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Politics & Government

Councilman Tim Faricy Running For Mayor

Faricy has served on council for four years.

The Nov. 8 election will be a big one for There are seven seats on the council, four of which are up for election.

One seat will be in the mayor's race where Councilman Tim Faricy will oppose longtime Mayor Sue Osborn for the two-year term.

Incumbent Cheryl King, former Department of Public Works director Les Bland, former Fenton Mayor Patricia Lockwood  and newcomer Michael Piacentini will compete for three four-year term council seats.

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The seats of King, Faricy and John Rauch will expire. Rauch will not run for re-election. The winners will join Benjamin Smith, Dianne North and Bradley Jacob on the city council.

During the next several days, we will take a detailed look at each candidate. You can read below or watch the attached video from the Meet the Candidates forum held by the Fenton Regional Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.

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Here is a look at Tim Faricy, candidate for mayor.

1. What are your work and educational backgrounds? I've spent my whole working career in manufacturing. I've been a consultant to the automotive industry and machine tool industry. I worked for the University of Michigan as a consultant, and I have a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from U of M. My master's is in business, from Michigan State University. I'm retired, but I do have some commercial real estate.

2. How old are you, how long have you lived in Fenton, and who are your family members? I'm 71, with four children, two of whom live in Fenton. Between them, I have eight grandchildren. One son is in Nashville, and one son is in Portland, Oregon. I've lived in Fenton for 40 years. I have a good feel, I think about what Fenton needs. That's an important part of my resume.

3. What public offices have you held, and how are you involved in the community? I have four years as a Fenton council member. I have enjoyed it. I am chairman of the city's I have also, in the past, served on a number of commissions — a planning commissioner, on the building authority that built the new city hall and police station (1972), parks and recreation, the library board. I spearheaded the development of the I led the volunteer effort that built the gazebo without any city funds, around 1978-79. It's my proudest achievement.

4. Why did you decide to run for office? I, quite honestly, feel a lifelong obligation for the city. I believe it's important for any citizen to actively participate in city government. I think you regularly have to change administrators, and I think it would be good to have a new mayor with new thinking and a new perspective on some of the issues that affect Fenton. And that's why I decided to run.

5. What issues, in your opinion, are big ones for Fenton? Financial aspects of the city. At this time, we are in a period of declining tax revenues and increasing expenses, and it's important to get somebody with good managerial experience in to help the city administration manage those issues. The second most important issue is the continuation of some of the DDA's efforts, and, principally, I think it's important we stay focused on the and making downtown vibrant. It's also important to pay attention to local streets. We have had a city administration and a city council that has not put much money into our local streets. It's also not spent much on our parks. It's important to look at what we can achieve in those areas. To keep me going, I've got to win this race and that's an important task of mine. And I plan on winning. I still want to participate in city government, and the avenue for that is for me to win this race. My slogan is, 'It's Time for Tim.' That's an attempt to suggest that maybe a fresh perspective would help the city.

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