Jane Pacheco for Mayor

FALL 2021

Hello, my name is Jane Pacheco and I am running to be the next Mayor of Chelsea, Michigan. 

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I grew up in Chelsea, graduated from CHS in 1991. I attended the University of Michigan undergrad and then lived in Atlanta for a short time and in Denver for 8+ years. I moved back to Chelsea in 2003 to raise our family near family.  Professionally I have worked in commercial real estate, non-profit management, local food systems, youth development, and social justice advocacy.

Over the last eight years that I have served on City Council, I am proud to have been involved with numerous policy issues that have helped our City become more transparent, accountable, and responsive to citizen requests.  I didn't always have majority support, but I've advocated for:

• New City commission application and appointment process

• Helped a citizen group gain passage of the City's Non-Discrimination that formed the first City Human Rights Commission

• More fair voting process for  appointments - I support Ranked Choice Voting

• Community Listening Sessions 

• Trained facilitators to help moderate larger public meetings

• Widest representation possible for City commissions and committees

• Objective audit of our police department and, hopefully, subsequent improvements

• Transparency and accountability at every level of City governance 

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In addition to my work on Council, I've helped initiate and host both a Housing Diversity Forum with State Representative Donna Lasinski and a Transportation Town Hall with Washtenaw Area Transportation Study (WATS).

I currently sit on the CAPT/DART working group (Chelsea Area Planning Team/Dexter Area Regional Team) in part because I believe that, in addition to taking care of the people and infrastructure within our city, it is to our benefit to work with our neighboring communities regarding issues that cross regions - like transportation, housing, economic and community development. 

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Over the last several years I have worked with community teens both on a professional and volunteer basis. Having two teenagers, I have been very interested in learning as much as I can about youth mental health and worked with the Washtenaw County 4H for 2 years to lead a changemaker teen group focused on mental health. In 2019 I  became certified to teach Youth Mental Health First Aid. Additionally, I've worked with the SRSLY Program team (originally the District Wellness Committee) regarding youth mental health since 2018. I will continue to advocate for investment into Community Mental Health supports. 

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I am a fierce advocate for civic engagement and civil discourse. I've helped facilitate classes, workshops, and book groups about each topic to both adults and teens. During the 2018-19-20 school years, I even helped start a Civic Action Club at Chelsea High School where students met to discuss how to get involved in decision making processes in their own lives.

I believe that it takes all of us, working together, to focus on keeping good things working and working on making improvements where necessary.

We can do it - together. 

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Thanks for your support! - JP ​