Politics & Government
Meet the Candidates: Michael Piacentini
Piacentini is running for a four-year term with the Fenton City Council.
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.
Find out what's happening in Fentonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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.
Find out what's happening in Fentonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Today, we profile council candidate Michael Piacentini.
1. What are your work and educational backgrounds? I work for Beckman Coulter, as a National Product Support Specialist. I help my wife, Karen, with the bookstore, Karen does it, mostly. I graduated from Walled Lake Central High School and attended the Ohio Institute of Technology.
2. How old are you, how long have you lived in Fenton, and who are your family members? I'm 54, I have my wife and three kids. I've lived in Fenton for 12 years.
3. What public offices have you held, and how are you involved in the community? I haven't had any public offices. I've been serving on two boards for the city of Fenton, the DDA and Local Development Finance Authority (LDFA). I'm still on both. I'm a subdivison board member and past president.
4. Why did you decide to run for office? I just thought it was time to step up and be more involved.
5. What issues, in your opinion, are big ones for Fenton? The big issues are, obviously, the financials of the city but I'm well aware that the financials aren't going to change very much. I'm interested in public policy that really interfaces with the city. What I want to bring is more voice to the city, the voice of the city rather than what I see currently. At times, I just wonder what council is thinking. I want to bring a different voice there. I have a Facebook page to see what people think about issues. I want to bring a change. We need better emphasis on local stuff. We have lots of good streets in the city, but our local streets are in terrible shape. With public safety, the police department and fire department, we seem to keep cutting back on that. But that's got to end. I don't think we can cut back anymore on our police. We're already shorthanded. I support most DDA action items. The DDA is implementing the The DDA is really just following up on what the city has approved. I have a couple DDA projects I'd like to see completed, the streetscape in 2012 and the Cornerstone Building. The streetscape is at the top of my list. The plan is almost complete; by the end of this year, I hope, the DDA can pass it to council for approval. It will really make downtown more walkable. I think it's going to bring people downtown, to enjoy what we have — parks, restaurants, the community center.
