By ZEINAB NAJM
Sunday Times Newspapers
RIVERVIEW — The Aug. 3 Riverview primary election ballot will feature 10 candidates who are seeking three seats on the City Council. Voters will decide the top six who will move on to the Nov. 2 general election where the three city council members will be selected to serve a four-year term.
Candidates are incumbents Billy Towle, James Trombley and Dean Workman, and April Bieganski, John Eckman, Barbara Ann Greenhill, Rita Gunaga, Theo Makarounas, David Robbins, Donald Shupe.
Bieganski is primarily a homeschooling stay-at-home mother and also works part time in local Riverview businesses; Eckman is a safety manager for a construction company based in Shelby Township; Greenhill is a senior support specialist in the Huron Charter Township clerk’s office; Gunaga is a stay-at-home mother and wife; Shupe is retired from Ford Motor Co.; Towle is a retired labor consultant for Chrysler Corp.; and Workman is retired city manager for Riverview and former police chief.
Each candidate was asked four questions with a 120-word limit for each. Responses over the word limit were edited. Makarounas, Robbins and Trombley did not respond by press time.
1. List your education, experience, or skills you possess that make you a qualified candidate.
Bieganski: I am a Riverview resident concerned with the future of the city I call home. I have the necessary skills to make a great leader. Honesty, I won’t lie to the people of Riverview. Transparency, my life is an open book. If there is anything anyone wants to know about me I will gladly tell them. Drive, I am not afraid to put in some hard work to achieve a goal. Integrity, I do and say what is right and I stand by it.
Eckman: I believe I have the right skills, aptitudes, and abilities to make me a great asset for the city of Riverview. I’ve worked in the public sector for over 27 years and have a lot of hands-on experience with getting the job done. I strive to do the best job possible. If something doesn’t make sense to me, I’ll dive deeper to see what the issue is and try to come up with some robust solution(s) to resolve that issue. Some of the skills I mentioned include human relations, public relations, I’m detail oriented, I’m a team player, I take other opinions into consideration, and I try to think outside of the box when trying to resolve issues.
Greenhill: I attended Northern Michigan University and my experience is as follows: I feel that I possess the skills needed to be a qualified candidate because I have over a decade of experience in politics. This experience includes four years as the executive assistant to the mayor in Van Buren Township, performing all duties of the position, eight years working in the clerk’s office in Huron Charter Township and twenty five years experience working for DTE. I am a township employee who treats everyone with dignity and respect.
Gunaga: I grew up Downriver, I was a Trenton Trojan from second grade through my graduation in 1997. I went on to spend a few years in Ypsilanti to attend EMU for a few years where unfortunately I had to stop attending due to health issues which made me lose my academic scholarship. I never went back there to finish, instead I decided to enter the medical field. I worked in a couple different departments, though ER was my favorite, most likely because that is where I met my husband. We moved to Riverview in 2013 and have lived in 3 different homes, and are currently in our forever home. I have one son at Seitz, one at Huntington, and one still at home with me.
Shupe: I am a senior at EMU in Ypsilanti. I have a journeyman card for tool and die. I am active in my church and have served in leadership positions running all our various programs for 20 years. I have taught every age group from nursery to adults at church. And I have raised my family in Riverview.
Towle: I have served 6 years as a councilman.
Workman: Graduated with honors from Madonna University with a bachelor of science, graduated with a master’s in Liberal Studies from Eastern Michigan University. I have been involved in city government for more than 43 years; I bring the most experience to table as I started out as a member of the police department, eventually working my way up to chief of police for Riverview. I also had the privilege of serving the city as its city manager for the last 12 years of my government career.
2. If (re)elected, what are the top two issues facing your constituents you would work to address and how?
Bieganski: The No. 1 issue facing the city right now is the canyon sized divide between the people of Riverview. People disagree over things like the landfill or who someone is voting for and the conversation breaks down into insults and name calling. We are all Riverview. We need more events where people can congregate and have a good time. No. 2 Speaking of the landfill, or land preserve as some prefer to call it, it needs an overhaul not an expansion. There are eight to 10 years until it reaches capacity at its current size. Council needs to use those years to address the issues of the blight it brings to our city and imposes on our neighboring communities.
