Mary Haylett’s Bumpy Road to Victory
Mary Haylett, the 2025 Sturgis Citizen of the Year, was the first female Sturgis City Commissioner, but she did not easily win the seat.
Mary, a Bronson native, was hired in 1971 to be a Sturgis High School social studies teacher. In 1974, she and her husband, Ned Haylett, moved to Congress Street in the First Precinct.
In 1975 she read that a first precinct seat on the city commission was open.
“I thought, ‘Why not?’”
So she followed the steps and her name was on the ballot.
However, before the election a rumor raged through town that Mary was a radical feminist and a Communist.
“One of the commissioners convinced Wade Bullard to run as a write-in,” Mary said. “I lost by 17 votes.”
The rumor started because of her commitment to be a fair and creative teacher. In 1972 Mary was given the task of co-teaching a 9-week social studies class on Extremininism. She went to the SHS principal, Jack Bittle, and asked to have a representative from the John Birch Society speak to students. He approved the guest speaker.
The John Birch Society is a right-wing, anti communist political advocacy group, known for far-right views.
The next spring, she reasoned, they had a “John Bircher” so how about members of the Communist Party. There was a group in the Detroit area. Again, Bittle gave his permission. The difference was, the day the members of the Communist party arrived the class was monitored by Bittle and an outraged community member.
“I had an audience and I wasn’t expecting that,” Mary said. “Some members of the community were all upset. I found out later they went to the board of education and tried to get me fired but my principal saved my job. He said, ‘Hey, I was there. There were no problems with the presentation.’”
A few years later, the same opponents didn’t want her as a city commissioner so several convinced Wade Bullard to run as a write-in. However, only two years into his post, Bullard, former owner of Patterson’s Supper Club, moved away.
The First Precinct seat was open.
The commissioners’ common practice was to appoint the candidate who lost the election, Mary said. Still concerned about her reputation as an extreme feminist and Communist, a commissioner suggested other candidates. Mary read that news in the Sturgis Journal but she didn’t give up.
“I called every single member of the commission by phone. I told them ‘I’m not a Communist. I’m not a radical feminist. I just talked to them for a little bit,” she said.
The day of the commission meeting, one of them nominated another man but this time Mary won 8 to 1.
“I was appointed to take Wade Bullard’s seat,” she said. “I really enjoyed it. It was a great group of commissioners. We could disagree at the meeting and then go out for a beer afterward.”
When the remaining two years were up in 1979 the Hayletts were also completing construction of their new home which was outside city limits.
“I really wish I could have continued, but other plans came up,” she said.
She is always glad to see women with seats on the city commission even if she is not a radical feminist.
Mary is also a strong supporter and the vice president of the Sturgis Historical Society.
