Michael Spisz, 37, is an engineering manager who’s lived in Oxford for seven years. He’s served as a Republican Precinct Delegate for the past two years. He’s married with two children.
Question #1 Why are you running for township office? What experience, skills, talents or qualities do you have to offer the public?
My interest for politics has grown over the years, driving me to become a precinct delegate in 2006. I recently deciding it was time for me to begin to make a difference and run for Trustee. With over 20 years experience in the auto industry, I have built the basic tools to gather relative information, listen to input, and make decisions. During that time frame, I obtained the fiscal responsibility to work within a budget while always looking for ways to cut cost and bring in additional revenue. In general, I believe in working hard, doing the right thing, and making the tough decisions. My current day to day responsibilities provide me with the necessary experience to impart the Township of Oxford residence with the proper leadership for the future.
Question #2 What are the top three issues/priorities facing the township and how would you go about addressing them?
A. Relationship with the Village of Oxford. We, as a community, need to work together to solve issues and not continue to quarrel over them. With the relationship steadily improving over the past few years, I will continue to push for a closer working rapport with the Village. Continually working to enhance communication helps advance a relationship.
B. Fiscal Responsibility. With the current economical situation of our township, county, and state, decisions must be made related to needs, not wants. Too many times decisions are made thinking of only the short term while not truly understanding the long term effects. We must always plan for the future, including finding a way to pay for the water bond.
C. Economics. As community leaders we need to continue to find ways to increase foot traffic for our current local businesses while also logically looking to expand.
Question #3 What would you do to increase public involvement/input in township decision-making?
Based on my professional experience, one receives an increased level of feedback with more readily available information. The first step I propose is an improvement/update to our township website by adding a general link for public comments, suggestions, along with surveys to the public from the board. The second proposal is to improve the township and committee meeting format by using the overhead projector currently in place to share the same level of information with the public in attendance and watching on cable. These two simple items will begin a cyclical flow of information between the public and the board.