Don Przybylinski, President and Member At-Large
Michigan City Common Council
The Michigan City Common Council is composed of nine members - six members of the Council are elected from city wards, with the remaining three members elected at-large by all of the voters in Michigan City.
At-Large Common Council Members are responsible for representing all of Michigan City’s citizens and stakeholders in matters of public interest and city government.
Don Przybylinski has served with honor and distinction for 12 years as a Council Member At-Large, offering his years of professional business expertise and community leadership to the decision-making and legislative process of Michigan City city government. Don has served as Common Council President, Vice-President, and other leadership rolls in which he was elected by his peers to lead the council and oversee proceedings.
CURRENT COMMITTEE & BOARD/COMMISSION ASSIGNMENTS
Chairperson
Labor Relations, Chairperson
Utilities Committee, Member
Finance Committee, Member
Parks & Recreation, Member
FEMA Flood Plain Member
Human Rights Commission
Human Rights Commission, Liaison
Sanitary Board, Liaison
LaPorte County Solid Waste Management
EDUCATION
Don is passionate about lifelong learning, and has been an avid supporter of both academic, post-academic, and on-the-job learning opportunities for Michigan City residents.
Every child in Michigan City has the potential for greatness.
Access to financial aid for higher education opportunities is vital to the long-term success of our community’s youth. Don has worked with the mayor and members of the Council to expand the Michigan City Promise Scholarship Program to benefit more youth in our community.
“Michigan City's children are its most important resource and it should be the city's highest priority to ensure that up-to-date information technology is readily available for our children at school.”
“Leaders know the difference between success and failure and we can't fail our schools. We need to stand behind our children. Children are the cornerstone of our community.”
PUBLIC SAFETY
It is the duty of city government to protect and ensure the safety of our citizens from threats to our well-being and prosperity. To meet the increasing challenges of the culturally, economically, and technologically diverse world we live in, the actions of city government must be aligned with the needs of the community. City leaders must carefully balance their decisions and actions to find the right balance of progress and innovation with social and fiscal responsibility.
Don believes strongly that public safety initiatives must equitably provide for the needs of every citizen, stakeholder, and visitor to our community. These initiatives must recognize and acknowledge the breadth and depth of the diversity within our community and consider the needs of every citizen to inclusively empower our community.
Don advocates for safety and infrastructure improvements to streets, sidewalks, and the public areas surrounding local schools and parks throughout all of Michigan City to ensure all are safe, well-maintained and visually appealing.
Don works responsibly with his fellow Council Members and city officials to provide adequate funding for our police, fire, and emergency services.
Don actively advocates for greater dialogue between community groups/organizations and the city of Michigan City to collaboratively address public concerns regarding crime, violence, addiction, homelessness, and other challenges to our public safety.
Don voted for the LIT in order to support, recruit, and retain our public safety employees.
Don supported the purchase and installation of the Flock vehicle identification system as well as the Shot Spotter gun detection system to reduce gun violence.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
With 37 years of managerial and financial experience, Don Przybylinski is uniquely qualified to balance the fiscal, economic, and social complexities of responsible and sustainable development in Michigan City. Don advocates for and represents equally the interests of local businesses and the needs of local workers.
Don is passionate about bringing living-wage jobs to Michigan City and decreasing the low-income and poverty rates in our community.
He supports opportunities for our city’s youth to develop marketable professional skills, along with advanced training and professional development opportunities for our established workforce. Don is working to help make Michigan City attractive to quality companies who will offer a living-wage and professional career advancement to their employees.
Don is committed to providing fiscally responsible incentives for new businesses to open in Michigan City and for established businesses to grow and thrive.
Don spearheaded, along with the park administration, the development of the proposed Fender’s Alley Dune Valley all inclusive playground and recreational area.
Don prides himself on asking tough questions, digging deep into the details, and holding others accountable in matters of economic development to ensure the city’s decisions and actions are both fiscally and socially responsible.
“In an attempt to fill the remaining jobs, Don Przybylinski, president of the Michigan City Common Council, has authored an ordinance that, if accepted, would raise the rate of pay for those workers from $7.40 per hour to $10.15.”
"I think just for the sake of common decency, for a person to work for $7.40 an hour ... is very, very bad; and we need to increase this money for these folks," Przybylinski said. "That's close to the minimum wage, and I know that these people work hard. They work hard — they're cutting grass; they're picking up garbage; they're cleaning restrooms; they're doing a lot of work that a lot of folks sitting in this room right here wouldn't want to do. And they're doing it in 100-degree heat all summer long. And these people deserve a raise."
PROSPERITY
True prosperity is a balance of financial, physical, and social well-being that empowers us to live our best selves.
Every citizen in Michigan City deserves equitable opportunities to achieve prosperity.
Don actively advocates for equity, access, diversity, and inclusion in Michigan City to ensure everyone’s skills are leveraged to benefit the whole community in order to provide opportunities for all to thrive.
The answers to our community’s greatest challenges are not “either/or” choices. We must embrace “and” solutions that tackle issues from all sides, consider all people, and provide the most equitable outcomes for all of Michigan City’s residents, visitors, and stakeholders.
