By ZEINAB NAJM
Sunday Times Newspapers
TRENTON — Trenton residents will vote Nov. 2 to decide which three of six candidates will serve a four year term on the City Council.
Incumbents Timber Baun-Crooks, Richard Benedetti and Scott Cabauatan are seeking re-election while Emily Hornbeck, Jason O’Dea and Dora Rodriguez are running for a seat.
Currently, Baun-Crooks is owner of Timber’s Salon; Benedetti is employed by Henry Ford Hospital-Wyandotte; Cabauatan is a municipal services manager for Republic Services; Rodriguez serves as an hourly UAW Production FPS CI employee at Ford Motor Co.; O’Dea has worked as self-employed musician and teacher for over half a decade, founded the media publication Downriver Grit and helped start the McLouth Waterfront Alliance; and Hornbeck is a high school English teacher.
Each candidate was asked three questions with a 100- to 120-word limit for each. Responses over the word limit may be edited.
1. How will you work to prioritize the needs of residents and address their concerns?
Baun-Crooks: I have been on the city council for 28 years and I have always addressed the needs and the wants of the residents. I know you can’t please everybody and do every single thing, but you try to within the realm and budget. You try to do as much for the residents and keep our city services the best they can be. I will make sure our budget is balanced and when I was mayor pro-tem I ran the city budget and I did that for two years without raising taxes. Going forward, you got a lot of development issues going on, we’ve torn down the McLouth Steel property and Crown Enterprises has done that so we’re hoping for a beauty waterfront revitalization district on our waterfront which the clean-up is being done. There might be many developments there and we’re hoping for that and we’re hoping to keep some green space down there and make it very appealing for the city of Trenton and our residents.
Benedetti: I will work to prioritize the of the resident’s by being open minded to hear their concerns. I will work to improve the communication between the city administration and the residents. I always have and still will encourage the residents to speak up for their concerns.
Cabauatan: Always be open to the citizens and educate myself on matters that come before or need to come before the council.
Hornbeck: I will work to prioritize the needs of residents by being available and involved. I recently joined the Superintendent-Parent Council and would love to have the city engage more with the schools. I am a member of the Community Advisory Committee for the McLouth Superfund site. As a councilperson, I think being actively engaged in the community is vital. Attending a meeting every other week isn’t enough, members of the city council need to be visible in the community. Attending city events, frequenting local businesses, and maintaining a constant dialog with residents is a priority for me.
O’Dea: The reason I am running is because I live here and the threats and challenges we face as a community will affect me as well. Prioritizing the needs of everyone in Trenton is also prioritizing my own needs and realizing that goes a long way. My approach is rooted in strong principles. I am committed to freedom of speech, honesty, non-partisanship, collaboration and the constitution. The result of this has been speaking truths even if some people don’t want me to, working with people all across the political aisle on shared goals and, above all, valuing our God-given human rights.
Rodriguez: I strongly believe in the value of partnership and finding common ground. As a resident of Trenton, community volunteer, and union leader, I know the impact one can have by addressing concerns directly with their elected leaders. On the city council, I will be accessible to the community in order to continue my understanding of Trenton residents’ needs. With so many varying opinions on how to handle Trenton’s largest issues like the RLP expansion, and the McLouth Steel, Eastman/Solutia, Riverside Hospital, and DTE properties, I will be a member of the city council who will ensure that residents’ best interests are being served while respectfully finding commonality in our opinions and moving us forward together.
2. What improvements or changes would you like to see happen within the city?
Baun-Crooks: Always new development, we’re working on the Riverside Hospital project, we’re working on the McLouth Steel project, we’re hoping DTE Energy repurposes their property because it’s tax dollars and jobs and we want more jobs and development. We’ve got a beautiful development happening on the corner of West Jefferson and West Road, it’s going to be apartments with a possible roof top restaurant and retail space underneath, we’ve got apartments planned on Elm and West Jefferson which is going to be apartments and retail space on the bottom. We’ve got some great restaurants in downtown Trenton which I hope people support and we’ve got some new retail coming in. So, we’re really on the move, Trenton is moving forward and everybody is going to see a lot of progress in the near future.
Benedetti: I would like to see improvement in how we get information to the residents. I don’t think we get enough information out to residents on what projects we are working on in the city. We also need to ask for more input from them. I would love to see more improvement in the downtown area with more business opening up and the investment that people are willing to make in Trenton.
