My name is David Zemens and I am a member of the Rochester MI City Council. The goal of this website is to tell you more about me. You can also take a look at some of the articles and viewpoints I have written about. I would love to hear feedback or questions from you, so please feel free to get in touch with me by visiting my contact page.

I believe that by following these four simple steps, Rochester can move forward into the next generation as a stronger community than it is today.

Four Steps to a Better Rochester

• New city leadership to take Rochester into the next generation
• Balanced and thoughtful downtown redevelopment
• Lower property taxes by returning some of the city’s yearly two million dollar budget surplus to the taxpayers
• Maintain our local police department and enhance the service they provide

My Pledge to You

• I will continue to remind the city administration that we are their employers and that satisfying the wishes of the community should be their main focus
• Having been employed as a Rochester police officer for nearly twenty years, I have insight into the daily operation of the city that other candidates do not have
• I am not a professional politican and have no intention of making a career out of city council membership
• I am prepared to make tough decisions to move Rochester forward into the next generation
• I have no allegiance to the professional contractors, some of whom have held city retainers and accepted tax dollars for over forty years

I think the city is poised to move into the future with fresh, energetic leadership and I am proud to be a part of it.

Some Further Thoughts

These brief bullet points give you an overview of how I plan to approach my role as a councilperson.

• I will demand accountability from all department heads, and in turn demand efficiency from the employees they oversee
• I will support our local Rochester Police Department and encourage new leadership and a new direction
• Each week I will spend four hours on site at city hall (more if necessary). By doing so, I will be able to see the daily operation of the various departments and have a greater insight into the operation. I will always update my schedule on my website so everyone will know when I will be available
• I will be accessible to you - by email, by postal mail, by telephone and in person and on site at City Hall
• I will work hard and smart, never cutting corners
• I will treat your tax dollars as carefully as I treat my own dollars
• I will donate my city council salary to Leader Dogs for the Blind

To further your understanding of what my positions are on various issues, I will write a series of articles and commentary over the coming months that will appear at this website. These articles will offer my view on many of the important and popular issues that face the City of Rochester as we move forward into a uncertain Michigan economy. You will have an opportunity to read these articles and leave questions or comments for me about what I have written. Your comments will afford me an opportunity to hear what your concerns are, and also to answer your questions or to comment further about your concerns.

Thanks for stopping in to visit. Please stop back regularly and see what’s new and what myself and others have to say about the great city in which we have chosen to live.