Phyllis Risdon
Common Sense / Responsible Leadership
Phyllis was introduced to politics at a young age when her mother ran for, and became,
Dexter Township Treasurer for several years.
Raising her family, serving her community and church (Director of the Choir and the
Children's Christmas Eve service, helping with Vacation Bible Schools, and serving in
the Women of Faith), volunteering at schools, Dexter Community Band, and later
working full time at Dexter Schools left little time for political involvement. After
retirement from Dexter Schools in 2011, Phyllis and her late-husband Tom, listened to
Dr. Carson's address at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast. At the end of the video
they both said simultaneously "He should run for President". Phyllis replied, "If he ever
does, I'll work on his campaign!". Tom passed away in April of 2013 after his 6 year
long battle with cancer. In 2015 Dr. Carson announced his U.S. Presidential candidacy
and Phyllis, remembering those words she had said two years prior, joined a group of
Washtenaw County supporters to create the Washtenaw County "Dr. Carson….Run,
Ben, Run" presidential campaign group! Being retired left time and opportunities to
devote to campaign efforts, which included walking in parades, distributing literature,
knocking on doors, holding watch parties, and attending county and statewide events to
promote Dr. Carson. Phyllis had the unique opportunities to meet with and talk one-on-
one with Dr. Carson. When he ended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump,
Phyllis trusted the good doctor's judgement and became a Trump supporter!
Her involvement with the Washtenaw County Carson supporters led Phyllis to run for
and be elected as a Republican Precinct Delegate for Dexter Township, Precinct 1,
holding that title to this day. She has attended County and State GOP Conventions as a
representative of her fellow precinct Republicans. Seeing a need for a more diverse
voice on the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners compelled Phyllis to run for
that office this year.
As your representative Phyllis will strive for:
Common Sense - Example: If you are given a fixed amount of dollars in your travel
expense account, DON'T spend more than that! Some in county government may have
forgotten that.
Transparency & Accountability - Our taxpayer funded county assets are worth
safeguarding and internal controls need to be followed.
One of Phyllis' pet peeves is when a millage is up for renewal with the attitude of "it's a millage renewal so it won't cost the taxpayer any more money". However ... if the millage, which was set to expire at a certain time, is ALLOWED to expire (like it was initially sold to the taxpayers), then taxpayers would have more money in their wallets when that time frame was complete.
One of Phyllis' pet peeves is when a millage is up for renewal with the attitude of "it's a millage renewal so it won't cost the taxpayer any more money". However ... if the millage, which was set to expire at a certain time, is ALLOWED to expire (like it was initially sold to the taxpayers), then taxpayers would have more money in their wallets when that time frame was complete.
Fiscal Responsibility - instead of focusing on taxing and spending we should be
focused on growing our revenue base. Our county has been losing population.
We dropped 6,300 residents in just three years from when the U.S.
Census was taken in 2020 to 2023.
Washtenaw's ever increasing housing costs are driving people to leave the
county. Ever increasing property taxes are making life extremely difficult for the poor
and those on fixed incomes, namely retired people living on Social Security. Many can
no longer afford to pay their property taxes and are being forced to give up their homes.
Rather than increase property taxes with a millage (which older people will have to pay,
too) for "Older Persons" (see your General Election ballot), why not give those older
persons a break on their taxes and let them decide how to best use those dollars? We
are taxed enough already!
Conservative Principles - We must conserve the U.S. Constitution and
our Rights endowed by our Creator. Freedom of speech and the right to bear arms (Phyllis
is a member of Ann Arbor Arms) are essential for a free society to survive. This also
includes the pursuit (not guarantee) of happiness which includes feeling safe in our
homes and going about our daily lives — Government's number one job is to keep its
citizens safe and protect our borders.
Limited Government - Must we keep adding more and more frivolous positions
to our county government. Less is better. That idea applies all throughout society with a
prime example in our public schools. Although student population doesn't grow all that
much, more administrators keep being hired. If we keep adding more and more at the
top of a ladder, that ladder will eventually tip over…we need a strong, solid base!
Beliefs - Phyllis has a strong faith in Christ and knows that God is
ultimately in control of all things. He has given us freedom of choice but "that all
things work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are the called
according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
Phyllis believes that God has endowed us not only with inalienable rights through our
Constitution, but with a wonderful country in which to exercise those rights. May God
bless America!
Phyllis is proud to be an American and a citizen of Washtenaw County. She will take
her oath to defend the U.S. and Michigan Constitutions very seriously. She is a strong
supporter of our Constitutional Amendments especially Freedom of Speech (1A) and
the Right to Bear Arms (2A). Many men and women in the military have given their lives
to keep us safe and free! We must stand for our rights and our flag!
Committees on Which Phyllis Is Interested to Serve: (list)
- Local Emergency Planning Commission
- Washtenaw County Youth Commission
- MSU Extension Advisory Council
- Agricultural Land Preservation
- Police Services
