Tom Della-Moretta Voters in St. Ignace will elect three of six candidates to the City Council Tuesday, November 3. Polls open at 7 a.m. and remain open until 8 p.m. Voters in the City of St. Ignace can cast their votes at Little Bear East Arena.

Three four-year terms are up this year, with current terms expiring for Council members Don Gustafson, Susan Tamlyn-Massaway, and Tom Della-Moretta. Mr. Della-Moretta and Mr. Gustafson are running for re-election and the four challengers are Steven Dufresne, Kenneth Perala,

Jane Weiss, and James Clapperton.

Tom Della-Moretta Incumbent Tom Della-Moretta is a lifelong resident of St. Ignace. He has worked in the family motel business since he was six years old.

He ventured into retail business at the age of 31.

Mr. Della-Moretta and his wife, Yvonne, operate two businesses in St. Ignace, the Gold Mine jewelry store and Michigan's Treasure, both on North State Street.

Jane Weiss He is a 1979 graduate of LaSalle High School and, before it closed, was a student at the Ursuline Academy for four years. He also has attended Lake Superior State University and North Central Michigan College. Mr. Della-Moretta was elected to his first and current term to fill Ollie Boynton's seat on City Council in November 2005.

Mr. Della-Moretta said he would continue to bring experience and a business owner's viewpoint to the seat.

"After having served one term, not only would I like to bring a business voice and especially a tourism business voice, but as with anyone who has served, there is a benefit to having been in the office, of having a better understanding of some of the intricacies and mechanics of the local municipal government," he said.

Having the perspective of a longtime employer in St. Ignace, Mr. Della-Moretta said he is very invested in the city and feels his experience and that commitment gives him a helpful point of view to bring to the City Council.

Kenneth Perala "My unique perspective is that I've been involved in the business of St. Ignace, however loosely, since I was six," he said. "I have a relatively decent grasp of what continues to make St. Ignace churn."

Mr. Della-Moretta said he recognizes that he has only one perspective of many needed to build a successful city council, but said it has been a positive change to see more representation from local businesses in city leadership positions in recent years.

One of the council's big accomplishments in the past few years, Mr. Della-Moretta said, was the speedy handling of evacuations and repairs surrounding damage to the Evergreen Shores water tower. Families near the tower were evacuated from their homes while the city worked with engineers to repair damage sustained in a 2007 wind storm.

Jim Clapperton "I think, ultimately, it showed some of our city's strengths," he said. "They really stepped up."

With decreasing financial assistance expected from the State of Michigan, Mr. Della-Moretta said looking forward and planning ahead becomes very important to maintain the financial stability of the city.

"What I bring to that discussion is a perspective from an employer who realizes that a budget is based on assumed income," he said. "I would prefer to approach all of these financial things with a worstcase scenario."

Mr. Della-Moretta said he is not running against any particular opponent in this election, but rather for an opportunity to bring his strengths back to the Council for another fouryear term.

"I seek to return with what I am and who I am to this position," he said, "for the good of the community. There are some who seek office to beat somebody or just to win. I'm not sure I see the value of that."

Steve Dufresne His strengths include a sense of integrity, a respectful view of others opinions, a willingness to engage in healthy debate, a unique perspective, and a desire to question opinions and decisions, Mr. Della- Moretta said.

"I have been willing to step out to the forefront and open my mouth," he said. "I embrace a healthy, intellectual, factual debate based on various perspectives."

Mr. Della-Moretta has served as both president and vice president of the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce and the St. Ignace Band Boosters. He was also involved in the committee that sought a millage to build the middle school in St. Ignace and has been a member at Straits Evangelical Free Church.

He has three children, Justin, 25, who lives in Mt. Pleasant with his wife, Juli, Gina, 23, of Mt. Pleasant, and Joe, 22, of St. Ignace.

Don Gustafson Jane Ann Weiss

Jane Ann Weiss lives in St. Ignace with her husband, Gary, and works at Bentley's B-n-L Cafe. Mrs. Weiss serves as the president of the St. Ignace Board of Education and the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce Board.

She worked as an accountant until six years ago and holds a degree in accounting from Lake Superior State University.

