Four of eight Algonac candidates appeared
By Barb Pert Templeton
During a Facebook Live event on Sept. 26 the Anchor Bay Chamber of Commerce hosted a meet the candidates forum in Algonac. John Mackenzie, a member of the chamber’s board of directors, served as the moderator for the 30-minute event which was held at Smith’s Field with about 100 spectators in attendance.
There are eight names on the November ballot in Algonac seeking to fill four, four-year terms. Incumbents include council members Michael Bembas and Cathy Harris, plus Mayor Pro Tem Raymond Martin. The fourth spot was held by Councilman Corey Blair who resigned in the spring due to work commitments.
In addition to the three incumbents seeking reelection, former council members Jacob Skarbek and Terry Stoneburner, plus Christina Helkias-Robb, Wendy Meldrum, and Annie Ponessa also hope to be voted into one of the four spots on council.
John Mackenzie, a member of the Anchor Bay Chamber Board of Directors, served as the moderator for the recent candidates’ forum.
Only four of the eight candidates appeared at the recent meet the candidate’s forum. They were Bembas, Harris, Skarbek and Stoneburner.
After introducing the foursome, McKenzie gave each candidate several minutes to introduce themselves to the crowd.
Bembas was up first. He stated that he’s lived in Algonac for 30 years and has been employed with the post office for 40 years including the last 11 years as post master in Algonac. He noted that he also runs the clothes bank at the local Lutheran Church and started ‘Halloween in the ‘Nac’ an annual, totally free event, hosted for families in October.
“Some people do and some people just talk, I consider myself a doer,” Bembas said.
On council nearly a dozen years now, Bembas said he worked to get the city’s dog park built, pushed for a new city pool and was the force behind the solar lights on the city’s boardwalk saving the city money on electric bills,
Harris said she’s lived in the city for 47 years, all four of her kids graduated from Algonac High School, she worked for the City of Algonac for 25 years and has been on council for four years. She belongs to the Fred Quandt VFW Post 3901, joining on behalf of her brother who served in Vietnam and her son who later served in the Airforce.
Harris said she recently completed the annual Algonac Art Fair, to great success.
Skarbek a lifelong resident of Algonac, said he started the non-profit Youth for the Future, for students in skilled trades or those who want to start a business, all the monies go back to the schools for those kids.
He has owned numerous businesses since he graduated high school, he first ran for Algonac City Council when he was just 18-years-old but didn’t win that bid although he ran again at age 20 and won a four-year term. He stepped back from the council to run for state representative but didn’t win that race so he’s hoping to get back on the city council.
Stoneburner said she’s a lifelong resident of the city, was an instructor at the college lever and also served as a public-school administrator at the end of her career. She belons to Algonac Alive, the Algonac-Clay Historical Society and is a certified dog handler. She often brings her dog Charlie to community events and visits local nursing homes. She formerly served on the city council for five years, four as mayor. She currently serves as the vice chairman of the Algonac Planning Commission.
After the introductions the moderator posed three questions to each candidate and they each had two minutes to respond. The questions were:
- Where is there room to put new businesses in Algonac and what type of businesses would you like to see in Algonac?
- What is the biggest challenge facing the city?
- What is the next big project that you would like to see the city focus on?
Each candidate also had time allotted for a closing statement.
See Part 2 of this story to hear what the candidates had to say and what their closing remarks included.
