Jim Mulhern (Plymouth City Commission At-large, Michigan, candidate 2025)

Jim Mulhern

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Nonpartisan

Candidate, Plymouth City Commission At-large

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 5, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

University of Michigan, 1987

Personal

Birthplace

Wayne, Mich.

Profession

Director of business development

Contact

Campaign website

Jim Mulhern ran for election to the Plymouth City Commission At-large in Michigan. He was on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.

Mulhern completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Jim Mulhern provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 3, 2025:

• Birth date: December 7, 1964
• Birth place: Wayne, Michigan
• High school: University of Detroit High School (now U of D Jesuit)
• Bachelor's: University of Michigan, 1987
• Gender: Male
• Profession: Director of Business Development
• Prior offices held:
  • Chairman, City of Plymouth Planning Commission (2014-2018)
  • Planning Commissioner, City of Plymouth (2010-2014)
• Incumbent officeholder: No
• Campaign slogan: Trusted Neighbor for City Commission
• Campaign website

Elections

General election

General election for Plymouth City Commission At-large (4 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Plymouth City Commission At-large on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Joe Elliott (Nonpartisan)
		Jennifer Kehoe (Nonpartisan)
		Alanna Maguire (Nonpartisan)
		Kristin McHale-Johnson (Nonpartisan)
		Nick Moroz (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Jim Mulhern (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Ron Picard (Nonpartisan)
		Karen Sisolak (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Plymouth City Commission At-large (4 seats)

The following candidates ran in the primary for Plymouth City Commission At-large on August 5, 2025.

		Candidate
		Joe Elliott (Nonpartisan)
		Jennifer Kehoe (Nonpartisan)
		Alanna Maguire (Nonpartisan)
		Kristin McHale-Johnson (Nonpartisan)
		Nick Moroz (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Jim Mulhern (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Ron Picard (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Scott Silvers (Nonpartisan)
		Karen Sisolak (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Mulhern in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jim Mulhern completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mulhern's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Plymouth is both great and growing - and the community can be both! We need trustworthy, experienced and reasonable city commissioners. I'm asking for and I'd be honored to get your vote. Jeanne and I have lived in Plymouth at Arthur & Blanche for 30 years. Two kids, two pugs. I work for Henry Ford Health and I'm a small business owner.

I served on the Plymouth Planning Commission from 2010-2018, the last four as Chair. I originated the discussion and eventual ordinance limiting bigfoot homes, worked to modernize the Master Plan into an accessible and readable public document, and led a tough but fair commission relative to developers and reasonable development. I've stayed involved in the community, attending city meetings, and advocating for common sense policies that benefit the city and most importantly, the neighborhoods.

I've been asked to run by neighbors, friends and other commissioners - and I am ready to be servant leader to you and all our neighbors - from Old Village to New England Village, to Hough Park, to South Main, East side, North side and Downtown. If you don't know me, ask someone who does. Or reach out directly. I answer every question and would as your Commissioner. Thank you for voting absentee or at the polls on November 4th. And thank you for considering me for your vote!

Endorsements

Fmr Mayor Dan Dwyer Fmr Mayor Oliver Wolcott Mayor Suzi Deal

Commissioners Brock Minton, Jen Kehoe, Nick Moroz and Alanna Maguire

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Reasonable Development: Balancing progress and development while maintaining the character and desirability of the city.
• Neighborhood Voices: Your voice matters, and listening to everyone about their neighborhood needs is crucial and is my priority.
• Trusted Neighbor: As your neighbor and as a former leader of a Plymouth commission, I'm known as a trusted and honest broker.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Community Outreach

Safety in Mobility and Walkability

Responsible Tax Dollar Investment

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

We live in the community. We can see and listen to what's happening and respond because we are a small community and thus, can manage it.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Martin Luther King Jr. For all the reasons. Stood for the oppressed, helped empower generations of people of all colors, creeds and incomes, lived humility and service, left a dream for many to uphold.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Morality, truth and living by the golden rule.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Listening to residents, listening to subject matter experts, learning from other communities who have tackled similar issues successfully. Then working as a team - collaboratively, knowing that best decisions are made rationally, not emotionally.

Being able to listen to all voices and to lead as a role model: Showing patience, restraint, and expecting that from our resident neighbors.

We are ONE Plymouth.

We can and will disagree on things, but we can and always should do so with decorum: We can disagree and not be disagreeable.

We can get things done, and it's a core responsibility of City Commissioners to do just that.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Brought positive energy, was kind, and cared.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The moon landing.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Delivered The Detroit Free Press when it was dark in the morning, on my bike, at 10-13, before grade school. Collected the payments. Hated every minute of it, but would not trade the experience for anything.

What is your favorite book? Why?

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is a towering work of genius. And as a writer, it is mind blowing and brilliant - like reading a painting: Indescribable and moving.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Jim Morrisson. :>)

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Weight.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

The power of sharing all of the positive things being done that residents cannot see or have not heard about.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

It's beneficial, yes.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Having served on a commission in this city provides uniquely valuable expertise that cannot be understood by someone who has not held that seat.

The experience of being on the receiving end of feedback and being able to respond to it kindly with the proper information that the resident or developer does not understand.

The experience of understanding how the wheels of our city's processes roll cannot be overstated.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the local government?

The simple quality that our City Commission sets in motion what the City Administration and Staff executes. It is a listening body, a body of experienced governmental volunteers, and a body that ultimately makes decisions on what we should start, what we should stop, and what we should carry on.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Former Mayor Dan Dwyer

Former Mayor Oliver Wolcott

Mayor Suzi Deal

City Commissioners Brock Minton, Jen Kehoe, Nick Mroz, Alanna Maguire & Colleen Pobur



Plymouth Democratic Club

Greater Metropolitan Association of REALTORS®

Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Distinction

Most pugs of Plymouth

Candidates hear many personal stories from voters. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching or memorable?

Just one, and it's mine.

An angry email accusing me of hate.

My response: Perhaps we misunderstand each other. Let's talk.

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?

My kids. Cheesy answer, but the god's honest truth.

In the community:

Writing and getting legislation passed on our rats issue - just before it blew up into the rest of the neighborhood and not just Arthur and Irvin Street.

Leading the Planning Commission on passing to reign-in the size of homes on lots, so that existing homes wouldn't be get so "big footed" by new builds.

Being a trusted neighbor here and making so many friends - four-legged ones of my pugs Simon and Winston, and two-legged friends met on normal walks.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Candidate

Plymouth City Commission At-large

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