The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
'Preserve Scio 2008' announces candidates
By Sean Dalton, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 8, 2008
The Preserve Scio 2008 political action committee on Tuesday announced its formation and pursuit of office in the Aug. 5 primary.
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The committee members said they formed the PAC to "preserve the semi-rural character of Scio Township, with open space, farmland and well-planned communities and parks."
The PAC candidates include incumbent Charlie Nielsen who will seek reelection as Township Supervisor, as well as incumbent trustee Chuck Ream and challengers for trusteeships Deborah Bulley, Leslie Douglas and Josh Warner. Mary Shindell will be running for Scio Township Clerk.
David Shindell is serving as the campaign's treasurer.
According to Nielsen, incumbent Clerk Kathy Knol was approached to run for re-election under on his slate, but she decided against seeking re-election.
Knol's hopeful replacement says she is eager to tackle tough issues such as public safety coverage and funding in the township.
"It's really tough to get a millage passed," Mary Shindell said. "Nobody wants their taxes increased, but I really think it is a matter of education and helping people understand why we are in this situation and why it is critical to have a little bit higher level of police and fire protection."
Shindell has been involved with Democracy for America, a grassroots organization promoting socially progressive and fiscally responsible candidates at all levels of government, since 2003.
She has worked in the health industry and is an active community volunteer.
"I very sternly believe in sustainability," Shindell said. "From an economic and environmental standpoint, I think Scio is going to be facing many challenges coming up, like increasing costs from public safety, but at the same time declining revenue from property taxes and state revenue sharing."
Nancy Hedberg will be running against Shindell for the clerk's position in the election.
Hedberg is a member of the Team for Scio 2008, which earlier this year announced that its members would be running as a slate in August as well.
Leslie Douglas is the newest addition to the slate, joining last week.
Before moving to Scio five years ago, Douglas served two years on the Putnam Township Board of Trustees and had held positions on that township's planning commission and zoning board of appeals for eight years.
She says she wants to uphold the township master plan, pointing out that she supported big-box discount retailer Costco coming to the township until she took a closer look at the plan.
"Scio is going to keep growing just like everything else and you want to control the growth and we had that with Putnam Township," Douglas said, adding that Putnam had its own annexation challenge with the Village of Pinckney and a developer, only in reverse of what happened between Scio and Dexter Village.
"A contractor wanted to put some high-density homes in township property and wanted it annexed to the village," Douglas said. "I was for a 425 plan which didn't go through because the village didn't accept it."
In Scio's case, they didn't agree with Dexter's terms in the P.A. 425 agreement for the Sloan-Kingsley property south of the village.
Douglas also said she would like to expand recycling services in the township.
"I think we need to broaden it, like in Dexter Township, (where) they have the bins that people put their goods in."
The group of candidates also announced its first "friend-raiser" and fundraiser to be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. May 17 at Foggy Bottom Coffee House at 7065 Dexter Ann Arbor Road.
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