Candidates Address Crowd at Plymouth Township Candidate Forum

The League of Women Voters candidate forum in Plymouth Township that was for more than a week opened doors to a packed room Monday night at .

running for the treasurer and 13 out of 15 candidates running for township trustee showed up for an opportunity to present their platforms and discuss the issues they stand for.

The candidates for township clerk did not participate in the forum.

After a one-minute opening by each candidate, candidates for treasurer kicked off the two-hour forum with a question from the League about how much money was lost on the  in 2011.

Incumbent candidate Ron Edwards stated that the course lost $136,000.

“We moved an asset from the general fund to business fund and those are assets that were bought years ago that took depreciation with no cash expenditure in the last year, Edwards said.

He also mentioned the course will make a $100,000 profit this year. The other two candidates, Edwin Schulz and Rita White, stressed more accountability and transparency over government finances.

Trustee candidates stress improved fire services, government transparency

also focused on finances when they took their turns at the podium.

Republican candidate and incumbent Robert Doroshewitz pointed out that even in tough economic times, Plymouth Township has been able to stabilize property values and the values have seen a boost. The township needs to maintain that fiscally responsible streak, he said.

Another Republican candidate, Paul Schulz, took a different approach.

“We need to restore the confidence in our tax payers, and to ensure our priorities are in order such as our essential services such as police, fire, water, sewage and waste are first and everything beyond that is a luxury," Schulz said.

On the subject of public safety, all trustee candidates were unanimous in revisiting a cooperative , police and emergency services. They were opposed to shutting down the fire station on Wilcox Road. 

Democratic candidate Alanna Maguire felt the debate came down to where the money was being spent. She addressed that Plymouth as a community should be thinking of the future and looking for alternative funding opportunities.

The candidates all agreed that the township should support implementing a multilayer budgeting process like that of the state of Michigan. 

As for the issue of supporting the return of a 401K-retirement plan for township employees as opposed to the current benefit plan, most candidates were in favor of it.

The trustee candidates were uniformly leaning toward having open communication (with the community) through technology and otherwise. Most of them are in favor of a balanced budget, improved public safety and accountability from government.

These candidates will face off in the Aug. 7 Republican primary. The League has prepared a non-partisan guide for the election and it can be accessed at www.Vote411.org.

The League of Women voters will host a candidate forum in Canton on Thursday at 7 p.m. at .

For more information on Plymouth and Canton election candidates, check out our .

For more information on candidates