City Council Members                      2012 Meeting Dates

Susan Erickson was appointed to the City Council in January 2003 to fill a council vacancy. Sue also serves as the City Council's representative on the Planning Commission. Prior to serving on City Council, Sue served as a member of the Planning Commission. She was appointed as Mayor Pro-Tem in May of 2007.

Sue is the Unit Manager for the Site Reclamation and Nonpoint Source Grants Unit in the Environmental Science and Service Division of the Department of Environmental Quality. She has been with the DEQ since 1981 and has experience in environmental protection, water quality issues, and brownfield redevelopment.

• Sue holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan State University Honors College in biology and zoology.
• Sue has two children, Jill and Michael.  Jill attends Grand Valley State University and Michael is at GRCC. Sue's husband, Doug Erickson is the chairman on the City Tree Commission.
• Sue has lived in DeWitt since 1987 and moved to the City in 1994.

Tim Kangas was elected to City Council to a four year term November 2010

• Tim currently works for the Michigan Department of Corrections as a Regional Healthcare Administrator since 2008.
• He has a Masters of Public Administration; BS, Psychology and a Ph.D. Public Affairs & Administration.
• Tim and his wife Debra have lived in DeWitt for 9 years. They have three children, Kortney, Ciara & Alec.

Dave Hunsaker
Council Member

Dave Hunsaker was appointed to the City Council in March of 2004 to fill a council vacancy, and was elected in November of 2004 and 2008. Dave serves on the DeWitt Area Recreation Authority (DARA), the Parks, Recreation & Cemetery Commission and the Construction Board of Appeals.

• Dave is a licensed master electrician and electrical contractor. He is a certified sub-station technician and is experienced in high voltage power distribution.
• He has been employed with General Motors since 1984 and is an elected representative of the U.A.W. His current assignment is at the Lansing Grand River assembly plant where he works with industrial automation and robotics.
• Dave and his wife Karen have lived in DeWitt since 1990. They have two adult children, Madeline & Mark. Dave enjoys reading, primarily American history, and is an avid backpacker.

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Jim Lancaster
Council Member

Jim Lancaster was elected to his fifth four year term in 2010. Jim was first elected to City Council in 1992, and re-elected in 1996, 2000 and 2006.

Jim currently serves as the Chair of the Economic Development Committee, City Council representative to the Downtown Development Authority and the Cable Commission.

Jim previously served for 2 years as Mayor Pro-Tem, 2 years as Council representative to the DeWitt Area Recreation Authority, and 10 years on the City Planning Commission (8 of those years as Council representative).

Jim is a principal and founder of Lancaster & Associates PLC. His practice areas include environmental law, regulatory matters and local and state government affairs, economic development, condemnation, land use and zoning. He has been voted by fellow lawyers at a member of Best Lawyers of America

He is the co-author of the chapters on environmental and condemnation law in treatise published by the Michigan Municipal League entitled, Local Government Law and Practice in Michigan.

He previously was a principal with the firm Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone PLC and Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

• Jim received his bachelor's degree from Albion College, with honors, in mathematics in 1982.  He received his law degree from the University of  Michigan Law School in 1985.
• Jim is married to Elise Lancaster.  They have lived in DeWitt since 1989. They have two children, Chelsea and Jay.

Sheryl Strouse
Council Member

Sheryl Strouse was appointed to City Council in May 2007 to fill a council vacancy.Prior to her appointment to City Council, Sheryl served as a member of the Planning Commission since January 2003.

Sheryl is a Technical Services Representative for the Michigan Supreme Court's Judical Information Systems.

• Sheryl holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn in Political Science.
• Sheryl has one daughter, Melanie, who attends Michigan State University.

Council Member

Tony Stoker was appointed to City Council in October 2007 to fill a council vacancy. He was re-elected in 2010 to an additional four year term. Tony previously served on the City's Planning Commission and the Parks, Recreation & Cemetery Board and also served on the DeWitt School Board.  In addition to his council activities, he also has served on the DeWitt Area Emergency Services Authority (DAESA) board since his appointment in 2007.

Tony retired from the State of Michigan in 2007 after 32 years where he worked in conjunction with the Attorney General's Office as Manager of the Real Estate Division's Condemnation Unit.

• Tony holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration and a Bachelors Degree in Psychology, both from the University of Michigan-Flint.
• Tony is married to Barbara and they have three children Chad, Tiffany and Derek.They have lived in DeWitt since 1991.