Northville Mom, Lawyer Vies For Wayne State University Board of Governors Seat

Before Sandra Hughes O'Brien moved to Northville, she did her homework.

She and her soon-to-be husband were looking for where to move in the Detroit area and settled on Northville because of its schools -- a consideration she made prior to having kids because she wanted them to have a top-notch education.

It's fitting that a person deeply attuned to the value of a good education would seek the seat she's vying for in the Nov. 6 election. The Northville lawyer and mother of three children is seeking a seat on the Wayne State University (WSU) Board of Governors.

O'Brien practices law on Main Street in Northville. When she's not managing her trusts and estates practice, she's spending time with her family. And these days, a lot of that time has been spent traveling and campaigning around the state with her kids, who all attend Northville Public Schools.

"They love to be in parades and toss out candy," she said. "'Vote for mommy,' they say."

Initially, she was not sold on the idea of running. But friends and colleagues who are part of a group of Latino professionals in Metro Detroit she belongs to -- O'Brien is of Mexican-American and Irish descent -- convinced her. She helped encourage some of them to run for office previously.

"Through my mind went: 'I run a law practice. I have three kids. Dance mom obligations, sports mom obligations,'" she said. "I thought, 'How am I going to fit this in?'"

Then, an epiphany.

"I talked to my husband and I told him, 'I have to do it,'" she said. "If I'm asking others to step forward, I have to be willing to do it too. ... It's my turn to step up."

She added: "I had a lot of doors open for me. Education is the reason all those doors open for me."

O'Brien is originally from Saugatuck. She earned her undergraduate degree from Grand Valley State University and her law degree from the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University in 1998.

Why she's running

"If there's one skill I know as a lawyer, it's to be an advocate," she said.

The quick version of why O'Brien's running, according to her website, are to advocate for:

• Keeping tuition affordable.
• Wayne State University remaining accessible to all segments of the diverse population in the metropolitan Detroit area where it draws most of its 32,000 students.
• WSU assuring quality education at the undergraduate and graduate level and in its professional schools, and that it work harder to improve its retention and graduation rates.
• WSU accelerating its role as an economic engine in Detroit through its research, health care work, and Midtown Redevelopment.

"The biggest thing facing WSU is we need to keep tuition affordable and increase retention and graduation rates," she said.

With regard to education as a whole, O'Brien said she has noticed a shift in American politics and attitudes that disturbs her.

"It's a vilification of teachers in public education," she said. "It's disgusting to me and unfounded. Those ladies and men work from day to night. They have to be all things to all people."

She said the affordability of higher education is not directly tied to teacher salaries. O'Brien said good educators need to be compensated as well as anyone at the top of their industry.

To learn more about O'Brien, visit her website at http://www.obrien4wsugovernors.org.