Shawn Keough has an impressive resume when it comes to being a leader in local government and has helped Dexter through more than a few different challenges – including a few that no one saw coming.
Keough, who is running for a third term as mayor and an opportunity to again cast a vote on the Dexter City Council, helped the community through a recession in 2008, a tornado in 2012, the transition to cityhood in 2014 and the Covid pandemic in 2020.
“They all presented different challenges along the way and I had a lot of help from a lot of good people but I think we came out better and stronger and I enjoyed being a part of it and I’m proud of how we met each one,” Keough says. “It’s been an honor. And I would like to do it for four more years.”
Before we look ahead to what those four more years might look like, let’s take a step back a few years.
Keough was born and raised in the Plymouth-Canton area and graduated from Catholic Central High School in Redford in 1988. His road to Dexter was travelled with family in the passenger seat.
“My younger brother and his wife were looking for a new home and he asked me to come with him out to Dexter to look at a new subdivision,” he said. “We went through the model home and then went to the Dexter Pub to grab a burger and somewhere between the subdivision and the pub, my wife (Chrissy) asked me, ‘why can’t we get a new house out here?’ We were living in Livonia at the time and decided to have a home built near my brother in Westridge.”
That was 21 years ago.
Keough earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1992 and has been a licensed Professional Engineer in Michigan since 1997. He is a civil engineer with Wade Trim, a company he has been with for over 30 years. He started working on a survey crew right out of high school and has been with them ever since.
Keough didn’t jump right into the deep end of politics – you could say he dipped his toe in the “water” first.
“As a civil engineer I worked with local communities on their infrastructure,” Keough said. “Around 2002 my neighbor had been elected to the village council and he was putting together a commission about water rates. He invited me to a committee meeting and I was the only citizen he could recruit. But I was lucky enough to serve on that committee.”
Keough has been on the Dexter Village or City Council since 2004 and was Village President before becoming mayor when Dexter became a city in 2014.
Dexter has come a long way in the 20-plus years since Keough got involved in local government.
“We have done a really good job of addressing a lot of fiscal challenges that we had as a community,” he says. “We’ve saved money towards our unfunded liabilities and long-term pension obligations. We built trails and parks. We realized the residents here like the outdoors and we’ve have capitalized on our proximity to Mill Creek and the Huron River.”
The Dexter mayor is not a full-time job. It’s an elected position just like a City Council member. The city manager carries out the daily duties in this form of local government. The mayor votes last on every issue.
So why does the current mayor want to be mayor again?
“I like to be transparent and helpful at the local level,” he says. “I feel good about my ability to contribute locally and things that really impact people. I have the energy and desire to keep doing this and there are still things I want to see get done. I want to see the pathway completed to Chelsea. We want the area to be strong and connected. I want to see us improve our fire station.
“We need to continue our succession planning process that started in 2021 as many of our long time City staff have recently retired or will be retiring soon. We need to continue our balanced approach to debt reduction, saving/investing for future opportunities, and funding our long-term pension and health care obligations. I believe we are well positioned to do all of these things.”
Keough says Dexter is a “vibrant community” and a “special place.”
“Dexter offers a fantastic school system, wonderful parks, trails and recreational opportunities and access to the Huron River and Mill Creek,” he says. “We have a thriving, vibrant downtown with many restaurants and destinations for shopping. We are a smaller charming community, but have great pride and a tradition of helping our friends, families and neighbors. My family loves living in Dexter.”
Keough wants four more years.
“I’m proud of what we as a local government and community have accomplished and I’ve really enjoyed being a part of it,” he says. “And I want to continue being a part of it.”
