By ANDREA POTEET
Sunday Times Newspapers
MELVINDALE – The race for treasurer pits two longtime residents and first-time candidates against each other.
Incumbent Treasurer John K. Kessey is not seeking re-election.
Karen Lowe has lived in the city for the majority of her 57 years. A former employee of an accounting firm, she said she ran for the office to see the city move in a different direction.
She said her goal as treasurer would be to maintain the integrity of the office. To do that, she said she would check all expenditures to see how they are being paid.
If elected, she vows to serve the office under the tenants of accountability, believability and integrity.
She said residents should vote for her because of her knowledge of the city and experience in accounting.
“I care about the city,” she said. “It’s my home.”
Sally Ann Amadio, 55, said she decided to run for the office after receiving a vote of confidence from current Mayor Valerie Cadez.
“The mayor approached me and she seemed to have a lot of confidence in me,” Amadio said. “I talked to several family members and they said they thought it might be a good thing for me to try.”
She said if elected, she would generally stick to the policies of the current treasurer, with a few possible updates.
“I see nothing wrong with what he’s done,” she said of Kessey, “but there’s always room for improvement and change.”
The lifelong resident has a liberal arts degree from Henry Ford Community College and a state Library Technology Assistant certificate. She has worked in the library of the Veterans’ Affairs Hospital in Allen Park and is now employed in the office of Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Melvindale.
If elected, she said she would promote honesty in the office.
“I would go into the job with an open mind and I would hear both sides of the issues first before I made a decision,” she said.