 The City has a City Council election scheduled for November 3. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. If you desire to utilize an absentee ballot, (which should be available soon), please request such a ballot from the City Clerk.
In an effort to inform voters of the backgrounds and philosophies of the candidates for November's City Council election, I sent a questionnaire to each candidate. The following responses were received (reported in a randomly determined order):
Mr. Rafael Arceo
Home Address: 316 Rosemore Drive
Residency (in years): 26 years
Profession/Occupation: State of Michigan Elevator Inspector
Why did you decide to run for City Council? I previously served on the City Council and enjoyed making decisions and helping the City move forward. I like to see us continue making progress, because if we stand still, we will be going backwards.
Have you previously served on any other boards or commissions in Davison? If yes, which? I was on the City Council for two years.
What do you think is the greatest asset of the City of Davison? The greatest asset is the people of Davison. They are hard working people who care about their community. Also, the Davison School System is among the best in Genesee County.
What do you think is the most significant challenge facing the City of Davison? Right now I think we should be working on upgrading ur water plant. Our water system is one of the best in the state, but we need to continually work to keep it the best. We should be looking into upgrading our sewer system. Our sewer system needs to be upgraded more than we have started to do.
What is your philosophy for…
Downtown? The DDA has come a long way in fixing up downtown. We as the City Council should continue to support the DDA.
Other economic development? Staff should continue to work to bring new businesses to the City of Davison. We need to have a short-term and long-term goal. We need to ask around and find out what it will take to bring new growth to the City.
Parks and recreation? We should look into what parks we have now and what we can do to upgrade them. We know money is short. What can the community do to help?
Youth, family, and senior services/programs? We should look into forming a committee of the different groups and let them get input. Hopefully they will be able to help give Council some direction in where they would like to go.
Please offer any goals or objectives that you would like to have the City Council adopt. I feel we should take a look into the City's five-year plan. Where is it we want to go. Right now I don't know where our five-year plan is. We have to plan for the future of Davison. Now is the time we should be thinking about the year 2015 and beyond.
Mr. David Martin
Home Address: 418 S. Main Street
Residency (in years): 38 years (maintained home-of-record during military service)
Profession/Occupation: Retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant (weather forecaster). I’ve worked in the security industry since retiring and was the Director of Security Services at the Pontiac Silverdome during President George W. Bush’s campaign stop and while the world-champion Pittsburgh Steelers practiced for Super Bowl XL. Currently serve at a major automotive manufacture’s national safety and security center in Auburn Hills.
Why did you decide to run for City Council? I have a deep sense of community service instilled not only from volunteering in the U.S. military but in participating in local benevolent associations. While in the Air Force I flew search and rescue and drug interdiction missions with the Civil Air Patrol and worked with the cadet program. I have been a long time member in our local Masonic Lodge and have served twice as the Lodge’s Master. I’m an officer in the Davison American Legion post promoting veteran needs and serve on the Color Guard. I feel my teamwork and leadership experience can help identify the true needs of our community and move those issues forward.
Have you previously served on any other boards or commissions in Davison? If yes, which? No
What do you think is the greatest asset of the City of Davison? Families. Neighborhoods of owner occupied families bring a strong sense of belonging. A family can find a starter home in Davison and continue to remain in our community through their children’s school years and into retirement. Children maintain that sense of hometown belonging and yearn to remain in the Davison area.
What do you think is the most significant challenge facing the City of Davison? The economy at the state and national level will have a significant effect on our region—and we’ll lag in seeing employment boom again. The loss of revenue sharing from the State of Michigan, promised to communities back with the sales tax increase, is being severely cut. Those losses place a huge burden on our reserve funds that we have already counted on to balance our budget.
What is your philosophy for…
Downtown? My personal opinion on the canopy issue was that the architectural design of the canopies reminded me of mobile home skirting—but, if they are owned by the property owners then they are the ones to make the decision on whether they provided an asset to their business or if they detracted from it. I would oppose government mandates, that are not safety related, costing our businesses money (i.e., de facto taxes) without owners agreeing that the costs are in their business’s best interest.
Other economic development? The M-15 corridor should be treated the same as downtown by our DDA. The township has promoted M-15 for businesses and successes like Valley Tire, Vogt’s Flowers and the Kroger complex should be encouraged. Many people, even around Genesee County, think M-15 is Main Street and miss out on what Davison is all about.
Parks and recreation? A value added asset for consideration for new home buyers and to retain families in Davison.
Youth, family, and senior services/programs? Community-wide events like festivals and parades—great for bringing the community together. Other targeted activities should not be overly funded by the tax payer—if a service has value then either a non-profit or a commercial agency should be able to provide the service.
Please offer any goals or objectives that you would like to have the City Council adopt. Keep costs within current tax revenue to avoid depleting our reserve funds before the economy recovers. Keep plans active for the future to avoid delays in implementing projects in the areas that lagged during this recession. Focus on the true purpose of government to provide police, fire, water, and other needed infrastructure to keep commerce running.
Mr. Roger Lutze
Home Address: 620 S. Main Street
Residency (in years): 45 years
Profession/Occupation: Executive Director, Flint Eastside Mission
Why did you decide to run for City Council? I have considered running for a Council seat a number of times because I feel there should be a rotation of persons serving in this capacity in the City. The injection of different voices and ideas that will give birth to improved operation of the City.
