[2] Encouraged by his bosses at GM, Wendler ran for and served on Saginaw City Council for 14 years, and was mayor from 1971 to 1973.
Following the condemnation and impending demolition of the old Saginaw Auditorium, the question of whether to build a new civic center in downtown was put on the ballot.
After being rejected once, a provision was added to pave several roads on the city's east side and the question put to the voters again, successfully, in 1972.
[5] In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Wendler, Blair, and local businessman Richard J. Garber brought an Ontario Hockey League franchise, the Saginaw Spirit, to the city.
[2] Wendler also served as a member of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission and as an adviser to former Interior Secretary James G.