Candidate questionnaire: Aaron Miller

The following is Watershed Voice’s candidate questionnaire for the November 2026 local elections. We will be running all remaining candidate questionnaires in the order received today. 

Aaron Miller, Sturgis At-Large City Commissioner candidate filled out our questionnaire, below are his answers as submitted. Miller is running unopposed.

Name: Aaron Miller
Age: 39
Are you an incumbent? YES  
Family (optional): Wife – Alexandria (Alex); Daughters – Jael, Leah, Anna, Adah

Background/bio

Aaron was born and raised in Sturgis and has lived there his entire life.  Educated as a social studies and mathematics teacher, he taught middle and high school mathematics before being elected to the Michigan House of Representatives for three consecutive terms in 2014.  Term-limited in 2020, he was hired at Sturgis Bank and Trust as a mortgage originator before being installed as a trust officer in the Trust Department at the bank, where he currently serves.  Aaron and his wife, Alex, have been married for fourteen years and live in Sturgis with their four daughters, Jael, Leah, Anna, and Adah.  Aaron is a 2006 graduate of Sturgis High School and received a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from Western Michigan University in 2010 and a Master of Education in School Administration from Bethel College (now Bethel University) in 2014.  He serves as a trustee and as secretary on the board of Youth for Christ Southwest Michigan and is a member and past president of the Sturgis Kiwanis Noon Club.  Aaron and Alex are elders at their church, Grace Christian Fellowship in Sturgis, and enjoy walks around town, spending time with extended family, and staying involved in their children’s educations and sports activities.  Aaron, his father, and his and Alex’s three oldest daughters are currently rehearsing as part of the cast for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as put on by the Sturgis Civic Players, which will be performed soon on November 20, 21, and 22 at the Sturges-Young Center for the Arts in Sturgis.

Why did you decide to run for this position, and what do you hope to accomplish if elected?

I initially applied for my current seat because of the sad and untimely passing of our then-at-large commissioner, Jon Good, and wanted to serve for no other reason than to help effect change for my community for the good, with no agenda, period.  I have continued to serve and am running for re-election for the same reason today.  The city has been positioned in an amazing financial position by the current commissioners’ predecessors and I hope to improve on that to position Sturgis well for its future.

What professional, personal, volunteer or public-service experience has prepared you to serve in this role?

While education and other public service experience certainly have value and any life experience can prepare one for public service to varying levels, former state senator John Proos taught me the most important ingredient for service to others, which is to listen and to learn.  Adopting that attitude has prepared me for further public service more than anything else.

How will you engage with and remain accessible to constituents outside of regular commission meetings?

While I quit Facebook minutes after terming out of the Michigan House and despite being inactive on LinkedIn, I make every effort to return constituent phone calls and emails promptly.  My cell number and email are publicly available on the city’s website and are also as follows: (269) 625-4140 and amiller@sturgismi.gov.  Most importantly, I make myself available in my community on a regular basis for those who want to register feedback about our city.  For just one example, I walk to work every single day and I’ve even had people stop to ask me questions on the way to work or to lunch or home for the day.

What do you believe is the most significant issue facing the city right now, and what specifically should the commission do about it?

The most significant issue facing the city right now is healthcare, which affects our residents’ quality of life directly, but also affects the city’s ambulance service financially.  While the city lacks the resources to pronounce a hospital back into existence in town, the city’s commission and managerial leadership should absolutely proactively assist with any and all willing organizations to bring at least an emergency room healthcare facility back to Sturgis.  This would preferably be located at the current Sturgis Hospital footprint, but any facility at any location in town would be a win.

What do you do for work, and how do you spend your time outside of work and public service?

I am a trust officer at Sturgis Bank and Trust Company downtown and execute trusts and estates on the bank’s behalf for our clients.  My family and I love what we call “Michigan-ing,” which is taking fun and spontaneous trips in our beautiful state to discover something unique and adventurous.  We love spending quality time with our family, doing life with our church family, walking, hiking, swimming, road trips to the Upper Peninsula, Lake Michigan picnics, and having a good time at our regular hangouts at Plumb Lake County Park and Congress Elementary School’s playground.

Serving on the commission requires attending meetings, reviewing agenda materials and communicating with residents outside of meetings.  How will you make sure you have enough time to fulfill those responsibilities?

Even though my family and I are in a very busy phase of life and even though we’re highly involved, we believe in service to others and I have prioritized dedicating time to my service to the city for five years now and plan to continue with a healthy balance in the same way.  Often times I respond to emails just before heading to bed or early in the morning, but I always make time for others and I make it work.

What do you believe are the most important responsibilities of city government, and what should its role be in the everyday lives of residents?

The most important thing that our city can do for its residents is to hit the basics well, and offering the service that supports those basics.  Everyone wants good public safety supports, good roads, good electric service (in our case in Sturgis), customer service staff who listen and seek to understand, and water and sewer service that they don’t have to think about.  When I think of all of those basics, we have more blessings in Sturgis than can be counted.

Commissioners will inevitably disagree with one another.  How would you approach disagreements with fellow commissioners while still working effectively as a governing body?

Before anything, it’s paramount to realize that any policy difference or disagreement is simply the nature of the business and isn’t personal.  Even in disagreement, it is still easy to be civil and kind.  I try to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and understanding of all other perspectives.

What is your position on the development of data centers and related infrastructure in the city?  What factors should the commission consider when deciding whether to approve or support such development?

A city like Sturgis isn’t exactly the best geographical fit to even think about hosting a data center specifically and one likely won’t attempt to set up shop here any time soon, but Sturgis does absolutely host business and industry here of all sorts effectively.  We must always prepare the next place for new outfits to come plant themselves and Sturgis is and has been preparing the new State Line Business Park for exactly that.  Good habits include leaning on our local planning commission for guidance, leaning on our chamber for hearing feedback, and leaning on Southwest Michigan First for how to suit up and go win the next project that might want to locate in Sturgis and employ our people so we can attract even more here.  On a recent company tour, a plant representative stated emphatically that the Sturgis area provided one of their best and most experienced work forces of all their plants in the nation and hearing such a thing made me absolutely proud to be from Sturgis.

Describe a personal experience you’ve had with local government—positive or negative—that shaped how you think government should serve residents.

Public service in any government is like an unexpected phone call from someone you serve about an unforeseen issue.  On a quiet day while serving in the Michigan House, I was between stops locally when I received a call on my cell phone from an 87-year-old constituent who was decidedly distraught.  He had received a letter of revocation of license from the Michigan Department of State that it turned out was sent in error by their computer system to an estimated 12,000 drivers in the state.  He asked me to come hear his plight at his house just outside White Pigeon, which I gladly did.  I sat with him in his kitchen that was probably decorated soon after World War II and simply listened.  When I left, I called the Secretary of State’s legislative liaison to politely inquire and learned of the unfortunate error in about thirty seconds, I called the man back and gave him the good news that he could discard the letter.  He was in tears of joy over the fact that his plight had evaporated and that his license—and independence—were indeed intact and seemingly saved.  I did nothing for the man but give him my time.  The trip to White Pigeon was quick.  The time on the phone was short.  The response from the man was priceless.  He has sadly since passed away, but his story will always live on with me.  What I learned that day is that what might be the smallest thing to me, and with the easiest fix, just might be the biggest of things to someone across the kitchen table from me and the least I can do is give my time to that person and listen.  Sen. Proos, who taught me so well, indeed had it right: my job is to listen and to learn.