Eckman: The land preserve is a hot topic, do we keep it open? If it’s closed, how does the city supplement the loss of funds? Does the city have enough vacant land and vacant business spaces throughout the city to make up the approximate $3 million void in funds? Will taxes go up? What are other solutions? I’ve heard of some options and have ideas of my own to propose to the residents. My resolution would involve compromise. If the preserve is not closed, what are the implications? I don’t want to speculate on what happens but am concerned that keeping the preserve open may have some impact on if residents stick around or leave the city.
Greenhill: The most controversial issue currently facing the city is a proposed expansion of the Riverview Land Preserve. Without expansion, the city’s landfill is projected to close within ten years, eliminating a major source of revenue. I am in favor of the landfill expansion because the city of Riverview has no other means of coming up with $3.5 million dollars annually without the expansion. The loss of income from the land preserve would result in an astronomical raise in residents taxes which would ultimately cause a severe drop in property values. I think the Riverview residents have worked too long and too hard and deserve much more from this community.
Gunaga: If elected the top 2 issues I want to work on are the financial troubles that our city faces, and everyone’s number one issue, the landfill. These two issues are closely tied together, so fixing one will help the other. We need to bring more single family homes and businesses to help bring in more tax revenue. We need to make sure our fire and police departments are both funded and fully staffed so people know they will be taken care of in case of an emergency. People should feel secure when they choose to live here, or choose to open a new restaurant, clothing boutique, medical facility, etc. We need to find new income so when the Riverview Land Preserve closes, we will be ready.
Shupe: My first main issue is the land fill and what happens there. The second issue is keeping Riverview fiscally able to meet our obligations and responsibilities. Making Riverview a place for business to come to and stay will take care of most of our problems. We need to seek out the business’ going to Texas, Arizona, and Florida with an offer for them to investigate what we have here. We have water, green landscapes, and friendly people. We are worth looking at.
Towle: Landfill expansion and unfunded liabilities.
Workman: 1. Finding solutions to preserve the high quality of services we provide our residents — police, fire and public services. 2. Keeping our commitment to our retirees to pay the pensions they were promised. To achieve this goal, we need to maintain revenues from our enterprise operations, particularly the landfill, or discover other means of generating revenue. As a member of the committee and council, I have worked to find fiscal and environmentally sound solutions to these issues.
3. What improvements or changes would you like to see happen within the city?
Bieganski: I would like to see more new businesses opening within our great city. We have too many vacant buildings and store fronts. Why should a business come to Riverview when they can go a mile or two in any direction and open for half the cost with a third of the restrictions? City council needs to lighten the restrictions put on businesses while at the same time keeping our citizens safe.
Eckman: I think that we may have an opportunity to improve city services without increasing the budget. Those improvement steps would have to include reviewing the services budget to determine if any modifications can be made to improve the services or lessen the cost. I would first sit down with those who manage the budget to evaluate the costs for specific City services. That would be my approach.
Greenhill: I would like to see a stronger presence to the resident taxpayers to perform the necessary action for a more efficient government and also showing the effectiveness of how tax dollars are spent to the benefit of our valued residents. I feel a stronger involvement in the community to improve relations between government, city and the residents is needed. I believe in protecting the property values of the homeowners here and for lowering property taxes. I truly believe that giving the residents a voice in the decisions that direct our city’s growth would provide both government transparency and a much deeper appreciation and support for our police, fire and other city departments which I feel are currently lacking.
Gunaga: One of the improvements I would like to see in our city is more communication between our residents and our elected and appointed officials. This is a top complaint that I hear from people when talking to them about the direction our city needs to go in. We need to work together to make changes that will help us all. I would also like to see serious, focused work to make financial preparation for the landfill to close and have our city not lose any of our services. I understand that without the $3.5 million we receive each year, plus the lower cost of many services, we have a huge task ahead of us.
