Flint Township View

Eight candidates seek Flint Township Trustee seats




FLINT TWP. — Voters will be tasked with choosing from a crowded candidate field in the 2020 Flint Township Trustee race.

Altogether, eight candidates will be on the ballot on Aug. 4, including four incumbent trustees and four challengers. Incumbents include Carol Pfaff Dahl (D), Barbara Vert (D), Frank Kasle (D) and Tom Klee (D). The challengers are as follows: Debbe Campbell (D), George Menoutes (D), La Cracha L. Handy (D) and David Huffman (R).

Flint Township Supervisor Karyn Miller (D) and Flint Township Treasurer Lisa Anderson (D) are running unopposed on the August ballot.

Incumbents:

Carol Pfaff Dahl serves on the township’s Planning Commission, the Economic Development Committee and the Bristol Road Corridor Improvement Committee and is chairperson for Flint Township Volunteer Community Events, which puts on an annual Easter Egg Hunt, Food Trucks at Harley Davidson, Halloween Trunks-and-Treats and Haunted House and Welcoming Santa to Flint Township. Prior to being elected, she worked at the Cardiology Institute of Michigan (health insurance verification, 2011-2018), Talbots (sales representative, 2009-2011) and GM/Delphi (Human resources, operation management, 1979-2009).

Pfaff Dahl, elected in 2016, said that she is running for reelection to continue to address blight and road conditions in the township, provide free community events and make the township a leader in customer service and public safety. She would also like to see the township continue with a marketing plan to keep and attract new businesses.

Barbara Vert, elected in 2008, serves on the Economic Development Corporation Commission and is a township liaison and volunteer with the Carman-Ainsworth Senior Center. She is also on the Flint Township Election Commission and is a volunteer for trail cleanups and township beautification projects. If reelected, Vert said that she will continue to offer experience, integrity and fairness as a township trustee.

Tom Klee, a marketing and personal finance teacher at Carman-Ainsworth High School, was elected in 2016. In addition to teaching, Klee is a varsity athletic announcer at CAHS and has volunteered with numerous school activities, including Homecoming and Student Council Support. He has also volunteered with the Flint Township National Night Out and was on the E-Board of Easter Seals of Genesee County.

Klee said that he will continue to support police and fire services, promote upgrades to infrastructure and manage a working budget for residents and businesses in the township.

Frank Kasle, who has served on the township board since 2007, is a retired lawyer and certified public accountant. As a Flint Township trustee, Kasle has said that his top priorities have been to provide top notch services to residents, while holding down the cost of government.

Challengers:

Debbe Campbell is a development director for Sloan Museum and Longway Planetarium and a past president of the West Flint Business Association. Campbell said that she would like to assist Flint Township with economic development and bring transparency and fiscal responsibility to the Flint Township Board of Trustees.

George Menoutes, a former longtime Flint Township Trustee, is seeking to regain his seat on the township board after he was narrowly edged out in the 2016 primary election. Menoutes, a retired pharmacist, was also a Planning Commission member for 18 years. He said that his past office-holding experience, along with his commitment to police and firefighters and promise to vote against tax increases, makes him a capable fit for the township board.

La Cracha L. Handy is a health unit coordinator at Hurley Medical Center and a 23-year Hurley employee. Handy said that is running for office to eliminate neighborhood blight, support programs that benefit the elderly and ensure that the township’s schools remain top notch in academics and services. She said she will also fully support the township police and fire departments and ensure that the township has clean, safe parks.

David Huffman, a professional automotive sales consultant, is the lone Republican candidate in the primary field. He is a former member of the township’s road advisory committee and ran for township supervisor in 2016 and the Flint Township Board of Trustees in 2012.