Tuesday, Nov. 3, Clare voters head to poll to decide commissioner race and street millage

     CLARE – The clock is running down for three Clare residents vying for two three-year terms on the Clare City Commission.
     Voters will decide the fate of the challenger and two incumbents along with a ballot request to renew a street millage for five years at the city election on Tuesday.
     City Treasurer Steve Kingsbury said voters have renewed the street millage since the late 1980s and that “it has made a significant difference in the city’s ability to resurface and improve the roadways within the city.”
     The millage of three-quarters of a mill is equal to 75 cents per $1,000 of a business and residential property’s taxable value. The city will begin collecting revenue in 2010. Estimate for the first year is $66,000.
     According to Kingsbury, the average cost a homeowner paid in 2009 for street millage was $37.14 for a home with a market value of $100,000.
     This millage is crucial in light of the state reducing funds for road maintenance, Kingsbury said.
     Millage revenue collected in past years rebuilt three blocks of East State Street, and resurfaced or reconstructed several blocks of Maple, First, Hemlock and Fourth streets, and Wilcox Parkway.
     Doug Randle, the city’s former fire chief, was the first to throw his hat in the ring and challenge incumbents Patrick Humphrey and Bill Horwood in the commissioner’s race.
     Randle, 54, served on parks and recreation commission for nine years. He was chief for eight years and a volunteer fireman for 26 before he abruptly lost his position when another volunteer fireman carried alcohol on a fire vehicle during a Christmas celebration and the city held him responsible.
     Randle said he holds no grudges against city officials and would like a role in building the future of his hometown.
     Randle was laid off from a job he held for nine years. His wife Shelly manages Subway shops in Clare and Harrison.
     Patrick Humphrey has been on the City Commission for nine years and has been elected to one-year terms as mayor by his peers since 2000. The 63 year old previously served on the planning commission for three years after moving to the city to become a community volunteer and subsequently the mayor.
     Humphrey and Horwood are running for re-election based on accomplishments reached during their tenure. They both cited improvements to the general budget, and progress in commercial and industrial development.
     Humphrey retired from MidMichigan Medical Center in 2007 and works part-time at Walgreen’s in Clare. His wife Dawn is employed at Central Michigan University.
     Horwood, 75, has been a Clare resident of 40 years and retired from the insurance business.  
     Voting poll in the Public Safety Building, 206 W. Fifth St., will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.