Mrs. Weiss is running for a seat on the City Council to gain a better understanding of how the city is run and to contribute her own unique skills and ideas to the running of the community.

"I don't want to be part of the problem, I want to be part of the solution," she said. "You need to give back to your community. Hopefully I can bring something from the background I have into the job that would help benefit our community."

Her background in accounting will be an important asset if elected, Mrs. Weiss said, as well as her experience working on other governmental boards like the school board.

"With the accounting and understanding city budgets, I won't have a learning curve with that," she said. "Eight years-plus on the school board has really prepared me well. It has been a really positive experience."

She said she has seen the numbers of students in the school district dwindle over the years and hopes to help the city find solutions to the problem of youth and families leaving St. Ignace.

"I don't want to see the city become empty buildings," Mrs. Weiss said. "We need to ask, What can the city do to keep from losing these families because it's a great place to raise a family."

One improvement she suggests for the city government is to have a grant writer on staff to help find money to provide and improve city services in a difficult fiscal environment.

"With the way we are with our economy in our state," she said, "we need to be inventive. I would like to be a part of getting grant writing going."

A recent, positive event the city has taken a part in, Mrs. Weiss said, was the walkability study by expert Dan Burden.

"It's great to get people from outside the community in with fresh ideas," she said. "To be a part of that, I think, is kind of neat."

The biggest issue facing City Council in the future, Mrs. Weiss said, will be balancing a budget with limited revenue while still attempting to keep up all the services to which the community has become accustomed.

She said the school has participated in interest-based bargaining, where various people with invested interest in the budget sit down and work out budgets together, and she would like to bring that idea to the city government, as well.

"That really helps you save dollars," Mrs. Weiss said. "It was great. We found out everybody cares about the same thing. It really didn't take any longer, either."

If elected, she said she would bring honesty, integrity, and common sense to the Council and would always come into meetings well prepared to discuss ideas and make decisions.

"I take it very seriously," Mrs. Weiss said. "It's a serious position. I hope whoever is elected takes it very seriously.

Asking the right questions and being open to a variety of ideas and perspectives is something she said is very important to the city's governmental process.

"I'm not afraid to ask a question," Mrs. Weiss said. "And I'm not afraid to talk to people and listen to what they have to say. Honesty and openness is what I would bring to the table."

In addition to eight years on the school board and nine years on the chamber board, Mrs. Weiss has worked with the St. Ignace Band Boosters, Boy Scouts of America, and is active in her church.

She has two sons; Richard lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Upperco, Maryland, and Joseph is pursuing a psychology major at Brigham Young University in Utah.

Kenneth Perala

Kenneth Perala, a St. Ignace resident and employee at McDonald's restaurant on US-2, is hoping to bring a voice for change and a new perspective to the St. Ignace City Council.

"It's time for someone without any political leanings or preconceived notions to go in with a fresh perspective," Mr. Perala said. "I offer the opportunity for our community to move in a different direction."

Mr. Perala holds an associate's degree in applied science and civil engineering technology from Michigan Technological University and he worked in civil engineering for 15 years. After moving to St. Ignace about 11 years ago to be near his fiancée, Terri Conguy, and his mother, Gene Peralla of Marquette, Mr. Perala has worked in several restaurants around town and has recently taken an interest in city issues.

If elected, he said he would be more responsive to the problems and ideas of citizens. Residents do not currently receive clear explanations of issues from city leaders, Mr. Perala said, and he would like to correct that .

"I promise to be an advocate for the people of our community and provide our citizens an accurate, honest understanding of the issues that are facing the Council," he said.

Mr. Perala said his life experience and education will be an asset to the community, particularly his civil engineering experience when dealing with infrastructure improve- ments he feels the city sorely needs.

"The infrastructure of our community right now is crumbling before our very eyes," he said. "All you have to do is take a drive up and down our streets."

These systems, including water, sewer, drainage, and streets need to be improved, Mr. Perala said, if St. Ignace expects to continue relying on its lucrative tourist trade and attract new businesses, residents, and industries.

