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Jim Fisher is 46 years old and has lived in Port Huron for the past 15 years. He and his wife, Michelle live in the Olde Town Historic District on Port Huron’s South Side. They have two pre-teen children. Jim works at The Home Depot as a kitchen designer. He serves as Port Huron’s representative on the Blue Water Area Transit Commission. He is also President of the Olde Town Historic Neighborhood. Jim has served as a Councilmember since being first elected in 2001

Here is a list of just some of the things Jim has done in his service on City Council. In 2002 he started the local Sister City program that led to our relationship with Chiquimula, Guatemala. In 2003 he fought Port Huron’s acceptance of the Matricula Consular (illegal alien ID) card. In 2004 he proposed a Frontier League baseball stadium and team for Port Huron (the proposal was rejected by the DDA). In 2004 he proposed and worked on improving the Oak/Griswold entrance into Port Huron including new wayfarer signs. In 2005 he traveled to Washington and lobbied about the Blue water Bridge Plaza expansion. A conversation with Candice Miller about the 7th Street Bridge led to securing the necessary funding to repair that bridge. In 2006 he again traveled to Washington to lobby about the Blue Water Bridge expansion and it’s potential negative impact on the city of Port Huron. He has supported downtown development, marketing the city of Port Huron (was one of only two Councilmembers who voted to establish a marketing person for the city), and has continually stated that we need to grow our tax base in the city. In 2007, he voted against the lowering of the City income tax exemption and voted against the 66% water/sewer rate increases.

With his involvement as President of the Olde Town Historic Neighborhood he has: initiated Victorian Christmas Caroling; run and promoted the annual Historic Home Tour; started the Welkin Vintage Base Ball Club; gotten a Port Huron home featured in This Old House magazine; and had Port Huron mentioned in Greenfield Village’s promotional literature.

“It has been my pleasure to serve these past six years as a Port Huron Councilmember. My education is in commercial art, photography, printing and layout & design. I have worked at a newspaper, a public access television station, been a multi-state sales representative and been an owner of a downtown storefront photography studio located in Coldwater, MI. I have also lived in a variety of communities in Michigan including: Rose City, Holland, Union City, Coldwater and Kentwood.

“I feel that my work experience as well as living in many communities gives me a broad base of knowledge and experience that benefits the city of Port Huron. I have enjoyed the successes in moving the city forward and have been frustrated by the lack of forward vision by some of our community leaders. It is my sincere hope that we will see a change in Councilmembers this election, and the community will elect more visionary leaders to our Council. If re-elected, I will continue to strive to make Port Huron a better place to live, work and play.”

Post Election Issues:

Does the government work for the citizens, or do the citizens work for the government? That is the debate.

Election 2007 Response to Questions:

1. The City Manager has proposed water rate increases in each of the next five years, Brian Moeller has stated that he would not support additional water rate increases, what is your position?

Voted Against City Manager's Recommendation

2. If you are opposed to the City Manager's Budget, how would you balance the budget?

I believe we could have made more cuts in our operating budget. We could have reduced the number of firefighters or started plans to combine the police and fire departments into a public safety department. We also need to look into privatizing more city services.

3. For many years the leaders of Port Huron have extolled the amenities of our city and it's great potential, in your opinion, why hasn't that potential been realized?

Port Huron leadership often gives lip service to the amenities and attractions of Port Huron. We have a cruise night, but cars are not allowed to rev their engines or burn their tires. We have the Mackinac race, but it took years to approve a beer tent. We have a softball tournament at Pine Grove Park, but we give parking tickets to the attendees. We say we want food vendors, but we hassle them when they try to sell their produce. If we want folks to visit our city, we need to give them a reason to come, stay and return. Make cruise night more open and friendly, have sanctioned "burn-out" and "muffler rapping" contests. We need to continue to promote the Mackinac race and the beer tent. We also need to be flexible and not ticket every car parked on the grass in Pine Grove Park (or even set up a temporary parking area) during the softball tournament. Simply put, we need to be a more visitor friendly city.

4. Several of the challengers for council seats have expressed hesitation at being specific about budget issues, stating that the budget published on the city web page is not the real one, and that they are not "privy" to specific information that would shape their opinion. In the interest of having an open and transparent government, shouldn't the budget that is published be the real one?

