Margie Teall is kicking off her campaign for re-election to the Ann Arbor City Council with support from Mayor John Hieftje, who called her a neighborhood defender.

"Margie Teall is a defender of 4th Ward neighborhoods," Hieftje said in a statement endorsing Teall, one of his close allies on council for nearly a decade.

"She works one-on-one with residents to solve their challenges," Hieftje said. "From the Stadium bridges to the Georgetown Mall, she gets the job done. Her experience is invaluable, and I encourage 4th Ward residents to re-elect her to City Council."

Tuesday's filing deadline came and went, leaving Teall, a Democrat, with only one challenger this year. She'll face Jack Eaton in the Aug. 7 primary.

Margie Teall

Jack Eaton

Eaton is trying once again, along with 1st Ward contender and ally Sumi Kailasapathy, who was part of a slate of candidates that ran unsuccessfully two years ago.

Teall said she loves Ann Arbor and serving the community, and wants to represent 4th Ward residents another two years.

"In the last two years, we started rebuilding the Stadium bridges, secured state money to tear down the dilapidated Georgetown Mall, and stabilized the city budget following the worst recession in 80 years," she said in a statement. "We've accomplished so much and, together, we can accomplish even more."

Teall's campaign treasurer is Washtenaw County Commissioner Leah Gunn, a longtime 4th Ward resident.

Gunn called Teall a champion for regional cooperation and said her work on the Urban County Executive Committee has led to regional partnerships that save money and improve services.

Teall works as a customer service manager for an Internet company. She previously worked as a photographer and religious education teacher at the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor.

Her husband, Graham, is a federal prosecutor and served as chairman of the Washtenaw County Democratic Party from 2002 to 2006. He now serves as chairman of the 15th Congressional District Democratic Committee, which is U.S. Rep. John Dingell's district.

They live in the Lower Burns Park area and have two daughters, Clara, who graduated from Pioneer High School, and Gillian, who currently attends Community High School.

In addition to serving on City Council since 2002, Teall served on the Ann Arbor Environmental Commission from 2002 to 2011. She has been on the council's Labor Committee since last year and serves as co-chair of the Community Events Committee.

Teall also served on the Michigan Theater Foundation Board of Directors from 2006 to 2010 and was on the board for FestiFools from 2007 to 2011.

Teall takes credit for leading the effort to secure state and federal funds to rebuild the Stadium bridges, while Eaton two years ago argued the city shouldn't wait and should float bonds. Teall also cited her role in working to secure a $1 million grant from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to demolish the dilapidated Georgetown Mall.

She said she also has helped push for new cost-saving labor contracts with the city's unions and led the effort to create Dicken Woods by working with residents and sponsoring legislation to purchase property that had been slated for development.

She cited her role in championing the city's development of commercial recycling and single-stream recycling programs and sponsoring an initiative to down-zone the Lower Burns Park neighborhood to prevent an influx of high-density rental housing.

Teall pointed out she also supported new downtown building height limits and chaired a task force that developed a plan to save the city's senior center from closure.

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Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.