Sue McGinnis and Tom Benner are running for one four-year seat on the Oxford Village Council in the Tuesday, September 13 general election.
Unfortunately, the League of Women Voters-sponsored candidate forum that was supposed to be held Aug. 31 was cancelled.
Apparently, Benner is out of town tending to a family emergency and could not re-schedule.
The village’s only polling location ? Oxford Veterans Memorial Civic Center at 28 N. Washington Street ? will be open Tuesday, September 13 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
To the right are candidate questionnaires, McGinnis and Benner answered for the League of Women Voters Oakland County.
Please remember to vote next week. The future of the village is in your hands.
Sue McGinnis
Question 1:
Provide biographical information and explain why you are running for Village Council and relevant qualities and skills you would bring to the position.
I have a MA in International Economics and Finance from Wayne State University. I worked in the automotive industry was 15 years prior to being laid off last December.
I became active in the community 2 years ago when I felt I needed to begin to get involved to make my home the best it could be. Since then I have been appointed to the DDA Board and currently serve as Vice Chair. I have been appointed to the ZBA as well as Beautification Commission. Unfortunately, due to time commitments I resigned my seat on Beautification earlier this year. I am also Chairperson of the Design Committee for the DDA.
I am an avid gardener, I am currently working on restoring my 130 year old home, and am a avid walker/runner.

Question 2:
Describe at least two major issues facing your Village and what you would do to address those issues if elected to Council.
I think the two major issues facing the Village are balancing quality of life with growth and cityhood.
As an avid outdoors person, I would like to see more green space, coordinated trail systems, which will provide the community with quality outdoor activities. As the community grows and traffic increases, having adequate pedestrian routes, not only allows safe passage for members of the community but also provides activities for the entire family.
As most members of the community, I am confused by cityhood. I understand the fundamentals, however, I am not sure of the some the details relating to infrastructure. As a Village resident, will I still be able to utilize the library? If we absorb portions of the Township do we have to install new water/sewer? While I do not like the dual government, I feel I need more information as to cityhood, and other solutions as well.

Thomas Benner
Question 1:
Provide biographical information and explain why you are running for Village Council and relevant qualities and skills you would bring to the position.
As a resident of the Village of Oxford for 42 years, I have always been interested in local government and in serving the community.
Serving 3 1/2 years on Village Council;the Zoning Board of Appeals; the former Oxford Emergency Safety Authority coupled with 5 years on the Board of Appeals has given me experience and familiarity with the issues and workingsof our local government.
As a council member, I have tried to base my decisions on saving taxpayer’s dollars. I am careful not to serve my ownagenda or have tunnel-vision but be open-minded to the needs of the people of this community.
A career in street and road construction prompted me to serve 2 years on the Village Street Committee and this experience along with my career has given me skills and insight for working to update our infrastructure.

Question 2:
Describe at least two major issues facing your Village and what you would do to address those issues if elected to Council.
There are several major issues facing the village but ones that impact the residents should be foremost important and I will mention only a couple due to limited space.
‘Traffic congestion and much needed street
improvements ? My goal is to work towards improving the infrastructure and re-designing traffic flow to help the residents as they deal with the difficulties our rapid growth is creating.
? Enhancing and improving the entire village to benefit the residents and businesses equally (without wasteful spending).
I will use my experience and familiarity with the issues to move the village forward. This means working with our Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, and DDA to improve the residential and downtown areas of our community. It is important to me to be fiscally responsible to the taxpayers and to remember that the money council allocates for spending, is taxpayer’s money. Many of our senior citizens are living on fixed incomes and we need to mindful of that fact.
? The issue of Cityhood ? My vote, along with council, was to let the voters of Oxford decide the future of Cityhood, before anymore money is spent on this issue.