Candidate forum includes three contested races

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Candidates for the races of Wayne Mayor, City Council Ward 1 and Wayne Community Schools Board of Education took part in a candidate forum on Monday at the Wayne Senior Center.

Moderated by Wayne Area Economic Development Director Luke Virgil, the event was co-sponsored by Wayne Area Economic Development Office and Craftology, more than 40 community members were in attendance to listen to the candidates and ask questions specific to each contested race.

Each of the candidates was able to share information with the audience on their backgrounds and reasons of running for public office.

Cale Giese, who currently serves as mayor of Wayne and is running for re-election, told the audience he is a life-long resident of Wayne and wants to "do my part of make Wayne better."

Among the areas Giese would like to focus on are a substation for generating electricity, community amenities such as parks, the trail, and the lagoon project and working on revitalizing workforce housing.

B.J. Woehler, who was also born and raised in Wayne, is challenging Giese for the position of mayor.

He said he believes in "limited government" and said the "city has gone too far."

He plans to listen to the public in regard to needs and would like to see the current city hall remain as the city hall. In addition, he would like to see chlorine eliminated from city water and "flush the Stool to Cool Project which is bringing debt to the city."

He said that while Wayne has a housing crisis and he isn't opposed to more housing, "government seems to think they need to be involved."

In the City Council Ward 1 race, Clayton Bratcher and Karen Granberg are vying for the spot.

Bratcher has been a Wayne County Deputy Sheriff for 15 years and "wants to continue to serve" 

He told the audience that in regard to housing, he wants to "make homeowners responsible." He also wants to "see Wayne grow in a positive manner."

Karen Granberg, who has been a resident of Wayne for 39 years, retired from Wayne State College and  was "looking around to see what I can do in the community to make an impact."

She said she wants to participate in government and "find out what people want. It is good to have communication so people understand what is going on."

Justin Davis, a candidate for Wayne Community Schools Board of Education, told the audience he grew up in Carroll, graduated from Wayne High School and after living in several other locations, moved to Wayne in 2015.

He is completing his first term on the board and talked about the challenges and accomplishments of the districts in that time.

Jodi Pulfer is also running for a second term on the board of education. She told the audience her children graduated from Wayne High School and she feels she has time to commit to being on the board.

"I want the students to be the best they can be. Each student is different."

Each of the candidates was asked what the biggest challenges are to the city and the school district.

Woehler said he felt lack of community involvement was an issue with citizens not knowing what was happening.

Giese said he felt electricity purchasing was an issue as it is difficult to attract businesses without reliable power.

Granberg said she feels there needs to be more communication so people understand what is going on.

Bratcher also said letting people know what is going on is important as is "getting people to care."

Both school board candidates said that working on the school's strategic plan for the coming years and retaining staff were high priorities.

In regard to school/city collaboration, all candidates said it was important to work with each other, have conversations and look at options that are good for both the school and the city.

The forum ended with Senator Joni Albrecht sharing information about the 2022 Legislative Session and the 2023 session, which will be 90 days long. She also thanked all those running for political office and giving of their time.