Interviews for open seat on Clawson City Council held June 30

CLAWSON — The Clawson City Council interviewed four candidates — Alexander Aprile, Andrea LaLonde, Lauren Mattar and Richard Scott — June 30, all having a chance to be the one to take the place on council of the recently resigned Matthew Binkowski.

“We are really grateful to each of you who are interested in filling the void we have on our City Council right now,” Mayor Paula Millan said. “We thank you for submitting all of your documentation and coming here this evening, and we look forward to having conversations with each of you.”

 

Alexander Aprile
Kicking off the interviews was Alexander Aprile, eight-year resident and member of the Clawson Parks and Recreation Board, who stated in his application that he is dedicated to community service and volunteer work.

“I have worked for three different members of Congress that I have served under, so I’ve got a breadth of experience of different personalities but also interacting with constituents and interacting with public officials, which I think really sets me up perfectly for a role like this,” Aprile said.

Currently, Aprile works as the deputy district director for the congresswoman who serves Michigan’s 9th Congressional District, Lisa McClain. Aprile said that within his jobs working for members of Congress, he specializes in working directly with the community.

Council member Bruce Anderson asked Aprile if he can think of any issues that need to be addressed within the city of Clawson.

Aprile said that with his experience working under various officials, he predicts the issues are similar within each city: water, infrastructure, taxes, millages and services. He mentioned that the No. 1 issue is probably money, including funding, resources and how money plays into the projects and things going on within the city.

“I think that is always going to be at the forefront of how money is being raised or how taxes are being raised or collected and where that money is being spent, and is it being spent efficiently and effectively as getting the best bang for the buck for the residents here in Clawson,” he said. “I know that’s something I will focus on if I am lucky enough to be on the City Council.”

Aprile had the opportunity to share how he would handle conflict within the council and community.

“One thing I have always done and I will continue to do is listen to what they (the public) have to say. I might not always agree with it, but I will listen because maybe they have some ideas that I have never thought of,” he said. “I think it’s important to at least be open to those ideas, and I believe that most people, if they truly think you’re receptive and at least listening and taking in, absorbing their ideas, then it does not raise the tension or create animosity, it creates a mutual understanding to sometimes agree to disagree.”

 

Andrea LaLonde
The second candidate interviewed was Andrea LaLonde, who currently works as an executive coordination manager for Pangea Made. LaLonde also served as the chair of the Road Commission for Oakland County Board of Road Commissioners from 2019 to January of 2025.

“When the opportunity came up here (in Clawson), it was an opportunity for me to reconnect with the community. I felt kind of dissociated a little since leaving working with the county,” LaLonde said.

LaLonde said her willingness to adapt, to learn and to be open made her a good candidate for the council. LaLonde answered a question about some of the biggest issues facing the city of Clawson and chose to talk about infrastructure.

“Now you guys have gotten to the point where you are seeing infrastructure money come in, and that’s absolutely fabulous,” LaLonde said. “It’s just keeping it focused, and I wish it could have been more … but it’s something that honestly I think is one of your biggest challenges, because without the infrastructure, you don’t bring in the business.”

LaLonde said that she would want to see a difference in small policies that affect community members on a daily basis.

“It’s stuff that is so simple and minute because that’s what people care about,” she said. “I mean there are broader things that may be important to the city as a whole, but people aren’t looking at the broader thing. They’re looking at how do you enhance their lives, and that’s when they see the value in the City Council.”

When LaLonde was asked how she would handle conflict, she said she would prioritize listening and helping the community understand where the council is coming from in terms of decisions made.

 

Lauren Mattar
The third candidate, Lauren Mattar, a six-year resident of Clawson, currently works as the director of mobility initiatives at NextEnergy in Detroit. In her application form, she said that her work with projects and programs has directly impacted cities and communities, helping her understand working with smaller communities.

“The work I do at the nonprofit has been the most relevant to this. I will admit I am not coming from a big political background, and I have not really been a super big name here in Clawson, but I thought this was a good opportunity to get involved,” Mattar said.

Mattar said she has not previously worked on a board or commission, but she wants to be able to bring a fresh approach and perspective to the table.

Mattar said that infrastructure is one of the biggest issues facing Clawson.

“My understanding of what the community needs are and what the desires are is roads and then the associated flooding, which kind of go hand in hand,” she said. “I saw on the next agenda that there are obviously projects underway to improve the roads, so I think just continuing a lot of that work.”

When approaching conflict as a council member, Mattar said she would utilize her skills from her background to use an analytical approach to figure out solutions.

“Part of the interesting part in my background is that I have done a lot of community engagement and other things recently, but I have an engineering degree, experience in project management and program management, so I also bring an analytical approach to things,” she said.

 

Richard Scott
Richard Scott, a 29-year resident of Clawson and an information technology professional who is currently unemployed, was the fourth candidate interviewed. His last job was as the director of professional services at Red Level Group in Novi.

Scott has been on the Planning Commission for 2 1/2 years and said that he has had multiple recommendations from neighbors to join the City Council.

“This opportunity on council came up, and I thought, ‘Let’s try it.’ I think the council would be great,” Scott said.

Scott said that his time on the Planning Commission had set him up to be a successful candidate for City Council. He referenced that some decisions are not easy, and it has helped him become more aware of how to lead on a commission or council.

“There’s different perspectives that may come up that you didn’t even think about,” he said. “All of the experiences on planning have been somewhat like that. … I feel like we are supposed to be up there representing the citizenry here in Clawson and try to make decisions that are in the best interest of everyone in Clawson.”

Scott said that some of the more pressing issues in Clawson are related to taxes.

“I think we need to be very careful with asking our residents to spend more money,” he said. “I want the city to be successful and I want (City Manager) Joe (Rheker) to have what he needs to be able to provide the kind of services that the city needs and wants, but I think that we need to be judicious about how we use funds.”

Scott also mentioned infrastructure and changes to be made within that realm such as road improvements.

Scott said that he would change the policy on short-term rentals.

“We need to have something in place for short-term rentals, because we don’t want them to get out of control,” he said. “There have been a fair amount of complaints that I know about, even in my own neighborhood, about short-term rentals that exist. … We just need to be careful with the proliferation of short-term rentals.”

When given the opportunity to explain how he would handle conflict, Scott said that he would try to look at both sides when making decisions.

“You have to put yourself in each other’s shoes,” he said. “You need to be open-minded to potentially change your mind and try to do the best you can for the residents of the city.”

The full interviews can be found on the City of Clawson YouTube page. For more information, visit cityofclawson.com.