The Woodhaven Mayor and City Council are the elected representative body responsible for municipal policy making and administration. The role of City Council includes the following:

• Adopts and/or amends City ordinances (laws)
• Determines City policies and standards
• Determines how much money will be spent and for what purposes
• Determines the amount of City taxes to be levied
• Approves contracts and agreements
• Represents the City locally, statewide and on the federal level.

The City Council consists of 7 members, the Mayor and six Council Members, each of whom must live in the City. The Mayor is the presiding officer of the Council. In the absence or disability of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro-tem shall be the presiding officer of the Council. The Mayor shall have an equal vote in the proceedings of Council and has the right to introduce or second motions, resolutions or ordinances, but shall have no veto power. Appointed officials (City Administrator, City Clerk, City Attorney, etc.) to not have a vote.

Council Members

	Mayor Karen M. Mazo
Mayor Karen Mazo's career reaches back to the first years of Woodhaven's history as a city. She was employed with the City in 1968 and was appointed City Clerk in 1969, four years after the community became a city, and served in that post for 27 years. Mazo was elected mayor in November 2001 after serving for four years on the City Council. She currently serves as a member of the Woodhaven Downtown Development Authority. In addition to her work with the city, Mazo was also is involved in several regional, civic and community organizations. She serves as treasurer for Women Celebrating Life, a nonprofit organization that offers financial support to breast cancer survivors; and is a member of the Southshore Promise Campaign Cabinet Committee; she is a fund raising committee member for the Cass Community Social Services and for the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance. She was honored in 2004 during National Women’s History month for her leadership and charity work. She has been recognized for her community work by two chapters of the Soroptimist International: Trenton and Wyandotte Taylor.

	Councilmember Sharon Bono Beaton
Councilmember Sharon Bono-Beaton has lived Downriver all her life, and has been a Woodhaven resident for 24 years. Bono-Beaton was a volunteer in the Gibraltar School District, where her children attended school. While her children were in school, Bono- Beaton furthered her education as well, earning a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a master's degree in science, both from Eastern Michigan University. She also has been awarded a master's degree in the art of teaching from Marygrove College in Detroit and has been a teacher in the Ann Arbor public school system for 13 years. Bono- Beaton and her husband, Ambrose, have four children and three grandchildren.

	Councilmember Christopher Tsakiris
Council Member Chris Tsakiris was appointed to City Council in 2004 and elected for another term in 2007 (term ending 2011). Previously, he had served on the Woodhaven Planning Commission from 2000 to 2004. He is the City’s current representative to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Advisory Board and is the Mayor Pro-tem for 2007-2009. Tsakiris has worked in the banking industry since 1989 and is currently with National City Bank in the Downriver area, as a Public Funds officer. He graduated from Central Michigan University in 1988 and later earned a Masters degree from the University of Detroit in 1993. Tsakiris has lived in Woodhaven since 1998. His wife is a teacher with Trenton Public Schools. They have two young children.

	Councilmember Patricia A. Odette
Council member Odette was elected to the council in November 2001, and is now serving her second term in office. She is from Chicago and has lived downriver for the last 28 years. She has earned her Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Doctorate degrees and has been in private practice for 28 years. She is a member of the Michigan Association of Chiropractic and the Woodhaven Kiwanis. She has a 25 year-old daughter, Toni, who attends law school in Chicago and works for a Federal Judge. Dr.Odette was recently appointed to the Michigan Board of Chiropractic Examiners by Governor Granholm to oversee the Chiropractic profession in the state of Michigan. She has an open door policy and if you have any concerns or questions about the City please feel free to call her anytime.

	Councilmember Jeffrey Harris
Council Member Jeffrey Harris has lived Downriver all his life and was elected to Woodhaven City Council in November, 2007. He is a graduate of Woodhaven High School (1988). He is a veteran of the United Stated Marine Corps and graduate from Washtenaw Community College’s “Law Enforcement Certification Program”. He has been a Police Officer for the City of River Rouge for over 15 years. He is a member of Twin Oaks Christian Church in Woodhaven, a volunteer soccer referee for Downriver AYSO and a member of F. & A.M. (Lodge 511). Jeffrey and his wife Marianne (Stotler) have two daughters in the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District.

	Councilmember Kathleen M. Cooley
Councilmember Cooley has lived Downriver all her life, and in the city for the past five years. She was elected to the City Council in her first attempt in November 2001. Cooley has been married for 25 years and has two daughters, a stepson and two grandchildren.

	Councilmember Edward Smith
Councilman Ed Smith has lived downriver all his life and in the City of Woodhaven for the past four years. Edward Smith was elected to Woodhaven City Council in his first attempt in November, 2005. Previously, he served on the Zoning Board of Appeals. He is a member of the Woodhaven Kiwanis Club and a volunteer athletic director and coach at a local parochial school. He graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Elementary Education. Edward and his wife, Cheryl, have four boys.