On September 15, village residents will go to the polls to elect four members to its seven-seat council. Two candidates–John Ranville and Mike Toth–are seeking for reelection. Three other candidates–Doug Hobbs, Lawrence Stumkat and Lisa Yee–are also running for the spots.
On August 12, Orion Neighborhood Television (ONTV) hosted a ‘Meet the Candidates? forum. Last week, we ran the first installment. For the next two weeks leading up to the election, The Review will run a selection of the transcripts from the forum so voters can head to the polls more informed about their choices.~~JTC

What would you propose to help revitalize the downtown area, helping it continue to thrive?
Hobbs ? They have a lot of good stuff going on right now. They had the Farmers Market. Anytime they need to, they can shut the streets off for other events. I’d just like to see the events just keep coming, and maybe change them up now and then. We have our parades, which are also good. I think the downtown is doing great right now with what they have. I’d like to see a variety of different events. That’s where I see the revitalization happening; that the township doesn’t let so much commercial building go on outside where they have too many strip malls and strangle our downtown. Our downtown is a jewel. It’s a meeting place for all of Orion Township and I’d like to see it remain that way. Change up the events every now and then, but I know new ideas will come along.
Yee ? We need to bring in businesses downtown. There’s a lot of empty storefronts We can bring in businesses such as an icecream store. There’s just so much ? I mean the Wagon Wheel is such an eyesore because it’s just sitting there. We need to fill in the empty storefronts. In an ideal world, to get everything rented out ? there’s your revenue right there.
Toth ? I think we need to make Lake Orion a destination for people to come to. Setting that aside, though, we’re actually doing pretty well considering the economic times. You look on the east side of Broadway, I don’t think there’s a single vacancy on any one of those buildings, and that’s a long stretch. But, something I looked at in the past, and proposed and researched, is the WiFi for downtown. I’ve looked into that three years ago. Now they’re starting to look into it. I liked the idea of a Christmas light competition for residents. Make Lake Orion a place for people to come to, to see the light, they might stop in and have dinner or stop at Little Monsters and buy some Christmas gifts. I’ve thought about a snowman competition for the kids. Put that into the same thing, people drive around with a survey, say ‘that kid’s the best? ? awesome idea, or, at least I think so. The streetscape project and the new roads that we’re doing, that’s going to be a boon for the town. That is going to make businesses move down here because we’ll have the newest streetscape in the area.
Stumkat ? I think one of my pet peeves is coming down to Lake Orion prior to living here was the availability of parking. We have some great stores, some good activities and it appears parking is an issue. I know we’re hemmed in on a lot of different areas, but I’m one of those people ? it can be done. Somewhere along the line, we can make it happen. Once we have the parking in hand, that will enhance other businesses to want to come.
Yee ? Actually, Mr. Toth was the one who encouraged me. He was asking for names on his petition, and I signed his petition and we got to talking, and that’s initially why I sought a seat on the council. I want to serve the local community. I have a lot of good ideas. We like the community the way it is. There’s always ways to improve things. I’m concerned about the empty storefronts such as the Wagon Wheel and a lot of the empty businesses in downtown Lake Orion. I think this is a good way to bring in revenue; it we fill the empty storefronts, we bring more revenue into the community.
Stumkat – Through the years, I’m a lot like you: I took a lot of things for granted as far as local government goes. It’s come time where I’m able to spend more time giving back to the community. I think with my 30 years? experience in the business world I have a lot to offer. Those are the primary reasons why I seek a seat on the council.
Toth ? The feeling that I’ve gotten over the last four years is that the council lacks initiative. As a majority, no new ideas are really proposed and followed up on. I think it’s our responsibility that if we have a new idea we can at least do some research to find out if it’s viable. Some of the ideas that I’ve researched: right now I’m working with Chief Narsh and the manager on Broadway, the narrowness of it; the lake-bottom blanket weed control without using any chemicals in Green’s Park; I recommended the manager get a ‘smart? phone if it would help him be more productive; the email addresses on the Web site ? I still believe in that, and I think it will happen; count-down crosswalk signals ? we signed an agreement with MDOT a few years ago and we’re still waiting on those, but they’ve told us it’s coming.
Hobbs ? A year and a half ago, I saw elections signs up and I didn’t see any advertisements for the election. So I emailed the DDA director and she emailed me back a day before the election that the election was going on. So I went to the council and said that it needed to be advertised more and I brought up the idea of a Web site and other things. They went with the idea of the Web site and they asked me to be on a committee to do that. We got the Web site going. I agree with Mr. Toth on emails ? I’d like to see that on there, also for better communication. What motivated me to seek a seat here on the council was some of my neighbors told me to seek a seat on the council, and I’m here to do that. What motivated you to seek a seat on the village council?