Some politicians talk about how to fix things. Shannon Dare Wayne has spent her 30-year career actually engineering the solutions.
A lifelong Michigander who grew up in a blue-collar, union family with a UAW electrician father and a secretary mother, Wayne knows the value of hard work. She and her husband met while working at the Wayne Assembly plant, and for the last 22 years, they have lived and raised their three children right here in Milan.
For nearly three decades, Wayne has worked as an engineer at Ford Motor Company. Her entire professional life has been dedicated to problem-solving—developing faster, more efficient solutions that are cost-effective and keep families safe.
She took that exact same engineering mindset to the Milan City Council, where she currently serves as Mayor Pro Tem. Now, as the Democratic candidate for Michigan’s 31st House District, she is ready to take her proven track record of collaborative leadership and delivering real results to Lansing.
Here is a look at how Wayne’s background, local accomplishments, and future priorities are resonating with voters in the 31st District.
A Proven Track Record of Delivering for Milan
On the Milan City Council, Wayne hasn’t been interested in partisan bickering; she relies on her professional background in strategic planning to build consensus and get things done. Emphasizing a strategy of leveraging outside grants instead of relying on local tax increases, she has helped secure nearly $7 million in state and federal funding for Milan.
Because of her leadership, Milan has been able to maintain a balanced budget while making massive investments in the community, including:
- Critical Infrastructure: Securing funding for a multi-million-dollar upgrade to the city’s wastewater treatment facility, one of Milan’s most vital long-term assets.
- Parks and Recreation: Delivering significant upgrades to Wilson Park, expanding recreational opportunities for families and improving one of Milan’s most-used public spaces.
- Pedestrian Safety: Securing Transportation Alternatives grants for vital ADA accessibility, crosswalks, pathway improvements, and overall pedestrian safety.
- Downtown Revitalization: Serving as Chair of the Downtown Development Authority, where she helped guide downtown parking plans and economic development to support local businesses and prepare the city for future growth.
Deep Community Roots and Supporting Our Seniors
Wayne’s dedication to the community goes far beyond the City Council and the Milan Fire Board. She is deeply embedded in local volunteer work, serving as the President of her church parish and cooking and donating hundreds of meals for local families in need through the organization Lasagna Love.
She is also a fierce advocate for local seniors. On the City Council, she is currently pushing for strict audits of the Milan Senior Center to ensure that more than $500,000 in taxpayer dollars are being used effectively and actually invested in expanding services and programs for the area’s older residents.
Protecting Public Education
Wayne understands the importance of a quality education without the burden of crippling debt because she lived it. She worked her way through Lawrence Technological University, continuing her education one class at a time while working and raising a family using tuition benefits from her job at Ford.
Now serving on the Board of Trustees at Michigan Technological University, she is fighting to ensure every Michigan student gets the same opportunities she had. In Lansing, she will push for fairly funded schools, smaller class sizes, guaranteed universal free school meals, and expanded career and technical education programs.
Holding Corporations Accountable and Lowering Costs
Wayne knows that working families are struggling with high costs, and she is ready to hold powerful monopolies accountable. In the state legislature, she is committed to:
- Reining in Utility Monopolies: Banning monopoly utility companies from passing the costs of their corporate advertising, executive bonuses, and private jets onto local customers. Dare Wayne also wants to stop the rate hikes and make sure data centers don’t raise electric rates or harm our air or water.
- Lowering Healthcare Costs: Capping the costs of insulin, inhalers, and other life-saving drugs, and banning pharmaceutical companies from price-gouging on prescription medications.
- Rooting out Corruption: Banning state employees and politicians from directing grants to organizations where their families have a financial interest, and banning elected officials from trading stocks of companies with business before the state.
The Bottom Line
Whether she is engineering safer vehicles at Ford Motor Company, balancing the budget and securing millions in grants for the City of Milan, or cooking meals for her neighbors, Shannon Dare Wayne is a problem solver. She has delivered for her community for 22 years, and she is ready to engineer a brighter future for the 31st District in Lansing.