Mikal Ka'Mario Goodman (Pontiac City Council Ward 3, Michigan, candidate 2025)

Mikal Ka'Mario Goodman

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Pontiac City Council Ward 3

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 4, 2025

Personal

Profession

Community organizer

Contact

Campaign website

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Mikal Ka'Mario Goodman ran for election to the Pontiac City Council Ward 3 in Michigan. Goodman was a write-in candidate in the general election on November 4, 2025.^[source]

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

Biography

Mikal Ka'Mario Goodman provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 1, 2025:

• Birth place: Pontiac, Michigan, Michigan
• Profession: Community Organizer
• Incumbent officeholder: Yes
• Campaign slogan: Every Family Deserves A Future!
• Campaign website
• Campaign endorsements
• Campaign Facebook
• Campaign Instagram
• Campaign X

Elections

General election

General election for Pontiac City Council Ward 3

Kenya Latrice Earl, Mikal Ka'Mario Goodman, and Dawn Michelle Hannah ran in the general election for Pontiac City Council Ward 3 on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Kenya Latrice Earl (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)
		Mikal Ka'Mario Goodman (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)
	Submit photo	Dawn Michelle Hannah (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)

---

	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

To view Goodman's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Goodman in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

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

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Councilman Mikal Goodman is a lifelong Pontiac resident, a proud working-class leader, and a committed public servant. Growing up on Pontiac’s East Side as the child of a single mother, Mikal knows firsthand the challenges many residents face—living on Section 8, receiving food stamps, and working hard to make ends meet. In 2021, he ran a historic, grassroots campaign focused on the same issues affecting residents today. Mikal stood with working people across the city and defeated a three-term incumbent to become the youngest councilperson in Pontiac’s history.

Before serving on the City Council, Mikal worked as an Elementary Paraprofessional and Social Studies instructor at the Arts and Technology Academy of Pontiac. He later became the Lead Political Organizer for Oakland Forward, leading efforts to empower BIPOC and working-class communities just like Pontiac across Oakland County.

Additionally, Mikal serves as a Board Member for the Gary Burnstein Community Health Clinic, which provides free, high-quality medical, dental, and pharmaceutical care for low-income and uninsured patients.

From Pontiac’s neighborhoods to Lansing’s halls of power, Mikal Goodman remains committed to building a city that works for all its residents. With a vision focused on today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities, he’s ready to “Keep Building a Brighter Pontiac.”

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?

• I’ve led the fight to hold slumlords accountable by creating a mandatory rental registry, overhauling code enforcement, and establishing a groundbreaking rental escrow program that withholds rent until repairs are made. We stopped discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders and returning citizens, protecting the right to housing. My focus is on enforcement and powerful tenant protections that lift up our entire community, because safe, stable housing is the foundation of a strong Pontiac.
• I believe city government should work for you. That’s why I have fought to repair and replace streetlights to make our streets safer, launched programs to remove abandoned vehicles, and created the HOME Repair and Senior Chore programs to help homeowners maintain their property. We’re tackling blight not by punishing residents, but by empowering them with real support and holding negligent property owners accountable. It's about common-sense results that raise everyone's quality of life.
• My vision for economic development doesn’t start with big corporations; it starts with you. I fight for policies that ensure Pontiac residents get first crack at local jobs and that new developments include real community benefits. By supporting small businesses and securing investments that directly help working families—like our Pullover Prevention Clinics that fix cars for free—we build an economy from the ground up. Let’s grow a Pontiac where the people who live here can afford to stay and thrive.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am personally passionate about Housing Justice. My driving belief is that housing is a human right, not a commodity. This isn't just political for me—it's personal. I’m driven by the understanding that safe, stable, and dignified housing is the absolute foundation for a family's health, safety, and ability to thrive. I am passionate about crafting and fighting for policies that protect tenants from exploitation and displacement while empowering homeowners.

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

While a city council is part of local government, its unique importance lies in its position as the closest and most accessible layer of the state's legal and governing structure. It possesses the power of police power—the inherent authority to promote health, safety, and welfare through local ordinances. This allows cities to be laboratories of democracy, enacting progressive policies like eviction protection or environmental justice standards that state and federal governments may fail to deliver. The council’s local lawmaking power directly shapes the daily reality of state law, determining how it is implemented and experienced block by block, making it a critical first line of defense for community rights.

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

The most important characteristic for an elected official is integrity, defined by an unwavering accountability to the people they serve, not to corporate donors or special interests. This requires deep empathy—the ability to truly understand the lived experiences of working-class families, renters, and those struggling to make ends meet. Officials must possess the courage to challenge powerful systems and the status quo, even when it's politically difficult. Finally, they must be a collaborator who believes in grassroots, collective power. An elected official is not a savior but advocate and fighter for the community's will, working to transform public demand into tangible policy that improves material conditions for all.

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

The core responsibility of a City Councilmember is to be a steward of public resources and a champion for public need.

This means:
1) Legislating for Justice: Writing and passing laws that protect residents, such as tenant rights ordinances and equitable development policies, rather than maintaining a system that benefits the wealthy and powerful.
2) Oversight and Accountability: Ensuring the executive branch administers services fairly and that public funds are invested directly back into community needs like housing, infrastructure, and public safety.

3) Representational Advocacy: Being an accessible, vocal advocate for constituents, amplifying their concerns in city hall, and fighting to ensure every resident receives the quality services they pay for with their taxes.

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

I believe it is more beneficial for holders of this office to have lived experience in the communities they represent than a long resume in traditional politics. Government experience can be useful, but it often breeds a culture of complacency and an acceptance of "how things have always been done." What we need more are officials who have experienced housing insecurity, who have struggled with unfair bills, or who have organized their neighbors for better conditions. This lived experience fosters the urgency and integrity needed to challenge broken systems. The best qualification is a proven commitment to community organizing and fighting for the public good, not political careerism.

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

The City Council's unique role in local government is that it is the primary body that translates direct community need into local law. Unlike the mayor, who manages day-to-day operations, the council sets the visionary and legal framework for the city. It is the most directly democratic forum where residents can voice their concerns and see them debated and voted on by their neighbors. This office possesses the unique power to proactively shape the city's future—from zoning and housing policy to public safety and infrastructure—making it the key battleground for determining whether a city develops for the benefit of its residents or for the profit of slumlords and corporations.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Mikal is Proudly endorsed by

- Khalfani Stephens, Pontiac Deputy Mayor
- William Parker, Pontiac City Councilmember
- Rashida Tlaib, U.S. Congresswoman
- Andy Levin, Former U.S. Congressman
- Donavan McKinney, State Representative
- Jimmie Wilson Jr., State Representative
- Dylan Wegela, State Representative
- Natalie Price, State Representative
- Regina Weiss, State Representative
- Samantha Steckloff, State Representative
- Laurie Pohutsky, State Representative
- Abraham Aiyash, Former Democratic State House Floor Leader
- Jim Nash, Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner
- Dave Woodward, Oakland County Board of Commissioners Chair
-Yoursef Rabhi
Washtenaw County Commissioner
-Gabriela Santiago-Romero

Detroit City Councilwoman

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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