A local businessman is running for the South Bend Common Council in District 2.
Gil Michel, the president and founder of a South Bend-based accounting business, announced his campaign on Tuesday night, one day before the clerk’s office will begin accepting candidate paperwork for the upcoming 2015 municipal elections.
Michel earned an MBA from the Indiana Institute of Technology. He founded The Caleb Group, which provides tax preparation, payroll and other services in the city’s Monroe Park neighborhood.
“If there is anything I’ve learned as a small business owner it’s that resilience and hard work pay off,” Michel said in a news release. “I am determined to knock on as many doors as I can and listen to the concerns of the residents of the 2nd District so that I may address those needs and give them the representation they deserve.”
His past work includes two years of experience as a tax specialist at Crowe Chizek and five years as a business manager at the University of Notre Dame.
The candidate said that he is “not a career politician” but rather a “trusted advisor in financial management and is looking to bring that expertise and entrepreneurial acumen to the Council.”
Michel’s background also includes work as Executive Director of Prayer Summit International, an organization that he says organized prayer conferences in various cities and provided financial support to missions in West Africa. His faith-based work extends into the South Bend community as well. He is the pastor at That Church Downtown.
Michel is running as a Democrat in the district currently represented by Henry Davis Jr., who has not decided whether he will seek re-election. Primary day is Tuesday, May 5.
We will have more on this and other races in the weeks to come as part of our continued coverage of the 2015 municipal elections.
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