Cabauatan: We need to prepare for the changing of some of our major sources of tax revenue in the coming future and plan for replacement of those tax revenue sources through thoughtful redevelopment of available properties.
Hornbeck: The city recently made a positive step with curbside recycling. I want to be a part of the team that educates residents on how to do it properly so we can maximize the benefit of this project. This will start with the schools and educating the kids. I would love to see even more new business growth on West Jefferson and West Road. There has been a lot of positive progress there already. I would like to see through the redevelopment of various sites, including McLouth, Riverside, and DTE in the coming years. Overall, I want to be a part of the progress and growth of our wonderful city.
O’Dea: Forthcoming transparency and honesty. Developments that affect 65,000 people across four cities being discussed in secret is a huge problem when the solution needs to starts with people actually knowing what’s going on. Yet the Trenton city council has held closed meetings with non-disclosure agreements for the rezoning discussions regarding the former-McLouth Steel site. Standing up to Crown Enterprises needs to be a community effort and this process has been interrupted through a lack of transparency. This is not the first time the council has been under gag order. In 2017, when the property was being auctioned by Wayne county, the council was not allowed to speak of the details. This hurts all of us.
Rodriguez: As a resident of Trenton, I would like to continue seeing our city provide in-house municipal services, maintain our public green spaces for future generations, and attract businesses to downtown Trenton and along Fort Street. I will work to continue providing in-house city services by proper budgeting of the city’s existing income and expanding available dollars through economic development. Moreover, economic development should not interfere with our enjoyment of Trenton’s many recreational benefits. As a member of the city council, I will ensure that future generations enjoy the public spaces that make Trenton such a highly sought-after community to live in and raise a family.
3. Why are you seeking re(election)? Why should people vote for you?
Baun-Crooks: Number one, I’m seeking reelection because I love Trenton, I’m Trenton heart and soul, I’m Trenton tried and true. I have been on that council for 28 years and I feel that my experience and knowledge has held together all of what’s the best points about Trenton, I was a part of. We’ve got our Parks and Recreation, our city services are second to none and our police and fire departments are I think the best in Wayne County. I just feel that Trenton still needs me and I feel like with my experience and knowledge that I am still an asset to the community, plus I own a business here and I take great pride in being a part of the future of Trenton.
Benedetti: I am seeking re-election to keep working to finish some of the projects we are working on. I will work to make sure we have a voice in what is built on the old steel mill site along with the former Riverside site and the DTE. I think I bring the ability to work with all the city departments from my experience as a fire fighter. I have worked with the city administration and now I can work with the employees to keep the services second to none and understand the needs of the employees and residents.
Cabauatan: I have the experience of being on council and the experience being on the planning commission as well as in depth knowledge of working with municipalities. I have been fortunate enough to see how other communities do things and I can bring that back to Trenton.
Hornbeck: I am seeking election because I am passionate about raising my children in this city and I want it to reach its potential. I am not the type of person to sit on the sidelines, so being a part of the process and representing young families like mine is important to me. People should vote for me if they are looking for a change in city leadership and fresh ideas and a new perspective. I promise to work hard to continue to move Trenton in a positive direction, while preserving all the things that are most cherished by residents, like excellent city services and incredible public safety.
O’Dea: People should vote for me because I am fundamentally someone who has the ability to solve these problems. Whether people like me or not and what’s in it for me doesn’t matter when the truth is at stake. If you know a building is about to catch on fire and no one else does, you have a moral duty to inform people. Thus, when I see problems that others do not, I am required to draw attention to them so that they can be addressed. Furthermore, I am someone who welcomes feedback, questions and criticism. In contrast to current political norms, I see other perspectives challenging my stances as an opportunity to learn from and improve my work.
Rodriguez: I am seeking election to the Trenton City Council because of the need for a fresh voice in our city. I am a firm believer in tradition but I know that there is room for improvement. As a union leader, community volunteer and leader in the Michigan State Police Angel Program, I have the experience necessary to serve on the Trenton City Council. Our city is at an inflection point between dealing with environmental and economic needs, and looking toward a prosperous, comfortable future. I am running for election to this position so we can prioritize our largest issues, deal with them in a way that benefits Trenton residents, and continue Trenton’s reputation as a premier Downriver community.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected].)