"City Council as a whole needs to prioritize infrastructure improvement. That has to be a number one goal for us," he said. Funding these improvements can be achieved, he said, by instructing the city manager to aggressively pursue grants and loans that are available.

The current St. Ignace City Council's performance would be rated "average at best," Mr. Perala said, because of what he sees as a lack of permanent solutions to budget problems and poor communication with its citizens.

"The ongoing economic problems that are seemingly only resolved temporarily when we are faced with budgetary shortfalls is the single greatest factor resulting in my rating of the Council," he said. "The facade that the council perpetuates, that we are economically sound as a community, and the lack of the total disclosure of city finances in the public forum known as City Council, contribute to my opinion of the council performance."

A more proactive, as opposed to reactive, Council that opens its books to its citizens and invites honest feedback is what Mr. Perala said he hopes to bring to the city's government.

"The community has every right to understand and know exactly what the financial condition of our community is," he said. "It's time to move on from the old guard that seems to be perpetually putting out one fire or another. It's time for Council to be proactive and move on issues facing our community before problems arise."

The biggest issue facing the community in future years, Mr. Perala said, is the dismal state of the city economy and a need for economic diversity in the community.

"Tourists do not provide our community with year-round employment," Mr. Perala said. "They never have; they never will. I do not believe we can address this problem with the lip-service its been paid over the past several years."

One possible solution to this problem would be encouraging the development of an industrial or technological park in conjunction with Mackinac County, which would diversify the community's economy while creating jobs. The challenge with this plan, Mr. Perala admitted, would be attracting new business to St. Ignace.

"You have to offer them tax breaks, pure and simple," he said. "We also have an area that is one of the most beautiful areas in the United States of America right here in our front yard. We need to sell that to potential businesses."

If elected, Mr. Perala said he would look into water and sewer rate increases that were enacted in 2005 to help fill a $700,000 fund deficit, as he's curious why the rates were not reduced again when the water and sewer fund was back in the black. He said eliminating at least part of this increase would allow citizens to be satisfied and allow the city to continue saving money for infrastructure improvements.

He also said he would suggest changes at the city marina, which he said is not "carrying its own weight." One solution he suggested is hiring a full-time marina director instead of having one employee share duties between the office of the treasurer and assessor and the marina.

Mr. Perala said if he took office for just one four-year term, his dream accomplishments would be leaving the city in sound economic shape, improving economic diversity, and beginning infrastructure improvement projects.

"I do want to make some progressive changes in our community," he said. "It's past time."

James Clapperton

James Clapperton visited St. Ignace on vacation in 1979 and never left. Mr. Clapperton bought Chief's Drive-in restaurant and he now works as the St. Ignace office coordinator for Michigan Works! and sells real estate on the side.

Mr. Clapperton lives with his fiancée, Shannon Brown, and his daughter, Alyssa, in St. Ignace.

He holds a bachelor's degree in science education and has completed part of a master's degree in education, and has worked as a high school teacher near Grand Rapids and as a pharmacy sales representative in Dayton, Ohio.

Mr. Clapperton has sat on the city's zoning board of appeals and currently holds a seat on the board of review for taxes, a position he has had for about 15 years.

He said he is running for this Council position because he wants to give back to the community now that he has time to do it, and believes his experiences in business and with the employment struggles of residents at Michigan Works! could be valuable to city government.

"It would be an honor and a privilege to serve on the Council," Mr. Clapperton said. Over what he called "25 years of hard knocks," he said he built a successful business with little money in his pocket and has since seen problems ranging from gas rationing to employee shortages to high interest rates and the imported-worker issue.

"That left me with some insights that could be useful," he said. "It at least gives you perspective."

Working for the state employment agency has given him an entirely different perspective of the struggles of Michigan workers, Mr. Clapperton said, that he would also bring to the City Council position.

"I have kind of both sides of the fence," he said.

One challenge Mr. Clapperton said he hopes to take on if elected are concerns about how the city will ride out the current

economic downturn. This concern expands to snowplowing, basic government services, and road repairs, services that are becoming more and more difficult for the city to maintain with a limited budget.

"If things worsen, that is a major concern," he said. "We need to do all we can do to support and try to promote what we have here."

