Shelby Township

Leman, new candidates affirm intentions for office

By Brad D. Bates
C & G Staff Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Photo by Brad D. Bates Former Shelby Township Trustee Dub Herron, center, and resident Clarence Cook, third from left, join former Police Chief Bob Leman, third from right, as Leman formally announced his candidacy for township supervisor. Photo by Brad D. Bates Former Shelby Township Trustee Dub Herron, center, and resident Clarence Cook, third from left, join former Police Chief Bob Leman, third from right, as Leman formally announced his candidacy for township supervisor.

The old adage is politics makes strange bedfellows, and in Shelby Township you can add strange photo opportunities.

As former Shelby Township Police Chief Bob Leman, a Republican, turned in his petitions to formally enter the 2012 race for township supervisor Jan. 27, he unveiled one of his political signs.

What made the instance noteworthy was that it saw steadfast Democrats Dub Herron, a former township trustee, and Clarence Cook, perhaps the community’s most vocal Democrat, at his side.

“This local election we’re having here, party affiliations should not count,” Cook said after stating that he would again run for a trustee position in 2012.

“It should be whoever is working and should be working for the people. At the local level, you don’t need a party affiliation, and that’s the problem with our board now. This is about understanding the people here in our community.”

Cook’s conviction in the importance of the 2012 election is steeped in his belief that the current board is disconnected from the community, and he hopes voters will see him as a like-minded individual.

“This is almost seven years I’ve been doing things in the community,” said Cook, who ran for the board in 2008 and finished fifth in the race for four seats. “They know me, and they know what I stand for — I stand for the people.

“No one here will argue (the current board has) done a good job with the fiduciary aspect,” Cook added. “It’s the other things. Residents come out to explain their points of view, but (the board doesn’t) understand. They talk to the people, but they do not listen to people.”

That mentality of returning government to the average citizen brought another candidate into the fray in 2012.

While he does not have the legacy at board meetings like Cook, who has been a vocal participant as an audience member over the years, or a resume with the township like Leman, 34-year resident Gary Kopp, a Republican, said the present nature of the board also motivated him.

“I’ve been debating for three months, and I decided three weeks ago,” said Kopp, who is an engineer.

“The current administration, I don’t agree with them on the transparency rules they have in place. I want to make sure the rules of the board meet with the rules of the majority of Shelby Township.”

Kopp said that the political scene in Shelby Township almost drove him to opt out of the race, if not just leave the township. But he decided that he and his family had invested too much in the community to turn his back on his neighbors.

“It was more of a deterrent,” Kopp said when asked how the atmosphere of board meetings — such as the raucous Jan. 17 meeting that forced the township to adopt rules of decorum — affected his decision. “But because of the way things are going I want to make a difference.”

As for Leman, the former chief read a statement to reporters and his supporters after turning in his petitions.

“The truth of the matter is that the township is at great risk financially due to a number of hidden liabilities that have not been properly dealt with over time, including aging water and sewage issues and unfunded pension liabilities,” Leman said after citing his experience growing a surplus while leading the Police Department.

“As important and serious as the coming budget is, the public perception of the current supervisor and board members is equally disturbing.”

And with that said, it’s likely the upcoming race as Shelby Township nears its August 2012 primaries is only getting started. The deadline for candidates to file petitions to run in the primary is 4 p.m. May 15.
 

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Brad D. Bates at bbates@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1029.