Monday, October 13, 2008
News
Incumbent battles businessman for Brady Twp. clerk
By MICHAEL PETERSON Argus-Press Staff Writer
BRADY TWP. - As the November election nears, two candidates in the township hope to claim the position of township clerk.
The race is between an incumbent of two years and a relative newcomer to local politics - Democrat Beverly Wenzlick and Republican Martin Sovis.
Incumbent Wenzlick has served as the township clerk for more than two years. She was appointed to the position in July 2006 after former township Clerk Melissa Alcorn resigned.
She said she decided to try to continue her position because she feels the township has come a long way since 2006.
“Working with our township for the last two years, it seems that we work together well,” Wenzlick said. “I've learned a lot working with the board and the residents. Also, I enjoy the job.”
Wenzlick added she is always trying to learn anything to enhance her job performance. She has attended Clerk 101, Elections Accreditation Program and several election training classes.
One of the biggest issues for the township to Wenzlick is zoning. The township Planning Commission had been working on a new zoning ordinance book for several years.
“In August, the Planning Commission and the board got together to go over the ordinance book and found out there were enforcement issues and new zoning regulations that weren't into code,” Wenzlick said.
At the board's September board meeting, the book was sent back to the Planning Commission for revisions.
“It's got a ways to go...I am hoping that maybe in the future the township will work with (a consultant) because there are a lot of rules and regulations that change in the government,” Wenzlick said. “We need to have something that is updated and legal.”
The township has no office hours, concerning some residents. But Wenzlick believes it is actually more convenient to residents for the government to work out of their homes.
“We are more accessible by being in our homes. We get phone calls and respond as soon as possible,” Wenzlick said. “If you put us down to working just a couple days a week, I think it is going to shorten our service to the community.”
For her full-time job, Wenzlick works as a travel agent for Fantasy Travel of Chesaning.
“I've basically had two years to learn the job, and I feel l am more adequate to do the job now than I was starting out fresh,” Wenzlick said. “I hope what I've done in the last couple of years will show I've got the ability to continue.”
For candidate Sovis, it is his first time running for an elected position, but he has experienced local government through his father.
“He held various positions. He was clerk at one time and supervisor at one time,” Sovis said. “For 22 years, he was part of the Brady Township political system.”
He said he knows what the position of township clerk entails and believes he could do a good job.
“I have been doing business in Brady Township most of my life,” Sovis said. “I know the people. I know their needs. I want to present fairness and good service.”
Sovis said he would like to see the township to have office hours.
“We need office hours so people have a place to go,” Sovis said. “We need openness in how things are done.”
He also said that a police force should be reinstated in the township.
The township has been without a police force since the arrest and arraignment of Police Chief Larry Briggs in 2007. He was found guilty of stalking an Owosso woman in September of the same year.
The Brady Township Board fired him and pulled out of its cooperative police department, effectively ending the 17-year agreement between Brady Township and the village of Oakley that formed the Oakley-Brady Police Department.
“I believe the government's main functions are police protection, fire protection, good roads and fair taxation,” Sovis said.
Sovis is currently the owner of three independent businesses which all go by the name Alpha Omega - a storage company, Labrador breeding and an animal feed businesses.
He also owned an insurance agency in Chesaning for almost 18 years.
“I feel I can treat people more with a balance and a fairness,” Sovis said. “I know how my father treated people. He believed in treating everybody equal and in fairness. And that is what I want to do.”
- Contact Michael Peterson at 725-5136 extension 223 or mpetersonarguspress@gmail.com.
The race is between an incumbent of two years and a relative newcomer to local politics - Democrat Beverly Wenzlick and Republican Martin Sovis.
Incumbent Wenzlick has served as the township clerk for more than two years. She was appointed to the position in July 2006 after former township Clerk Melissa Alcorn resigned.
She said she decided to try to continue her position because she feels the township has come a long way since 2006.
“Working with our township for the last two years, it seems that we work together well,” Wenzlick said. “I've learned a lot working with the board and the residents. Also, I enjoy the job.”
Wenzlick added she is always trying to learn anything to enhance her job performance. She has attended Clerk 101, Elections Accreditation Program and several election training classes.
One of the biggest issues for the township to Wenzlick is zoning. The township Planning Commission had been working on a new zoning ordinance book for several years.
“In August, the Planning Commission and the board got together to go over the ordinance book and found out there were enforcement issues and new zoning regulations that weren't into code,” Wenzlick said.
At the board's September board meeting, the book was sent back to the Planning Commission for revisions.
“It's got a ways to go...I am hoping that maybe in the future the township will work with (a consultant) because there are a lot of rules and regulations that change in the government,” Wenzlick said. “We need to have something that is updated and legal.”
The township has no office hours, concerning some residents. But Wenzlick believes it is actually more convenient to residents for the government to work out of their homes.
“We are more accessible by being in our homes. We get phone calls and respond as soon as possible,” Wenzlick said. “If you put us down to working just a couple days a week, I think it is going to shorten our service to the community.”
For her full-time job, Wenzlick works as a travel agent for Fantasy Travel of Chesaning.
“I've basically had two years to learn the job, and I feel l am more adequate to do the job now than I was starting out fresh,” Wenzlick said. “I hope what I've done in the last couple of years will show I've got the ability to continue.”
For candidate Sovis, it is his first time running for an elected position, but he has experienced local government through his father.
“He held various positions. He was clerk at one time and supervisor at one time,” Sovis said. “For 22 years, he was part of the Brady Township political system.”
He said he knows what the position of township clerk entails and believes he could do a good job.
“I have been doing business in Brady Township most of my life,” Sovis said. “I know the people. I know their needs. I want to present fairness and good service.”
Sovis said he would like to see the township to have office hours.
“We need office hours so people have a place to go,” Sovis said. “We need openness in how things are done.”
He also said that a police force should be reinstated in the township.
The township has been without a police force since the arrest and arraignment of Police Chief Larry Briggs in 2007. He was found guilty of stalking an Owosso woman in September of the same year.
The Brady Township Board fired him and pulled out of its cooperative police department, effectively ending the 17-year agreement between Brady Township and the village of Oakley that formed the Oakley-Brady Police Department.
“I believe the government's main functions are police protection, fire protection, good roads and fair taxation,” Sovis said.
Sovis is currently the owner of three independent businesses which all go by the name Alpha Omega - a storage company, Labrador breeding and an animal feed businesses.
He also owned an insurance agency in Chesaning for almost 18 years.
“I feel I can treat people more with a balance and a fairness,” Sovis said. “I know how my father treated people. He believed in treating everybody equal and in fairness. And that is what I want to do.”
- Contact Michael Peterson at 725-5136 extension 223 or mpetersonarguspress@gmail.com.