Three seats and the mayor’s are up for grabs on the Clarkston City Council as November is re-election year. Petitions are due Aug. 4.
City voters elect or reelect three council members to two-year terms each November. Even numbered years also include the mayor as a fourth candidate.
Seats for the taking include Mayor Sharron Catallo, coucilwoman Kristy Ottman, and Councilmen Mike Gawronski and Chuck Inabnit.
Catallo has been mayor since 1992 when the Village of Clarkston became a City. She beat out Steve Wylie only by 31 of the 465 votes cast in Clarkston’s 2006 mayoral race. Wylie was the first candidate to oppose Catallo since 1992. Prior to cityhood she served as Village President from 1987 to 1992.
As to whether or Catallo will continue as Mayor, she is ‘still making a decision.?
‘I like the job I will admit that and I look forward to working with our new people, Jan Gilespie and Dennis Ritter,? she said.
Charles Inabnit was appointed to fill the vacancy created when a member of the council abruptly resigned. He does plan on running for re-election.
‘At this point I still feel that I have a lot to offer this city,? he said.
Though Inabnit has been on council for year, he has been active with council for th past two or three. He has served on the Citizens Police Committee, helped with the search for a police chief and replacements to fill Art Pappas? office.
Inabnit said the past year has been educational.
‘There is more to it then what you see sitting on the other side, which is what I did for years. You really take for granted what the council people are doing,? he said. ‘There’s a lot of behind the scenes things that you don’t get to see.?
One of his goals is deciding if the city should privatize the Department of Public Works. He currently serves that committee with Ottman.
‘I don’t really have a bias either way, whatever gets the job done and does it the cheapest is what I am for,? he said ‘We have a very tight budget and there’s not a lot of wiggle work there and we’re just going to have to look at some ways to save some money and keep providing the service that the citizens of Clarkston expect.?
Gawronski, who also serves on the city’s planning commission, earned a seat on the council in 2006 with 65 write-in votes. He too is planning on running again.
‘It’s a great place to live and if there is something I can do to either keep it that way or improve it I’d just assume do that than let somebody else do it,? Gawronski said.
His priority is to ‘keep the city in the black.?
‘We’ve got falling revenues and prices are going up,? he said. ‘That’s going to be the major challenge of the next several years I think.?
Ottman, currently the senior council member and mayor pro-tem, was first elected in 2004. She was unavailable for comment at press time. Petitions are available at the city hall.