Some long-term solutions Mr. Clapperton said he would suggest to help turn the city's economy around would be promotion of the community through programs like the weekly fireworks and near-weekly summer events and festivals.

"We need to make sure we give them as much promotion as we can," he said. "And if we can't afford to give them the dollars, we need to make sure to assist them in other ways."

The key issue facing St. Ignace in the future will be finding out how to preserve and improve its economic base, Mr. Clapperton said.

Working at the Michigan Work! office has helped him better understand how cuts to government funding and decreases in tourism dollars coming into town trickle down to affect the workers.

"When those funds get cut, sometimes it is a hard pill to swallow," he said. "There will be hard decisions ahead there."

Promoting St. Ignace should be a primary goal for city leaders, Mr. Clapperton said, to help bring in business and revenue to support city services through these financially trying times.

"We need to keep on beating that drum of promotion until someone hears it," he said. His experience promoting his own businesses and cutting the bottom line to decrease expenditures will be valuable to help the city government deal with its financial struggles, he said.

Mr. Clapperton said voters considering him on November 3 should know that he neither supports nor opposes any specific issue and has no "axe to grind."

"I am doing this because, literally, I want to," he said. "I always like new challenges; it's a good exercise for the mind."

He has worked as a Drug Abuse Resistance Education program volunteer, is a lifetime member of the Masonic Lodge, helped with the Walk of Life and Special Olympics, and has worked with several other Masonic charities.

Mr. Clapperton also has a son, James Jr., who lives near Seattle, Washington, and a daughter, Erin, who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Steven Dufresne

Steven "Frenchie" Dufresne owns St. Ignace Barber Shop on Business Loop I-75 and has lived in the city for about 12 years.

Mr. Dufresne, who grew up in Fenton, lives here with his wife, Barb, and works various other jobs as well as serving as president of the four-wheeler club, as a member of the Masonic Lodge, and as the coordinator and builder of the disc golf course at Doc Holle's Silver Mountain ski area.

He was graduated from high school and attended barber college, and despite a lifelong fascination with city government, he said, he has had no experience serving in public office.

"I almost think it is a plus to not have experience here," Mr. Dufresne said. "You can be an idealist."

He said running for City Council is a way for him to do his part and contribute to the community he lives in.

"I want to help make a change for the better," he said.

A strong sense of common sense and experience in talking with St. Ignace citizens every day about city issues would serve him well in the office, Mr. Dufresne said.

"People aren't afraid to come up to me and tell me what they think," he said. By listening, he said he has learned that a lot of residents are misinformed about city issues, something he feels could be improved by greater transparency in city government.

Current city leadership does not think far enough ahead, Mr. Dufresne said, and if elected he said he would ask the tough questions and work to make City Council more prepared for an uncertain future.

"They are reactive more than proactive," he said. "That's my beef."

Increases in the water and sewer rates and the adoption of liabilities like Little Bear East Arena and the Fort de Buade museum that cost the city more money than they bring in are examples of a lack of forward thinking, Mr. Dufresne said.

Getting local counties, organizations, townships, and cities to work together for a common goal would result in a better community for everyone, he said, and he would pursue such partnerships if elected.

A danger to the local economy, Mr. Dufresne said, is the dependence on the tourism industry.

"We should diversify a little bit," he said. "We should learn the lesson from Flint, who put all their eggs in one basket. We need to work a little harder to get businesses to come here."

Infrastructure is another pressing issue facing the City of St. Ignace, Mr. Dufresne said, with roads, water, sewer, and other systems that need considerable improvement.

Paying for these improvements in these tough fiscal times can be a challenge, he admitted, but consolidating some of the city services could save the city enough money to make some improvements.

Personal strengths Mr. Dufresne said he will bring to the city office would be an open mind, a desire to represent the citizens, a lack of a personal agenda, an ability to speak his mind, and a fresh perspective.

"I'm more of a doer than a debater," he said. "When I see something that needs to be done, regardless of how well it is supported, I get it done."

Some Council members don't routinely talk at meetings, Mr. Dufresne said, and that defeats the purpose of having seven members, who are supposed to bring seven different perspectives and opinions to talk about the best possible solutions.

"I don't think the Council should be in constant turmoil," he said, "but on every issue, not everybody can agree."

Working at the barber shop and hearing patrons talk about their concerns every day gives Mr. Dufresne an ability to have his finger on the pulse of the community, he said.

Mr. Dufresne said his ability to find out the needs of the community and solve them regardless of the difficulty parallels the common chore of changing a flat tire on the roadside. That is similar to what he is willing to contribute to the government of St. Ignace.

"Sometimes it is unpleasant," he said, "but you find out what needs to be done and you do it. That is just how I am."

Mr. Dufresne has two stepdaughters, Carlie of Grand Rapids and Maggie of St. Ignace.

Donald Gustafson

Incumbent Donald Gustafson is a lifelong resident of St. Ignace, and has worked for St. Ignace Schools for 28 years, the last five years as LaSalle High School's principal. Mr. Gustafson lives in St. Ignace with his wife, Sherrie, and their three children, Bradley, Lucas, and Linnie.

He has served on St. Ignace City Council since 1985, is currently the chair of the Republican Party in Mackinac County, chair of the St. Ignace Recreation Advisory Committee, treasurer for the Lions Club and the Sports Boosters, active at St. Ignatius Loyola Church, and works as both a coach and official when needed for school and recreational athletics.

After being graduated from LaSalle High School in 1977, Mr. Gustafson received his bachelor's degree in mathematics from Michigan State University and returned to St. Ignace after graduation to work for the school district. He received a master's degree from Michigan State in education administration in 1989.

Mr. Gustafson said he is running to keep a seat on the City Council because St. Ignace is a great community with rich history and natural beauty, and he sees involvement with city government as an important way to make a difference.

"It is easier to be part of the solution when you are involved," he said. "I want to keep offering a hand in making St. Ignace the place to be."

Growing up in St. Ignace and choosing it as a place to live and rear his family gives him experience to continue to lead the community, Mr. Gustafson said.

"I believe in St. Ignace and want it to continue being strong and vital," he said. An important part of this is good stewardship of the local economy, Mr. Gustafson said, combined with a willingness to ask the important questions and take part in creative problem solving.

"I have always promised the voters that I am going to ask questions to make sure I understand the issues," he said. Another guarantee he has given voters in the past and continues to stand behind is preparedness.

"People can count on me reading the information given to me before meetings," Mr. Gustafson said. "Those are the things I can guarantee people."

It is very important for the city to look at the big picture when considering issues, he said, and see what affects the Council's decisions will have on the city as a whole.

"The Council is responsive, and we have tried to be fiscally responsible," Mr. Gustafson said. "We function rather effectively."

One trend he said he has seen in the past few years are the partnerships the city has helped foster among businesses, residents, and organizations to accomplish big undertakings like Fish Feast, weekly fireworks, and the music festival, alongside the longstanding events.

"The end result is that there has been an atmosphere created downtown of 'St. Ignace is the place to be' and 'there is always something going on in St. Ignace'," he said. "There is concern that if we hadn't done this kind of thing, we would really be hurting."

Something that sets him apart from other candidates, he said, is his institutional knowledge and experience, which means he knows what the city has attempted, what has worked, and why.

In the face of hard-to-ignore indicators like land values in the city that are not increasing, increasing costs of operations, lower state funding, and a poor economic climate, Mr. Gustafson said the challenge city leaders face is how to continue to offer current services to citizens without raising taxes.

"Putting additional taxes on people right now would put additional pressure on them," he said. "I am reluctant to do that. We know that's not where people want to go."

By listening to the residents and taking part in active problem solving, Mr. Gustafson said he would like to give it his best shot when trying to find solutions everyone can live with.

The first step, he said, is to keep the services people like and expect at a reasonable cost, then find ways to save costs and keep the city economically viable, then consider how to add new programs.

"I will continue to work diligently to serve the citizens of St. Ignace," he said. The atmosphere created this past summer is a positive indicator, Mr. Gustafson said, to the developments possible if everyone works together for a common goal.