By Jeremy Carroll
C & G Staff Writer

CLAWSON — Two years ago they were separated by about a couple dozen votes. When Clawson voters hit the polls on Nov. 3, Penny Luebs and Kurt Hack will once again face off for the city’s mayoral seat.

Luebs defeated Hack in 2007 for the two-year seat by 20 votes, or less than 1 percent, to become the city’s mayor, 1,055 to 1,035. Luebs replaced Lisa Dwyer, who did not seek re-election after two terms in office.

Luebs and Hack both served on the City Council for four years before the mayoral race in 2007.

Luebs, 55, said she enjoys working in the community and wants to continue with resident engagement and community building.

“I want to use any opportunity to build Clawson,” she said. “We have had residents that have stepped forward with wonderful ideas.”

Luebs, a social worker for both Easter Seals and Common Ground, said over the last two years the city has been focusing on community events and she wants that to continue.

“The community events helps us identify ourselves as a community and (gives) people a connection to neighbors,” she said.

With revenues from property taxes and the state continuing to drop, the city must continue to live within its means, she said.

“We are going to have to come up with creative ways to maintain our services,” Luebs said.

Two years after his defeat, Hack said he believes this will be another close election.

“I anticipate it’s going to be a tight race,” Hack said. “I have nothing but good things to say about Ms. Luebs.”

An engineering project manager for Guardian Industries Corp., Hack said he wants to bring a different leadership style to the community and focus on delivering strong core services.

“We need to be doing (services) better and faster than anybody else,” he said.

Hack, 35, said the city should be working hard to maintain and protect property values by striving hard to work on code enforcement issues.

“One absentee homeowner not taking care of garbage could affect the property values of the entire block,” he said.

The city could do a better job of marketing itself, Hack said.

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Carroll at jcarroll@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1110.