor standards.
According to the Health Department, we’ve got more than 35,000 people in
this County who have little or absolutely no health insurance. Now that’s
over 10% of our population which tells me that the quality of the jobs we
have, the compensation people get just isn’t there to provide health insurance
– which goes directly to our standard of living in this County. You
know, health insurance is a very basic need that we all have, and this problem
is real and right here. We have to pay attention to the loss of jobs, and
we have to pay attention to what’s happening in the world, as well as to
what’s happening here.