Martinez to join City Council as voters retain incumbents

NOVI — Attorney Aaron Martinez will provide a new voice on the Novi City Council when he is sworn in, alongside incumbent candidate-elects Brian Smith and Priya Gurumurthy and Mayor Justin Fischer on Nov. 17.

Martinez, a lifelong resident of Novi, first made political headlines when he ran against Fischer in the 2023 election. Although he lost that election, Martinez, a civil and criminal lawyer, with a practice based in Southfield, has stayed interested in holding public office in Novi. 

“We’ve done the work. I’ve had a lot of really good conversations with residents over the last couple of years, and you know, being out there at the polling places, you get a snapshot, but you never want to take it for granted,” Martinez said. 

He said that although he had many voters tell him they were going to vote for him and that they appreciated him, it still felt surreal when he realized he had actually won a seat on the council.

“Then, as the numbers came in, obviously as they did, I think it just showed that we really kept true to our promise that we were going to touch every corner of the city, we wanted to reach out to as many voters as we possibly could, bring people into the picture that maybe haven’t historically participated in a local election, and I think the school bond really helped with bringing some of those people out to the polls as well,” Martinez said. “It could be any number of those things, but I am just happy the residents gave me the opportunity and they placed their trust in me to have their interest moving forward.”

Martinez said he has already had some conversations with some of the other City Council members and is excited to join them. He said he feels the council will collaborate well with each other on various projects and issues to improve the city.

“On the campaign trail, I spoke a lot about wanting to really open up City Hall to the residents again. You know, I really want to make them as much a part of these processes as we possibly can,” Martinez said. 

He said he plans to reach out to every neighborhood and wants to hear directly from voters and meet them where they are. 

“I’m going to let them tell me what they expect from this council and how to best bring their voice into the picture,” Martinez said.

Smith said he has known Martinez for quite some time, as Martinez went to school with his daughter.

“I think that he is a super sharp guy, great to work with. He’s going to bring some new ideas to council, which is always good. It’s always good to be able to look at things from a different perspective. So, I’m looking forward to working with him. It should be interesting,” Smith said.

Smith said he plans to continue projects that he has been working on in his previous term. This includes the sustainability committee — focusing on the master plan and getting residents more engaged — the public utilities committee, which he said is looking at bringing more high-speed fiber internet connections to residents, working with DTE about power issues, and working with the Great Lakes Water Authority about the water main issues around 14 Mile Road. Smith said he is also part of the Mobility Committee, where he is working on the Active Mobility Plan. He said they are looking at things such as various types of transit, such as the 9 Line, Oakland County’s nonmotorized pathway through the Nine Mile Road corridor from east to west, and with Northville to make it easy for Novi residents to get to the Northville Riverwalk. 

“You know, between our efforts and the interest in the school bond, the message got across to people that this was an election that it was important to be a part of,” Martinez said.

“In general, exercising your right to vote in the United States of America is a privilege and people should take advantage of it,” Gabrielle Claypool said. “It is a blessing that we get to vote for who we want in office, and I will always exercise my right to vote because my parents have instilled that in me.”

She said the most important issue for her this election was to consider where the tax dollars are going. 

The city will host a welcome reception, with light refreshments, to honor the candidates-elect in the Novi Civic Center atrium at 6 p.m. Nov. 17.  The candidates-elect will be sworn in at 6:45 p.m., with the regular City Council meeting to follow at 7 p.m.