I am saddened, appalled, angry, and truly disturbed by what was issued as the City of Lathrup Village’s “official response” to the recent Trunk or Treat cancellation that was delivered by Mayor Mykale “Kelly” Garrett. Speaking as a current Lathrup Village City Council member, this was NOT a united message from the City, rather, a personal message full of dangerous implications and ridiculous claims of racism that are unwarranted. This divisive post that is now circulating around Metro Detroit, written by Garrett, is extremely toxic and damaging to Lathrup Village. Rather than taking the opportunity to shut down this rhetoric and stand up for our beloved community, she chose to further fuel the fire 4 days before what has already been a contested election, in which she is running as an incumbent.  I DO NOT support this message and I feel an obligation to challenge it publicly. Lathrup Village is NOT a community that excludes people – especially not children! 

Lathrup Village residents live here BECAUSE of its diversity. It’s part of what defines our community – and it has for many years. For me, personally, it was a large part of why we moved to Southfield in the 1980’s to start our family then moved here to Lathrup in 1990, why my daughters were raised in Southfield Public Schools and graduated from Southfield-Lathrup HS in 1999 and 2001, and why I live here today. When residents, myself included, have questioned Mayor Garrett’s decisions and the direction the City has taken under her leadership, she is quick to throw out accusations of racist motives and cite some of the dark history of how Lathrup Village was founded in the 1920’s. While she is correct that the City’s founding under Louise Lathrup was rooted in prejudiced practices that were abhorrent, to imply that any resident of Lathrup today, especially those of us who have actively worked to foster and protect inclusivity, would be proud of or aspire to “those days” is DISGUSTING SLANDER, meant to stir up hatred and further division.    

For context, Trunk or Treat was introduced in Lathrup Village for the first time last year. That has not been a tradition in Lathrup Village as Mayor Garrett’s post made it seem. The LV DDA (Downtown Development Authority) created the event without resident input, waited far too late to finalize planning or announce the event, and then ended up with a logistical mess, as they have done with other events in recent years.  This is the real issue here – in a small City that has seen the loss of our Parks and Rec Department and limits in other resources, we’ve struggled to unify our community with the lack of resident-centric events that have been such a central part of our City’s identity for many years. Rather than including community members first and then extending the invite to non-residents, they sidestepped our residents’ needs AGAIN. Instead, they focused on the Greater Detroit area first and when the infrastructure required to actually properly execute an event for the hundreds of kids that signed up wasn’t there, ONLY THEN did the DDA reach out to residents to provide the trunks and candy. Soon thereafter, some residents expressed concerns over what seemed to be an incredibly disorganized event and started asking questions. As we’ve seen before, their questions were met with hostility and accusations thrown back in their faces. The point is that we should be focused on what our immediate community wants and needs first and foremost, take the time to communicate with residents and ensure there is time to do all of that in an organized and responsible way – there is nothing racist or otherwise wrong in any of that –  it is what City Council and the DDA are supposed to be here for. 

Although our seasonal traditions in Lathrup Village have been to hold a Fall Festival in October and for kids (from anywhere) to go trick or treating from house to house on Halloween, I absolutely support creating new traditions geared towards our residents, with the residents actively involved in creating those traditions. I personally love Halloween and for as long as I can remember, I have gotten special treats for the kids that live on my block, and have welcomed any child that came to my door with open arms. I love seeing the little ones and the teen-agers and the new parents and long-time friends and new neighbors. I had a chance to personally meet our mail carrier Tuesday night when she brought her children trick or treating. It’s always a night of pride in our community. 

As a City Council member and steward of your money, when I’ve challenged or questioned that lack of resident inclusivity within DDA sponsored events, I am told the DDA is separate from the City.  Basically, I’m met with “it isn’t any of your business.”  When we had a Parks and Recreation Department and Director, we had many community events with lots of volunteers welcoming their neighbors, friends and people from other communities. Unfortunately, our Parks and Recreation Department has been decimated under the leadership of Mayor Garrett and Mayor Pro-Tem Bruce Kantor and the last two City Administrators, and replaced by the DDA, which is another systemic issue I have been attempting to address in my less than 2 years on Council. Given the depth of the mess they have managed to create over the last few years, I need more time to untangle things, get transparency into budgets, staffing and operations, and work with residents to implement a solution that will help carry our City forward.

Lathrup Village is a magical place! I ran for City Council in 2021 because I saw the magic disappearing over the past 6 years. As it continues to fade at a very fast pace, it is the main reason I am running again in 2023. If I can be a small part of restoring and creating new Lathrup Village magic, this will all be worth it and my job will be done.