I believe in an open and transparent government. The summary budget currently made available is the “real” budget. However, the budget, in its entirety, should be available for those citizens who want to sift through that massive document. Both should be made available to anyone who wants to see or review the documents.

5. Candidate Al Wright found that the full detailed budget can be available to citizens if they pay approximately $200.00 plus time expenses for printing. Would you favor having the full budget available on the city's web page, or that the city would make it available on a CD disk for $1.00?

If a CD of the full budget could be provided, I'm all for it.

6. If Pete was your son, would you advise him to purchase in the city of Port Huron? If so, why? If not, what can be done to make Port Huron a more financially attractive place to live?

That's a fairly loaded question that does not take into account all variables. My short answer to the point of the question is that we need to find a way to lower the tax burden on the citizens of Port Huron.
My long answer to the question: is the $180,000 home an 1100 square foot house with a one-car garage in Marysville, a 2900 square foot Victorian in Port Huron, or 1600 square foot doublewide on 5 acres in Fort Gratiot? There is more to choosing a home than price and tax burden. Quality of life and lifestyle are taken into account also. As long as the balance scale tips toward Port Huron being a good value compared to the surrounding area, we will attract folks to our city. Unfortunately, the balance seems tipped toward the Townships right now. We need to change this perception, and we need to change it soon. Development; marketing; friendliness; and vibrancy all need to be Council's overview for the city. We need to want to attract investment into our city. We need to welcome new ideas, development and festivals with open arms instead of fear and trepidation.

7. The city has given tax incentives to encourage developers, manufacturers and businesses to locate in Port Huron, should they give tax relief to encourage common people to locate in Port Huron?

I believe in total tax relief for the citizens of Port Huron. I voted against the lowering of the income tax deduction. I voted against the latest raising of our water and sewer rates. I will continue to vote against any excessive tax increases to our citizens. We need to make Port Huron the preferred place to live in Saint Clair County. Not necessarily the lowest taxes, but we do need to be the best value in the area. Just like Starbuck's doesn't have the cheapest coffee, many perceive it to be a good value and a preferred beverage. We need to provide a quality of life that exceeds the cost of living in Port Huron. I believe this can be done by lowering the tax burden on our citizens, encouraging growth and development to increase our tax base and promoting our city as a great place to visit and shop.

8. If elected, and you had sufficient support on the council, what would be your first priority?

I would move forward with the proposal from Terra Land. We have a problem in Port Huron that is not being addressed: our shrinking population. We are loosing about 3% of our population every year. That number is projected to escalate to 5% over the next few years. The Blue Water Bridge Expansion will take another 2-3%. With a declining population, there will be fewer and fewer city residents to shoulder the burden of the Combined Sewer Overflow project, fewer residents to pay for street repairs, and fewer citizens to pay for police and fire department services. Simply put, we need to grow our population and tax base and we need to do it soon. The proposal by Terra Land is a sound and viable plan. It will create excitement both in Port Huron and around the state as we begin an aggressive downtown development. It will attract new residents into our city and create a new and needed vibrancy in our downtown. The continual roadblocks to this project put up by our current Council have frustrated me. I would enjoy working with a new visionary, aggressive and forward thinking Council.

9. Televised city council meetings are intended to inform the public in a transparent manner, in your opinion, when should the council go into "closed session"?

Under Michigan law, we can only go into closed session to discuss pending litigation, land acquisition and certain personnel matters.

10. What changes in the city charter, if any, would you support?

I would like to see return to representation by districts or precincts with a separate Mayoral election. Staggered elections would serve the city better that the current free-for-all system we have now.
Imagine US elections where the entire US Congress is elected every two years at-large (no states or districts) then, the highest “vote-getter” chosen to be President. We would have a government with no regional representation, no focus and no direction for the future. This is the exact situation we have created in Port Huron.
We should have a minimum of three districts, two Councilmembers from each district each serving a four-year term, with half the council being up for election every two years. Plus, we need a separate Mayoral election. These changes would strengthen the Council’s authority over the direction of the City and give citizens a stronger voice in city hall.