Being born and raised in the City of Detroit makes it and its people family to me. The statement “There’s no place like home” is the foundation that drives my determination to make Detroit the place to be … to be proud to call Home … to want to live and raise a family and grow old. It was as a Detroit News paperboy that I really began to learn how to set goals and plan to get the job done. Choice and free-will and a person’s inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness are cornerstone principles that have been ingrained in the fabric of my being by family members whose dedication and belief in the creed “together we stand and divided we fall” has helped me become the man I am today. It is these same principles that will help guide me as your advocate, defender and voice on City Council.
I have a strong sense of community and love for Detroit. I actively promote Detroit’s growth and development of our youth. In that spirit, I serve on the Board of Directors of Man Power Mentoring, Inc., a local community-based non-profit organization, committed to our children’s academic and social development. I also serve on the Board of Directors of Friends of Fathers, which is an organization purposed to help our men step up and be accountable and take financial responsibility as “Fathers to their children”. I also have worked to help educate and develop our community’s adults as a staff member of Bakers College and our children through various mentoring efforts and teaching opportunities. For example, I taught in the Detroit Public Schools through the Street Law program.
Further, I have always strived for professional and academic excellence. As such, I graduated from Cass Tech in their Science and Arts curriculum at 18. I earned my Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor at 22, and earned my Juris Doctorate, or Law Degree, from the University of Minnesota and became licensed as an Attorney at 27. Education has always been a priority in my life. Its importance was instilled in me as a young boy here in Detroit. I am also proud to say that I have attended Detroit schools. However, I am saddened to say we need a serious change in our educational system to save our children and give them a real chance to compete in this new world marketplace. Accordingly, I believe Detroit needs to make educating our children a top priority, and it is clear that a quality educational system is an absolute necessity for the recovery and growth of Detroit, this region and Michigan.
I have a strong work ethic, like a lot of my fellow Detroiters. I have worked almost continually since I was in 8th grade until today and it has helped build character, patience, self-sufficiency and the ability to work independently or in a team to get work done. In my youth, for example, I worked as a paperboy and a telemarketer. While in undergrad at Michigan I worked as an Engineering Intern at General Motors. I was hired at Motorola as an Electrical Engineer right out of Michigan and worked there for almost two years before starting law school. Since my first summer in law school I worked at one of two of Minnesota’s largest Intellectual Property law firms until one hired me after graduating law school. Since, I have worked for myself as a real estate investor and practicing law. I am now 34 and practicing law in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. I have my own office which is located right here in downtown Detroit in the Penobscot Bldg on the 36th floor in Suite 3651.
In closing, I bring over ten (10) years of practical legal experience to your service as a Detroit Council member. I began my practice in General Intellectual Property Law, with an emphasis on obtaining U.S. patent rights, while in Minnesota. In addition, over the course of my years of practice development, I have gained significant experience in Real Estate, Business, Probate, Family and Criminal law. I also have years of entrepreneurial and business experience to bring to your service as a Council member. Some of this experience was gained as a result of my desire to positively impact and invest in 
Detroit, and its resurgence. Subsequently, I started a small, local real estate investment and real estate management venture. Therein, I served as General Manager and Legal Counsel. Finally, I will also bring to your service my technical skills and my years of Fortune 500 corporate experiences developed prior to beginning my legal training. I will commit all that I am to serving you, Detroit.
Attorney
Mikál Crawford
Candidate for Detroit City Council
