Karen Woodside, Northville Attorney, to Run For Township Treasurer

- Submitted by Karen Woodside, Republican candidate for Northville Township treasurer

Karen Woodside, of Woodside Legal, PLLC, a retired Assistant Wayne County
Prosecuting Attorney and former Northville Township supervisor, has declared her candidacy for Treasurer after current Treasurer Dick Hennigsen did not run.

Woodside said, “I received numerous calls from people encouraging me to return to public service in the township. We just had a death in the family, but everyone agreed to help put my name on the ballot. Four years was too long to wait. We pulled petitions on Monday afternoon, and by Tuesday afternoon we filed our petitions for all four positions. We feel I can make the best contribution as treasurer, which was my original inclination.”

“In this difficult economy, protection of taxpayers is of the utmost importance. Carefully watching our budget and expenditures is essential. I can use my diverse experience to identify ways to conserve funds and combine services which is paramount. I am extremely concerned that Wayne County and the City of Detroit water and sewer departments have made decisions which potentially unfairly impact Northville Township residents. Enough is enough. I will vigorously work to protect our interests. It is my goal to make the taxpaying experience as positive and fair as possible using efficient technology while I faithfully and impartially perform my duties.”

“I have entered this race because my extensive administrative, legal experience and dedication to the Northville community will benefit and protect our citizens. This race will be a challenge, and I need your continued help and support to win.”

Woodside has taken an active leadership role in the Northville community and has been involved in professional bar organizations, homeowners associations, Scouts, schools, local government and civic organizations, public safety, lecturing police agencies on legal and constitutional issues, recreation, youth mentoring, church, and senior activities. As township supervisor, she was the Chair of the 35th District Court Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee oversees the Court’s Budget, operation, and was responsible for funding and rebuilding the courthouse that serves the five communities after it was completely destroyed by fire in July of 1997. She was appointed as a member of the State Court Administrator’s Office (SCAO)-Michigan Court Facilities
Standards Project Advisory Committee to recommend standards for all Michigan Courts.

Appointed as an Assistant Wayne County Prosecuting attorney, Woodside was
assigned to the Appellate Division since 1990. Woodside was honored in May of 1996 as the “Michigan Prosecutor of the Year” for her dedication, leadership, and service to the people of the State of Michigan in the fight against arson, as a result of a case before the Michigan Supreme Court involving the death of a young Detroit firefighter. The Supreme Court ruled that arson was not included in the felony murder law, and she went to the legislature, along with firefighters throughout the state, and the Michigan Arson Prevention Committee, and the International Association of Arson Investigators and led the fight to have the law changed. Governor Engler signed the bill into law on February 14, 1996. Woodside began her legal career at the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office in 1988, working as a special assistant prosecutor in the juvenile division where
she handled abuse and neglect and criminal trials. Woodside was in private practice before returning to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Appellate Division in 1990.

She regularly argued cases in the Circuit Court, Michigan Court of Appeals, Michigan Supreme Court, Federal District Courts, and 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio. A graduate of the Detroit College of Law, Woodside was the Senior Law Clerk at the State of Michigan Tax Tribunal for two years, and clerked at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit. Woodside was in-charge of Parole Appeals, Extraditions, and was the Prosecutor’s Office FOIA officer for six years. In her final two years, she headed the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Drug House unit/forfeitures in the Special Operations department.

She was recognized by the Wayne County Commission in 2000 as the Outstanding Woman from Northville honoring Women’s History Month by the Commission. Commissioner Lyn Bankes presented Woodside with an award that honored her service and volunteerism to the community, and said Woodside’s “legacy has yet to be recognized.”

Elected as Northville township supervisor in 1996, Woodside led Northville Township into its Centennial with a year of historic celebrations. As the chief elected official handling all statutory administrative duties of the township, including personnel and department management, the township carefully planned staff increases to serve its growing population and kept taxes low. Under her tenure, the township’s bond rating was upgraded to AA, a mid-decade census was conducted, the surplus fund balance increased, and voters approved public safety, park land acquisition, Youth Assistance and Recreation shared services millages. After thirty years of negotiations,
the township and Wayne County successfully entered into a Planned Unit Development (PUD) agreement for over 900 acres of county land containing dilapidated, vandalized dangerous buildings from the former Wayne County training school.

As former chairperson and long-term member of the Northville Township Planning Commission, and Secretary to the Zoning Board of Appeals, Woodside chaired and worked on sub-committees that wrote and revised many zoning ordinances including Chair of the Planned Unit Development (PUD) ordinance that was for all parcels of land over 600 acres, and woodlands protection ordinances. The ordinances saved special natural features such as the historic Climax forest planted in the township by MSU in the early 1900’s. (This parcel is now the Northville Township Veteran’s Park on Sheldon Road).The award-winning Wayne County/Northville township PUD brought innovative mixed-land uses including the Arnold Palmer 7000-yard Northville Hills golf club with residential, research/development, and commercial uses. Included was a state of the art natural stormwater detention plan to protect the Rouge Watershed, and the township was able to secure land to build Veterans and Millenium parks. Woodside also has been involved numerous development plans including: negotiating the Seven Lakes consent judgments into Stonewater, resolving the Edenderry case, Falls of Northville, Cascades (reconstruction of the Waterford dam), Northville Village Center/Ward Church 6/Haggerty development, Brooklane Ridge, Blue Heron, Northville Trails, Brookstone Village, Hills of Crestwood, acquired Thayer Park/Napier road property, Park property across from Northville high school, Country Club Village development, Woodlands,
Woodside Village, Brookstone Village, Maple Hill, and Parkstone, Sunrise, Wynwood, Brighton Gardens and many more developments. Woodside negotiated the purchase of the former Comerica bank for approximately $385,000 that became the Finance Building and moved the Police Department out of their Mobile-Trailer office parked in the Township Hall parking lot. Working together with the State and County, the township purchased over 200 acres of land, including land from the State of Michigan. Woodside, a part-time supervisor, accomplished all 10 of her campaign promises to voters despite
having no township manager since 1997. She was forced to resign several months before her term ended due to family illness.

The Michigan Township Supervisor’s Association (MTSA) appointed her as the MTSA Legislative Chairman, the District 5 Representative to MTSA (Southeastern Michigan), Wayne County Supervisor’s Association Vice-Chair and the Michigan Township Association representative.

Woodside has a long history of volunteer service to the Northville community. She was vice-chair and secretary of the Western Township’s Utilities Authority WTUA overseeing the budget, operations, and future planning for the WTUA sewer system. Woodside served two terms as YWCA of Western Wayne County President, and was also a member of the YWCA Board of Trustees. Woodside and her husband, Ken, along with several community residents formed the non-profit organization, “Celebrate Northville” in 1995 for the sole purpose of ensuring the continuation of the 4th of July Parade, fireworks, concert, and festivities that date back to 1877. The Northville Community Foundation took on the parade in 1998, and Woodside was a charter member of the Board of Directors.

Karen Woodside was appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to the Michigan
Attorney Grievance Commission and served six years (two terms) that ended in
November of 2011.She served three terms on the State Bar of Michigan Character and Fitness Committees. Woodside served three years as the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM) representative to the State Bar Criminal law section council. She was appointed to the State Bar of Michigan Quality of Professional Life Committee in 1999.

Woodside and her husband Ken first moved to Northville 36 years ago where they still reside. They have two adult children.