Photo taken at Villa Barr Art Park in Novi
Gwen Markham
Oakland County Commissioner
Serving my community as a Novi Council member, and now County Commissioner, has been a great honor. I value the trust voters have put in me. For the past 6 years I have been a member of a team focused on providing better transportation access, more and better parks, support for small businesses, and other local issues that impact us every day.
Regional Government
Understanding the different levels of government can sometimes be confusing for local officials who must work their way through a maze of State, Federal, and local regulations. I’ve always been one who wants to learn from others and share ideas to make progress. Working together in a regional way means local governments join together to pursue funding and best practice ideas, with help from others.
SEMCOG, The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, is a regional planning partnership of 184 local governmental units, serving 4.8 million people in the seven-county region of Southeast Michigan. With a staff of over 70 highly skilled experts, member communities enjoy a wide range of support for problem solving, funding searches, placemaking, green infrastructure, multimodal transportation funding, and more.
My first experience with SEMCOG was to visit their website, and start to search for data relevant to my community. Census based population data and much more is readily available there. Check it out yourself – it’s easy. SEMCOG.org
I highly recommend their ParkFinder App. It’s interactive and denotes every public park and trail in the region, including water trails. maps.semcog.org/ParkFinder
Beginning in January of 2025, I will begin my term as the Chairperson of SEMCOG, serving until June of 2026. It is a great honor to have been chosen by my peers to be part of the leadership team of this important organization.
The Environment and Climate Change
Federal funding has been targeted by Oakland County for carbon reduction through consolidation of buildings, installation of solar, protection of greenspaces, innovative waste management, and expansion of local parks. Our goal is to be carbon neutral by 2050.
I have signed the letter to State leaders endorsing water affordability bills, and support accelerated replacement of lead service lines. I support the efforts of the WRC to modernize the waste water treatment plants to capture methane for energy production and purification of biosolids for sale and use as fertilizer.
Public Transit
Residents passed a millage for public transit throughout Oakland County in 2022. Voters agreed that better transit helps people get to jobs, schools, doctors, and more. For the first time in 27 years, SMART began service on Grand River and 12 Mile in Novi September of 2023. People’s Express has begun door to door service with 3 days notice, for $4 per ride, also in Novi. More access is being provided every month. Look for improved bus stops and crosswalks in the next 1-3 years.
District 15
(click map for interactive version)
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