Have you previously served on any other boards or commissions in Davison? If yes, which? I have not served on any City boards, but have worked with the Band Boosters, and two curriculum committees at the school system. This was several years ago.
What do you think is the greatest asset of the City of Davison? Davison is a small town with numerous assets and it is difficult to choose just one: a) the small town atmosphere, b) Abernathy Park, c) a real downtown business district, d) good churches, e) good neighbors, f) positive family events in the community.
What do you think is the most significant challenge facing the City of Davison? One challenge that is coming is the balancing of our budget in this time of falling revenues while continuing to supply proper service to this community.
What is your philosophy for…
Downtown? As I mentioned earlier, the downtown area is one of our greatest assets. I just read that a new clothing business is moving in downtown and that is something we should continue to seek- businesses that continue to supply residents with places to shop for their everyday needs. These will only compliment the present businesses that we have.
Other economic development? We need to continue to seek out businesses to fill the empty storefronts in the area and continue with the special events in the downtown area. We also have some manufacturing/business area available such as the old Wick's building.
Parks and recreation? The Abernathy Park os another one of those great assets we have here in Davison and it is important to keep this park in good condition. We also need to continue to partner with the School system and other entities that can enhance the recreation possibilities.
Youth, family, and senior services/programs? The special events in Davison are great family events. We are partnered with Davison Township in the Senior Center and need to try to bring Richfield Township back into this program. Have we considered some activity in the area just for seniors? Some activity downtown that would especially draw in seniors from the area.
Please offer any goals or objectives that you would like to have the City Council adopt. I would like to see the Council work closer together so that even in times of disagreement we can treat each other with respect. The Council needs to take the time to look carefully at all items that come before it and not jump to adopt any proposal too quickly.
Mr. Keith Flewelling
Home Address: 408 Garland Street
Residency (in years): 34 years
Profession/Occupation: Retired Communication Technician with Verizon
Why did you decide to run for City Council? I am running for re-election to City Council to ensure that the current city services and various programs available to the residents are continued in a difficult economy. It will be a challenge to maintain the quality of living we are used to here in the Davison community.
Have you previously served on any other boards or commissions in Davison? If yes, which? As a sitting Councilman, I currently also serve as a Zoning Board of Appeals member and have served on various committees for the Council. I have also served on the Planning Commission and the Sidewalk Task Force.
What do you think is the greatest asset of the City of Davison? I believe that the greatest asset of our City is the excellent services that we are able to provide. These include the greatest water available in the region, a fire department that provides service on an intergovernmental agreement, the second-busiest district library in the County, and a senior citizens' center that offers our older community lots of benefits not found in other areas.
What do you think is the most significant challenge facing the City of Davison? As stated previously, I believe that it is going to be a tough job to maintain our great quality of living in Davison in a changing economic era. Michigan, and our area in particular, has to evolve from a manufacturing base to new and progressive industries. Until that happens, and it is in the process, we will have to budget wisely and continue to look for new revenue sources to offset decreased shared revenues from the State.
What is your philosophy for…
Downtown? Continue to renovate the facades and develop new/reused properties into attractive investments. If we invest in our City, others will, too.
Other economic development? Regional development on a cooperative basis. We need to continue the joint effort of intergovernmental agreement on how to best benefit the entire community that we call Davison.
Parks and recreation? Again, continued cooperation with other governmental units to develop great parks and recreation programs. The current Davison Community Education and Recreation commission does a great job providing programs for all ages and we need to find new ways to keep it viable.
Youth, family, and senior services/programs? Providing various and new programs for all ages and groups of residents helps bond the community together making Davison a fun place to live and raise a family.
Please offer any goals or objectives that you would like to have the City Council adopt. It should be the goal of the City Council to provide a great place to live and raise a family. In cooperation with other governmental units (townships, school district, library district, fire authority, senior authority), the Council should always strive to make our community a place people want to come to.
Mr.Ronald Emery
Home Address: 325 W. Bay Street
Residency (in years): 38 years
Profession/Occupation: President, RAMP Engineering, LLC (automotive supplier representative)
Why did you decide to run for City Council? I was encouraged to run for City Council in 1991 by several Council members and residents.
Have you previously served on any other boards or commissions in Davison? If yes, which? I am on the Fire Authority and the Senior Authority. I also chaired the Charter Revision Task Force and served a Mayor Pro-Tem for about eight years.
What do you think is the greatest asset of the City of Davison? Davison
What do you think is the most significant challenge facing the City of Davison? Davison's biggest challenge right now is how to run the City with ever-decreasing revenues and continue to provide the services our residents expect.
What is your philosophy for…
Downtown? Downtown is one of our most important assets. We are lucky to have a Main Street that is not a major highway. We need to continue to make downtown a destination with more shops and restaurants.
Other economic development? Economic development is a must. We need to grow our corporate park and encourage more business in the commercial areas of the City which will increase tax revenue.
Parks and recreation? Abernathy Park is a huge asset and Davison Community Education and Recreation is a very good joint venture that meets the needs of the area residents.
Youth, family, and senior services/programs? The Senior Center is one of the biggest in the County and our library is the second-busiest in the County. Along with the recreation and school programs, they make Davison a great place to live.
Please offer any goals or objectives that you would like to have the City Council adopt.
Mr. Matt Judd
No responses received.
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