James Windell
One thing is certain about South Haven Mayor Annie Brown, who was elected in 2023. She loves her job as mayor.
“I love being mayor,” she says. “I love the people. And I like politics – because politics means people.”
She’s enthusiastic about talking to people and she takes advantage of every opportunity to talk to everyone she meets. As mayor for the past year and a half, Brown has talked to many people and she says that one thing she has heard in talking to people is that citizens of South Haven want a return to civility.
“People have told me that they want a return to civility,” she says. “They want good manners, smart decisions. When we represent the city, we are role models, and we are the face and voice of South Haven. Developers, entrepreneurs and CEOs from Chicago are watching us. Good business comes from good manners.”
Brown grew up in Hillman, Michigan, and attended Hope College where she majored in political science. When she was a student at Hope College, she spent a semester in Washington, D.C. interning for U.S. Senator Carl Levin. That led to her being hired as a staff assistant in Senator Levin’s office, where she worked for more than two years.
Her ambition was to get a job in journalism, so she applied to every daily paper in Michigan. She was offered a job by the South Haven Daily Tribune, and she moved to South Haven to become a reporter. After a few years of reporting, she was promoted to Editor of the Tribune.
Since her journalism days, she worked as a preschool teacher and a recruiter for Tri-County Head Start. She also served as West Michigan Regional Coordinator for U.S. Senator Gary Peters. From 2000 to 2022, she was co-owner of the Filbrandt Family Funeral Home. Her work in the community included a stint as the first Executive Director of the Lakeshore Convention and Visitors Bureau and 13 years as a South Haven Public Schools School Board Member, serving terms as Secretary and President.
As mayor, Brown says that her top priority is – “and always will be” – housing. “Last month we approved a purchase and development agreement for the Overton Site with Dwelling Place,” she says. “That project will have 30 duplexes, 53 apartments for rent, and two single family homes.”
Her second priority is making sure South Haven has enough EMTs and paramedics to respond quickly to the area’s aging community. “The South Haven Area Emergency Services is phenomenal and has a response time quicker than the average response time of Michigan,” Brown says, “but our city has an increase in the number of senior citizens (Baby Boomers like me) and a decrease in the services provided by Bronson South Haven. And our first responders are getting burned out. Our city council will be looking for ways to fund the addition of more first responders.”
As a third goal Mayor Brown lists the effort to expand regionally. “Our first plan is connecting wastewater infrastructure between Covert Township, Van Buren State Park, and Holtec,” she explains. “Those entities have wastewater treatment systems that are insufficient. We are planning to connect with them because we are the nearest utility. The City of South Haven is the lynch pin in this project.”
Among the accomplishments of her first term so far, Brown says that she is proud that the city council increased diversity on boards and commissions since she’s been mayor. “We’ve appointed 40% more people of color to boards and commissions, increased the number of women by 14% and increased the number of LGBTQ+ commissioners by 100%,” she says.
But, as always, she returns to her love of her job. “I love being mayor,” she says. “I smile more and stand taller. I’ve loved South Haven for 40 years and now that I’m mayor and can see what goes on behind the curtain, I’m proud of our community.”
