Three candidates, three seats, no competition – just your typical Oxford Village Council race.

Only three candidates filed last week for the three, four-year village council seats that will appear on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.

Incumbents Maureen Helmuth and Joe Frost are running along with newcomer Kate Logan.

Helmuth has served on council since her election in 2009 and Frost was appointed to his seat in October 2017 following the resignation of Tom Kennis.

Logan is a 2000 Oxford High graduate and U.S. Army veteran who served in the Iraq War.

“I just want to make sure the voices of young families are represented on council,” she said. “I think it’s important to have that representation as we see Oxford grow.”

“It’s very difficult for people my age to have that voice” in government because they’re busy balancing “young families” and “busy schedules,” she noted.

Logan lives on Crawford St. with her partner, Andy Forte, and their four young children – Jack, Sam, Hugh and Josephine.

This is Logan’s second attempt to get on council. She was one of four applicants seeking appointment to a vacant seat in April 2016, but she lost out to Erik Dolan.

She previously worked for the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency as one of 10 regional coordinators whose job it was to help veterans and their family members gain access to services, benefits and resources.

In 2016, Logan was named one of the Oakland County Executive’s “Elite 40 Under 40.”

As a council member, Logan is very interested in becoming involved with the M-24 reconstruction project and the revamping of downtown Oxford’s streetscape, all of which is slated for 2020.

“That’s going to obviously impact all of us here (in) the village and I think there’s going to be some important decisions to be made, both with the budget and with design,” she said. “I want to have a voice.”

Logan would also like to help ensure that local ordinances are followed. She believes “in the past,” there’s been a lack of enforcement and residents “deserve to have fairness and leadership” when it comes to upholding ordinances.

Village President Sue Bossardet decided to not seek re-election “due to some personal issues.”

Bossardet has served since 2013. Prior to that, she was on council from 1994 to 2001.

She took some time at last week’s council meeting to express her thoughts on the upcoming village election and apathy in the community.

It “saddens” her that only three candidates filed for three seats because this “leaves the voters (with) no choice.”

“I think that’s a sad situation in our town,” Bossardet said. “It’s not that it hasn’t happened before. It just makes me sick that not more people are interested in participating in the affairs of the village. They have no idea how important it is to come and talk to council and make your voices (heard).”

She pointed out that at most village meetings, “there’s virtually nobody sitting in this room.”

“(As a council member,) you can either get the impression that you’re doing such a good job that nobody has a complaint or that you’re doing such a poor job that nobody feels like coming,” Bossardet said.

She finds it unfortunate that instead of attending meetings and talking to council members directly, many people prefer to just type away on Facebook, “which I think is a toxic situation.”

“I believe that you need to come and talk to your representatives and (find) some solutions to many of the problems that we have here in the village,” Bossardet said.

Bossardet noted she’s “going to miss” being on council.

“There’s many unfinished projects that still need to be addressed, however, I am confident that I’m leaving this village administratively, more strong, and financially, in a much better position than it has been in for many years,” she said. “I’m proud of that.”