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Chesaning candidates discuss local issues during forum
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Saturday, October 11, 2008 9:08 PM EDT
CHESANING - With the Nov. 4 election less than a month away, many Americans are focusing their attention on the presidential election and national matters such as the economy.
But the Chesaning Area Task Force hoped to bring more focus to local politics when it held a “Meet the Candidate” night on Thursday.
The forum hosted candidates from both the village and the township and was held in the Chesaning Middle School Media Center.
And even though the main purpose of the event was to allow for citizens to learn more about their local candidates, Chesaning Area Task Force member Dale Tithof said the forum served additional purposes.
“It was beneficial that all the (candidates) got to meet each other,” Tithof said. “Often when you are running for something, you never meet the competition.”
Tithof said it also was beneficial for both members of the township and village to meet.
“The two entities - hopefully - say they are going to work together,” Tithof said. “At least now they have the faces and names of each other. I think that familiarity always is conducive with people working with each other.”
For the city, present was Joseph Sedlar Jr., who is running for village president; and William Boyd, Michael Cicalo, Charles Poag, Julie Schirle and Trustee Donald Swartzmiller, who are all running for the three trustee seats.
Christopher Wood also is running for the trustee position, but was not able to attend the forum.
On the township side, present was Robert Corrin, running for township supervisor; Dianne Chludil, running for treasurer; Kevin Carlton, Trustee Cathy Gross and Trustee Ken Hornak, who are all running for trustee.
Every candidate in the township election is running unopposed.
The forum was moderated by Chesaning Area Task Force member Dave Richardson. The night, however, was not a debate. The candidates were given 1 1/2 minutes to introduce themselves at the beginning and identify their general goals. They also were given 30 seconds to answer questions.
“It's not a confrontational-type event. That is why there are no rebuttals,” Richardson said. “We didn't want to go there.”
The forum was done in a very informal fashion, which allowed for anyone in the audience to pose questions to any of the candidates present. Even members of the Task Force, such as Tithof and Richardson, asked questions.
Tithof kicked off the questions for the night. He asked the members of the village council if there were plans to ever improve the village office or to even build a new one.
“To be quite truthful, I am often embarrassed to go into the village office because of the condition of the building,” Tithof said. “I find myself envious of neighboring villages that have offices that are much more welcoming physically.”
Sedlar said he felt the city's plate was too full at the moment to consider improving the office.
“We just found out at the last meeting that we have a drain tube on Brady Street which needs to replaced at the cost of about $100,000,” Sedlar said. “When you have these things pop out of the blue you don't have any anticipation of them coming...We just don't have the money to build a new office. But we are embarrassed too.”
Councilmember Swartzmiller agreed.
“Right now we just don't have the money,” he said. “New offices - I feel - would be on a lower rating than roads, sewers or any of the infrastructure that we need to prepare ourselves for an influx of people or industry.”
One audience member asked if the candidates had any ideas on police protection for the village.
The Chesaning Police Department has been on a rough road ever since the Aug. 5 Village Council meeting, when officials voted unanimously to not renew Chesaning Police Department Chief Larry Arbogast's contract. He turned his badge in Sept. 6, and Chesaning police officer Stacey Varney was appointed as interim chief.
Since the incident, the future of the police department has been uncertain. The village also has talked about again contracting with the Saginaw County Sheriff's Department for police coverage - which they did from 1994 to 2006.
“I don't feel that on a day-to-day basis that (Chesaning) is a threatening community,” trustee candidate Schirle said. “I walk my dog at night and it's not a big deal. We live in a small community and I feel safe. But in a situation where you do need a policeman, it's nice to know that someone is right there locally, versus calling someone from the county and bringing them in.”
About 20 members of the community came to watch the forum, which is what Richardson said was about what they were expecting.
- Contact Michael Peterson at 725-5136 extension 223 or mpetersonarguspress@gmail.com.