Shupe: For me, I want to get the EPA to clean up all our properties so we can use them to further develop and build a robust Riverview economy. Keeping taxes low for the residents that they may make long term plans to stay. Cleaning up the Jefferson Road area and improving on the roads and that whole area would be a draw to our city.
Towle: I am in favor of the City Waste Disposal Site expansion. The site provides over $3,000,000 annually to fund City Services and will max out of capacity in the near future unless our plan to expand the site is approved. I have been working diligently with Council to assure that Wayne County and the various unions at the site actively support the expansion. We need the expansion to fund the rising unfunded liabilities for employee pension and health care if we want to maintain City services at the current level without any tax increases. The total unfunded liability as of June 20, 2019, was already over $44 million dollars and rising at an unsustainable rate.
Workman: We’re currently in the process of forcing some landowners in the business districts to become more appealing as to raise the “curb appeal” of the city through vigorous enforcement actions. We also want to be more “business friendly” by cutting through the red tape to get more new business for the city.
4. Why are you seeking (re)election? Why should people vote for you?
Bieganski: I am one of the best candidates because I am a doer. When I see something that needs to be done, I do it. If something is broken or damaged, I fix it. I am also forthright and will not sugar coat the truth or hide things from the residents of Riverview.
Eckman: I’m running for city council because I want to give back to the community I live in. I believe there comes a time when everyone should try to give back to their community. Whether that means volunteering, hosting a community event, attending a community event, donating funds, contributing time, or even running for public office, we all can give back somehow, or in some way.
Greenhill: I think that people should vote for me because I have over a decade of experience in politics, solving residents concerns and improving confidence and trust in Government. I am currently employed by Huron Charter Township in the Clerks office with eight years seniority. Prior to this position I was the confidential assistant to the mayor in Van Buren Township performing all duties of the office for four years. The longevity of my employment was spent at DTE (Detroit Edison) for twenty five years. If elected I will prove your vote not only counts, but was the right choice.
Gunaga: I am asking people to vote for me to become a member of Riverview’s City Council because I want to learn how to help our city. I want to be a voice for our residents and be open to hear from them any time. I want people to know that if they ask a question, or need help with an issue they are having, I will find an answer. I enjoy problem solving, thinking critically, and finding a solution that works for everyone. I hope to bring new ideas, high energy, and passion to this position. I love this city and hope that our residents see that, and know that I will do whatever I can to help.
Shupe: I have my son and his family living in Riverview with five children, four are in Riverview schools now. My other son teaches at Seitz Middle school and is the Cross Country and Track coach. My family came to Riverview in 1955. It is important to me to see my family and Riverview remain a great place and be successful. I like people and will listen to all points of view. I need all the information I can get to make a decision that is just for the whole city.
Towle: I am running for council to keep the focus on the fiscal spending of the city. We need to be competitive in all that we do, but not extravagant or foolish. I believe I am the best candidate for this position because my concern is for the health and well-being of all the residents of Riverview. I am not beholding to any entrenched constituency, union or supplier. I also believe my extensive business background as a labor consultant has uniquely prepared me to assist the city as it faces mounting costs for public safety, pension, health care, road maintenance and other costs which revenues are not projected to cover in the coming years by a substantial margin.
Workman: I provide the steady, experienced leadership that is needed to guide the city through potential hard times, especially if there is the potential for a loss of revenue at the landfill. As city manager, I saw property values decline when the housing market burst, but working with city council, we made took decisive actions that protected the services of residents. I believe I represent the values of our residents. I believe in transparency in government — in fact I lead the movement to televise our study session so residents can be more informed. I love the city of Riverview and its residents.The city has been good to me, and I want to return the favor by doing what’s best for the city and its residents.
For more information on the election go to www.cityofriverview.com/government/city_clerk.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected])