Meet David
Born and raised in the area and a graduate of Kalamazoo Central ('69) and WMU (BBA '91 in Accountancy), David and his wife, Cori Terry, are the parents of four grown daughters, all Kalamazoo Central grads.
Experience
As a Kalamazoo Mayor and City Commissioner, David Anderson has taken the lead in collaborative efforts to address critical and complicated issues. For example, David:
Chaired the City Commission subcommittee that invited community members to discuss and shape Kalamazoo's Anti-Discrimination Ordinance.
Spent the past 12 years on the City's Environmental Concerns Committee, which presented a Climate Crisis Resolution to the city commission, which was adopted this October.
Worked with the City's Environmental Concerns Committee, the County, the City of Portage, WMU, Kalamazoo College, and KVCC to develop a policy around life-cycle costing - a waste-not, want-not approach to conserving energy and saving public resources. As a result, the City of Kalamazoo has a Sustainability Policy in place.
Helped craft the City Commission's Ethics Code as part of a three-commissioner policy panel.
Took on the Chairmanship of the Freedom of Information Act Subcommittee and worked to craft recommendations for City protocols and practices to make certain citizen-city interactions would be more fair, transparent, and respectful.
Worked with downtown retailers to develop the language adopted for the City's park use and panhandling ordinance.
Applied his experience on housing issues to tackle local challenges. His leadership during his first term in office resulted in a collaboration between the City and County to create the Local Housing Assistance Fund - an effort that leveraged a half-million dollars of additional, valued-added resources from MSHDA to address local homelessness.
Service
David is actively looking at every committee involvement as an opportunity to increase regional cooperation and solidify partnerships. Maybe his years working on construction sites contributed to his deep commitment to collaboration. He knows no one person (or municipality) can go it alone. It takes the energy, hard work and skills of many to successfully build. David's expertise, credibility, and roll-up-your-sleeves work ethic are producing results as a City Commissioner.
Kalamazoo Mayor since 2019
Kalamazoo City Commissioner since 2005
Member of the Kalamazoo Area Transportation Study, Internal Audit Committee, Environmental Concerns Committee, and Pension Committee
Chaired the City Commission's Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee
Developed the City Commission's Sustainability Policy as part of the Environmental Concerns Committee
Member of the Policy Panel that developed the City Commission's Ethics Code
Chaired the City Commission's Freedom of Information Action (FOIA) Subcommittee
Director of Housing and Facilities for Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Chair and Founding Member of the Kalamazoo County Public Housing Commission
Chair of the LIFT Foundation, a nonprofit focused on affordable housing
Former President, West Douglas (Fairmont) Neighborhood Association Board, 15 years
Former President, Hillside Middle School Parent-Teacher-Student Organization, 3 years
Former President, Kalamazoo Central PTSO, 3 years
Treasurer, Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services Board, 6 years
Member, Leadership Team, Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care, 10 years
Graduate, Leadership Kalamazoo, 2001-02