Dear Editor,

I love Clarkston. It is a beautiful, unique place to call home. With great pride I look around and consider what I have always enjoyed about the village council: It isn’t big government. We are neighbors working together to make life in Clarkston the best it can be for all of us. It is basically a volunteer government of committed citizens.

As this election draws to a close, I think residents of the Village of the City of Clarkston should consider a few things when choosing council members: We need people who will listen to what is important to everyone who lives here and base their decisions on serving the whole community, not a select vocal few with personal agendas; people who will work together to find concrete solutions; and council members who consider longterm results — and potential consequences — of their actions.

Serving you is an honor I don’t take lightly and I hope that you will vote for me so that I can continue to do so. I hope too that you will consider casting your vote to my fellow incumbent, Mike Sabol, who demonstrates time and time again that he has the dedication and credentials to serve this city well and he earnestly cares about our community.

Please consider reelecting both of us Nov. 8.

Thank you,

Sharron Catallo

Dear Editor,

Hello everyone, it’s Rick Detkowski and Sue Wylie – the people from the smiley face signs that you’ve probably driven by a million times.  As you know, we’re running for City Council on a platform of improved culture, communication, and productivity.  You may have met us at your door as we stopped to talk about our goals for being elected.  We must say that we’ve met some great folks along the way that care about our city and the direction it should take.  It’s comforting to realize that so many people are as passionate about our city as we are.  Some have very interesting ways of expressing that passion, but the overall message has been the same; that we have challenges in front of us requiring solid leadership, smart planning, and hard work to solve.  All of these conversations have only confirmed why we are running, and that is because we want to be a part of solving these challenges with you.  Positive momentum is what we want to bring to the table, and the desire for this momentum is all around us.

What are some of the challenges that people talk about?  Well, it should come as no surprise that parking is number one.  Many have asked how it got to this point, and we can only speculate on those reasons.  Whether it’s paid parking, parking deferments, or engaging business owners to help create space, we have to address solutions to this issue now.  Other frequently discussed topics are the need for new revenue sources, mitigating the polarization amongst residents, additional city services, and keeping the historic aspects of our city intact while accommodating the growth that we continue to see.

We have heard your voices on these matters.  As councilmembers, we will be committed to finding solutions that make sense and getting them implemented before they become even bigger problems.  We also want to make it perfectly clear that we are committed to preserving, protecting and enhancing our historic Main Street – and our Holcomb Road, and our Church Street, and our Buffalo Street, etc.  But keep in mind that enhancing is not a stagnant word.  Enhancement requires hard work and new ideas from all stakeholders in the community.  We are ready to do whatever it takes to achieve these ideas and create a more productive and unified community.  “Have a Nice City” means exactly what it says.

As we mentioned previously, the desire for positive momentum is all around us.  Only with your support on November 8 can we become an integral part of this new direction.  Win or lose, we think ours is a great community that may not always agree, but will seek out compromise – and then celebrate our accomplishments together.

Sincerely,

Rick Detkowski & Sue Wylie

Dear Editor,

I am Mike Sabol, current Clarkston City Councilmember and I am running for re-election to the Council this year. This letter is part two of my key points regarding re-electing myself and Sharron Catallo to the City Council.

You may have heard the statements regarding the productivity of the City Council and Administration but I am here to tell you that, while there is always room to improve, the City has been functioning and working to support the residents and businesses.

Aside from the daily business and the regular business of the Council and supporting commissions and committees, many projects and events have taken place. Examples are a new website and data storage for things such as meeting minutes and agendas, the creation of Shiver on the River event, recodification and reorganization of all ordinances. These are only a few and many more can be found on the website and seen throughout the City.

Additionally, in recent weeks the Staff has continued to fully function despite the resignation of the City Manager. The now-departed Manager, with Council support, created an efficient working Staff who can handle the business without missing a beat. As an example, the processing and enforcing of building permits has to happen to keep the City moving forward. These permits are for the protection of the building owners but much effort must be taken when the owners don’t follow the ordinances.  All of these things show that we remain an effective, vibrant go-to place for residents and visitors. I can’t think of a better place to live.

There are those who want to polarize us, make the City seem ineffective, in some vain effort to make it look like we aren’t worthy of being a city. These naysayers have placed many of our actions out of context and have not taken the time to fully understand what it takes to make a city run. They criticize budgeting without understanding government budgeting processes, demand action when action is being taken, and demand transparency but at the same time mischaracterize and overly-criticize the statements made and positions that the Councilmembers take. They believe that their position is the only “right” answer and have chosen to browbeat the elected authority of the City. That is not how the City should run. We need to respect each other, work together, listen to each other, and collaborate. This is how it worked in earlier years but they don’t want this, they want it their way. I do also have to ask though, is there anything that is so terribly wrong with our beautiful Village to cause such dissent over what we are doing?

Can we do better? You bet we can!! There is always room for improvement. We recognize that need to improve and have implemented many ideas and have even more for our beautiful City. Sharron and I are asking for your vote to let us continue on that path.

Mike Sabol

Incumbent candidate for Clarkston City Council

Dear Editor,

It is time to change the Culture of the City of the Village of Clarkston.  Sue Wiley and Rick Detkowski are the candidates to Elect to Effect this change.

Tired of lack of transparency, secret meetings, Open Meetings Act violated, City Council found guilty by the Courts and County Prosecutor, FOIA requests by citizens stalled or not answered, attorney fees that are out of line for a city of less than 900 hundred residents, spending of taxpayer money not approved by Council until after the statement/bills come due…case in point, $23,000 approved by city council for DPW investigation, $60,000 spent.

Lack of professionalism at meetings by certain city council members and employees under their direction.

You can watch the recordings of the City Council in action on Independence TV and read about it in the Clarkston News.  The official minutes will tell you nothing.

This is our Chance for a CHANGE…vote for that change on Nov. 8.

Stuart Mahler

Lorry Mahler

John Phyle

Jennifer Phyle

Larry Shepanek

Patricia Shepanek