About Tim Melton
Tim Melton was born and raised in Pontiac, MI, the son of two General Motors Corporation autoworkers and influential leaders in the UAW, Charlie and Bonnie Melton. His father and mother were both elected officials in UAW local 653, with his father serving as President when the local was one of the largest in the nation. Tim often is fond of saying he practically grew up in a union hall, and learned politics from his parents who won and fought many elections. His mother still serves as Chairperson of the Retiree Chapter of the union local, where Tim is actively involved.
Melton, who attended both high school and college within the 29th state house district, graduated from Oakland Christian High School and then attended and graduated with honors from Oakland University. An accomplished student, he left school to work as a "Welfare to Work" counselor and Economic Development Coordinator for the Oakland Partnership in Pontiac. While working and attending graduate school at Wayne State University in 1998, Melton, then 27 years old, ran for Oakland County Commissioner, unseating a three-term incumbent by one vote in the primary. The district then encompassed all of the city of Auburn Hills and the north half of the city of Pontiac. Melton would go on to run for re-election in 2000 winning that primary and general election by a landslide.
Tim's professional career grew quickly in the coming years, working in the finance and information technology sectors. Tim reorganized an IT company, later selling it after making it profitable. After the sale of the company, Melton remained on as National Sales Manager for the company.
Tim Melton's record of fighting for working people as well as working with both sides of the aisle has led to him having many significant pieces of legislation enacted in Oakland County. He has worked to create a senior citizen prescription drug plan, he worked in the wake of 9-11 to bring in national leaders to examine our security management plans in Oakland County, he has long advocated cable broadcasts for commission meetings, he has delivered the state of the county democratic response and has worked to make sure that the city of Pontiac and Auburn Hills have a voice at the table in many matters. He passed legislation to setup a study group to help small businesses provide affordable health care and continued to fight to ensure the residents of the county run senior facility had proper facilities to live in. During his six years as a County Commissioner his leadership led him to be appointed to the Board of Directors for the National Assocaiton of County Officials where he served on the finance committee.
After his third term on the County Commission, Melton ran for and won the 29th house district, a heavily democratic district including the cities of Auburn Hills and Pontiac. Melton knocked on virtually every door in the district over the past 8 years and his door-to-door strategies and yard sign campaigns are well known. Melton has predicated his career on fighting for education and working to get a fix for what he calls the "urban burden" in the city of Pontiac. Most importantly though Melton will fight for the people that he is elected to represent. In what has been called one of the most eclectic districts in the house, Melton is uniquely prepared to assume the responsibilities for this district.
Tim serves in the House of Representatives as the Chairman of the Committee on Education, and as a member of the Energy and Technology, Tax Policy, and New Economy and Quality of Life Committtees.
Tim is married to Patty Melton and they live with their Beagle named Governor.