Glenn Stanford Anderson, second of three sons, was born February 8, 1954 in Carthage, Tennessee.  His father was a farmer and his mother a full time homemaker.  Glenn was raised from the age of eight years old to adulthood by his father after his parents were divorced.  Before boarding a school bus at 7:00 AM each morning Glenn and his brother milked the family cows and placed the milk in cans for the daily pickup.  Learning responsibility at a young age was beneficial to Glenn and the down-home values his father taught him continue to serve him well.

    After moving to Michigan, Glenn attended high school in Dearborn.  In the first year he could vote; Glenn ran in his first election.  Successful in unseating a long term incumbent Democratic Precinct Delegate Glenn was off on his quest to serve his community in public service.  Even at the early age of 18 years Glenn became known as an independent minded young man with high ideals.

    After high school Glenn went to work at Ford Motor Company’s Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne, Michigan.  While working full time on the assembly line Glenn studied at Wayne State University and University of Michigan Dearborn.  Later he went on to be elected by his fellow workers to the position as a U.A.W. committeeman to represent them and their grievances before management.  Glenn fought hard for fairness and justice for those he represented and even assisted in contract negotiations although no district committeeman before him had been allowed to do so.

  In 1976 Glenn met Gail Lucas of Westland and they were married a year later.  In 1980 Glenn and Gail became the proud parents of their first child Melissa.  In the years to come, Melissa became her Dad’s sidekick in an unsuccessful campaign for school board.  Six years after Melissa’s birth, Glenn and Gail were blessed with a son.  Glenn is fond of saying his son Kyle was the greatest Christmas gift ever, even if he was two days late. Glenn and Gail became grandparents of Mackenzie on Christmas morning of 2002 and on August 10, 2004 their Grandson Logan was born.   

    After two unsuccessful attempts at the school board Glenn was appointed to various boards and commissions by two of Westland’s Mayors.  Serving first on the Westland Community Development Block Grant Advisory Board under Mayor Pickering, Glenn was later appointed by then Mayor Pickering to the Civil Service Commission.  In 1990 Mayor Thomas appointed Glenn to the Westland Planning Commission where Glenn pushed hard for developers to construct high quality development. 

    In 1991 Glenn was elected to the position of City Councilman receiving the highest number of votes cast.  Glenn became well known for standing up for the quality of life issues for Westland’s neighborhoods and pressing hard for improvements to recreation. Glenn was subsequently re-elected in 1995 and in 1999 was once again the highest vote-getter, garnering over 800 more votes than his nearest competitor.  Demonstrating his broad support within the community, Glenn achieved this victory while spending the least amount of money of any candidate elected!

The Anderson Family

Melissa, Gail, Glenn, and Kyle

July 16, 2000