EATON RAPIDS, Mich. — Pam Colestock will become the mayor of Eaton Rapids - and the city's first female mayor - on Jan. 1.
“It’s a little bit still surreal," she said. "It’s not anything that I had really intended to do. I mean it wasn’t like a lifelong goal or dream, but after being on city council for five years now I really enjoyed it.”
She's following in her fathers foot steps. Her dad, Don Colestock, was on City Council from 1992 to 1994 and served as mayor from 1994 to 2006.
He inspired her to run for City Council, she said, but she didn’t get an itch to run for mayor until the last year.
“I had a lot of friends and family and I had just citizens in the community that I talked to that would just say to me hey you know you should run for mayor you should run for mayor," Colestock said. "And you know after a while that just kind of gets in your head a little bit and I started thinking you know what I really do believe I could do this.”
Colestock grew up in Eaton Rapids and after high school moved to Lansing for a while, but then made her way back to the small town.
Her grandfather Art Colestock was an Eaton Rapids police officer in the '50s and '60s.
Her dad, she said, "was just very very community minded and I really hope I can you know help to continue that legendary style that he had."
With only a few weeks until Colestock is sworn in, she is looking to continue working on street projects, and at replacing lead water lines. She also hopes to improve communication with the community.
“Being able to put more communication out to the citizens. Letting them know you know what is actually happening with your city government. And then as well bringing back their voice to city hall so that the administration understands what is it that the citizens really want from their city government,” Colestock said.
City Councilman William Steele has known Colestock for five years and worked with her for the last two. Steele said Colestock is energetic and intelligent and he thinks she's a good fit for the position.
“She active in the community outside of the city functions. So she’s been here with the city for a long time. Her enthusiasm that she brings to the role she’s not afraid to interact with anybody,” Steele said.
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