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Bill Fraser (left) and Brian Sommerfield are candidates in this year's Petoskey mayoral race. |
Petoskey’s mayoral candidates for the Nov. 8 election, Bill Fraser and Brian Sommerfield, each believe their business backgrounds would help them bring useful insight to city hall — but they differ in some of their priorities and issue stances.
The two are vying to succeed mayor Ted Pall, who decided not to pursue re-election this year.
Fraser, 62, is co-owner of Jesperson’s Restaurant in downtown Petoskey. He was elected to the Petoskey City Council in 2008 and served a two-year term. For one of those years, Fraser served as mayor pro tempore, a council member designated to handle mayoral tasks if the mayor is absent or incapacitated.
“I’m a longtime Petoskey resident ... 44 years,” he said. “I think I have a good understanding of the community, both the history of the community and the direction of the community,” said Fraser. “I think my small and large business background lends itself to understanding how city government operates and how to make it operate properly.
“I think I’m a consensus builder.”
Sommerfield, 45, is making his first run for office, although he is involved politically as a Republican precinct delegate and as membership chairman for the Emmet County Republican Party, and also as a board member and spokesman for the Petoskey Tea Party.
Sommerfield is the owner of Sommerfield’s Solutions, a tax-accounting business. With his wife, Blanca, he also owns two downtown Petoskey restaurants, Finally a Real Coney Island and Jose’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant.
A local resident since 1990, Sommerfield said he believes he has a good understanding of the community and its economic concerns. He believes he would bring a “common-sense businessman’s approach” to the mayor’s oversight role.
“I think I really have a handle of what it’s like to live up here in Northern Michigan, and understand what the common person goes through,” he said.
Key concerns
As Fraser sees it, Petoskey’s budgetary challenges — driven by diminishing property values that are tightening tax revenues — represent one of the most pressing issues for city government in the near future.
He believes the city has to learn how to provide services that citizens are accustomed to at less cost, and has to deliver value for tax dollars.
Sommerfield noted several concerns that he believes will be significant for the city. One involves a local environment that he sees as being unfriendly to business, with excessive regulation.
“I think we should have an economic development director like Boyne City does,” he said, noting that he’d like to see more business recruiting efforts and a “one-stop shop” to help entrepreneurs line up resources.
Another of Sommerfield’s concerns relates to city plans for reconstructing West Mitchell Street (U.S. 31) in 2013 in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Transportation. He’s concerned about the effects that proposed traffic signal relocation, use of traffic islands in some areas and rerouting of traffic in certain locations might have.
“Literally, it’s going to reconfigure the design and flow of the whole neighborhood,” he said, noting that he sees it as important for the city to hear citizen concerns about the proposal.
In addition, Sommerfield has concerns associated with the Petoskey Pointe project’s downtown site, where construction work stalled before a foundation could be placed in the city block-sized hole that was dug for it.
“It’s turned from being a private property to what I believe is a safety concern,” he said.
On the construction site
The two are vying to succeed mayor Ted Pall, who decided not to pursue re-election this year.
Fraser, 62, is co-owner of Jesperson’s Restaurant in downtown Petoskey. He was elected to the Petoskey City Council in 2008 and served a two-year term. For one of those years, Fraser served as mayor pro tempore, a council member designated to handle mayoral tasks if the mayor is absent or incapacitated.
“I’m a longtime Petoskey resident ... 44 years,” he said. “I think I have a good understanding of the community, both the history of the community and the direction of the community,” said Fraser. “I think my small and large business background lends itself to understanding how city government operates and how to make it operate properly.
“I think I’m a consensus builder.”
Sommerfield, 45, is making his first run for office, although he is involved politically as a Republican precinct delegate and as membership chairman for the Emmet County Republican Party, and also as a board member and spokesman for the Petoskey Tea Party.
Sommerfield is the owner of Sommerfield’s Solutions, a tax-accounting business. With his wife, Blanca, he also owns two downtown Petoskey restaurants, Finally a Real Coney Island and Jose’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant.
A local resident since 1990, Sommerfield said he believes he has a good understanding of the community and its economic concerns. He believes he would bring a “common-sense businessman’s approach” to the mayor’s oversight role.
“I think I really have a handle of what it’s like to live up here in Northern Michigan, and understand what the common person goes through,” he said.
Key concerns
As Fraser sees it, Petoskey’s budgetary challenges — driven by diminishing property values that are tightening tax revenues — represent one of the most pressing issues for city government in the near future.
He believes the city has to learn how to provide services that citizens are accustomed to at less cost, and has to deliver value for tax dollars.
Sommerfield noted several concerns that he believes will be significant for the city. One involves a local environment that he sees as being unfriendly to business, with excessive regulation.
“I think we should have an economic development director like Boyne City does,” he said, noting that he’d like to see more business recruiting efforts and a “one-stop shop” to help entrepreneurs line up resources.
Another of Sommerfield’s concerns relates to city plans for reconstructing West Mitchell Street (U.S. 31) in 2013 in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Transportation. He’s concerned about the effects that proposed traffic signal relocation, use of traffic islands in some areas and rerouting of traffic in certain locations might have.
“Literally, it’s going to reconfigure the design and flow of the whole neighborhood,” he said, noting that he sees it as important for the city to hear citizen concerns about the proposal.
In addition, Sommerfield has concerns associated with the Petoskey Pointe project’s downtown site, where construction work stalled before a foundation could be placed in the city block-sized hole that was dug for it.
“It’s turned from being a private property to what I believe is a safety concern,” he said.
On the construction site
