BY PHIL CUSTODIO
Clarkston News Editor
New Clarkston Mayor Eric Haven learned a lot, campaigning door to door.
“Residents love their Clarkston homes, both inside and outside the historic district,” said Haven, who won the top seat with 272 votes, 52.31 percent of the 520 total in the Nov. 6 election. “Even the many who have chosen to rent in Clarkston would rather be here than somewhere else. One lady, who works in Troy, told me when she gets off I-75 in the afternoon and drives into town, she feels the stress of her work day lifted as she enters Clarkson because she is ‘home.'”
Steve Percival, running for his second two-year term as mayor, fell short with 246 votes, 47.31 votes.
“Those voters that cast their votes for me, I say thank you and will ask them to get involved,” Percival said. “Most importantly they need to support their new mayor. Those who voted against me, I know that they hopefully voted their conscience and that’s all I can hope for. We have a great opportunity to bring our city together and I will make myself available to our mayor and the council to work towards civil, fair, equitable and honest interactions and political behavior. We can achieve this and we owe it to our residents to actively strive for it.”
Haven said many good things came from the campaign.
“I feel privileged to have been elected,” he said. “This was a very active political election, the most contested race I have seen in my 25-plus years in city government. Nine candidates ran for four positions on City Council. The mayoral position was contested, which is unusual in past city races, but rightfully gave people a choice.”
Haven ran because Clarkston is at a tipping point.
“Our pristine 1832 Mill Village is enviable, even a brand, to those who sense the unique value in the name, ‘Clarkston,'” he said. “I welcome businesses and developers who work within existing zoning and who leave their properties better restored than they found them and who consider themselves a good neighbor to other businesses, residents and local government.”
Haven thanked those who voted for him.
“For those who did not vote for me, it is difficult to know all the reasons, but I take seriously the challenge to make my message crystal clear in the future,” he said. “I respect every voter’s opinions and I hope to engage many more in the next two years to get a better grasp of what our residents want Clarkston to be in the future.”
Goals include making sure the Master Plan, now in draft form, secures Clarkston’s future.
“I encourage everyone to read the plan, now on the city’s website, and make comments to the Planning Commission before the plan is formally adopted at year end,” he said. “Master plans are the foundation of zoning laws which define land use allowing both business and residential communities to thrive side by side.”
Values identified by residents for the master plan include protect neighborhoods, preserve historical structures, enhance the city’s charm, enable volunteerism and engage local businesses, he said.
“These values fit nicely with what our residents prioritized in the Master Plan research, keep the small town vibe, improve parking and walkability, and influence retail variety,” Haven said. “Please watch, in months to come, our actions to realize these objectives by engaging city government, residents and businesses toward these ends.”
As mayor, he will have work done at the committee and commission levels to vet ideas and prepare proposals, so City Council can efficiently resource appropriate change.
“By charter, the most significant way the mayor can effect change is the organization of effective, problem-solving meeting structure,” he said. “I will require council agendas be time-efficient and decisions well supported by reasoned research: not allowing Council to conjecture like a committee, but make well researched decisions. For this I will recruit committee chairmen and chairwomen to expedite change proposals. I want to use valuable meeting time to educate Council, residents and businesses, having special speakers make presentations to inform our city decisions.”
Percival will be available to work on projects or committees.
“I will be traveling a bit, however; home is Clarkston and I will serve at the mayor’s pleasure,” he said. “Eric Haven will be a great mayor. He is thoughtful and considerate and has voted predominantly independent of others for years. Al Avery and David Marsh are great additions to the council. I am thrilled that they are back on board.”
They have always been independent voters on council and have often challenged inappropriate actions, Percival said.
Haven looks to the Master Plan, which must be updated every five years by law and defines the community by its physical attributes and resources, otherwise called “character,” to lead the city into the future based on citizen input.
“The beauty of our community is we are a pristine historical town, built early in the history of Michigan,” Haven said.
Its character reflects its architecture from various eras in the 19th and 20th century.
“Each one is valid. It’s important to preserve that character, the physical structures,” Haven said. “Our community is functionally built out to the extent that now our planning focus needs to be on quality of life and infrastructure issues.”
According to the city zoning ordinance, “The City of the Village of Clarkston Master Plan’s primary objective is to preserve the distinct image and identity of the village as a place with a quality living environment for its residents by promoting the preservation, reuse and rehabilitation of older residential and commercial structures encouraging new development which is compatible with existing village land uses; and maintaining the small town residential and historical character of the village.”
“That’s what we want to do,” he said.