Two candidates are running in the Nov. 8 election for a four-year seat as Mayor of the City of Belleville. Present Mayor Richard Smith decided not to run for re-election.
Also, five candidates are seeking two four-year positions on the City Council.
Candidates for Mayor are Kerreen Conley and Reginald “Rick” Dawson.
Kerreen Conley
Kerreen Conley, 44, 629 Light Tower Drive, is running for one of the few positions she hasn’t held yet at City Hall, having served as councilperson, city manager, and presently, president of the Downtown Development Authority.
Conley moved to the city 15 years ago to become city manager. She and her husband Jeff Conley have been married 14 years. They have two children, Austin, 7, and Carson, 4.
Conley is employed by Wayne County as Facilities Management Director, responsible for stormwater and wastewater operations.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in finance, a master’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s of Human Resources degree in Organizational Development.
In the past, Conley ran for both City Council and Mayor for the City of Belleville. She served a four-year term on the Belleville City Council from 2001-2005 and was appointed to fill an unexpired term on Belleville City Council in 2007.
She serves as the chair of the Belleville Downtown Development Authority and the Belleville Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. She is active in the Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioners, where she serves as the program chair and also was elected as treasurer.
Conley also is an endurance athlete raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in marathon and triathlon.
She said she enjoys watching her children’s latest sports and supporting their schools.
When asked why she is running for mayor, Conley replies: “I am running for several reasons … three in fact. I am running to protect, preserve and promote our great community.
“In this difficult economic time it will be important to Preserve the very services our community has been built on.
“One of the first issues to tackle as Mayor is that of the District Library. The District Library was created and the operating millage adopted by the residents of our community.
“It will be critical to ensure that any improvements or expansion of the library including new locations are reflective of the interests of our citizens.
“We have many residents, elderly, disabled and young children in our community who utilize the library. Moving the library out of the downtown would be devastating for them and to the vitality of our downtown.
“As Mayor, I will fight to keep the library in our downtown. It is an important anchor which brings thousands of people downtown every year. We cannot afford to lose it.
“In addition, I will explore every avenue of funding to restore senior transportation – a service near and dear to my heart as I secured the first grant that provided senior transportation in our community.
“When cuts like these have to be made, we need to look for creative solutions to the meet identified needs
“Protect the financial integrity that the City has worked hard to build.
“Many communities around the state have been challenged to live within the means of their budgets and provide services especially with declining revenues.
“This will continue to be a challenge for our community. Elected officials are entrusted to ensure that the hard-earned tax dollars are used appropriately and are used to provide the essential services that residents depend on.
“In more challenging financial times when a community tax base is reduced and state shared revenues are declining it is critical to be open to looking at new opportunities and not just wait for financial recovery.
“My track record is proven. Under my administration I not only delivered balanced budgets, met the needs of essential services, established capital improvement funding, I left the community with a healthy fund balance to meet unexpected future needs. I am committed to keeping Belleville strong.
“Finally, I will work to Promote not only the beautiful community and all it has to offer but more importantly the interest of its residents.”
Conley did not attend the recent Meet the Candidate forum because of a previous commitment.
Reginald “Rick” Dawson
Mayor Pro-Tem Reginald “Rick” Dawson, 65, 155 East Columbia Ave., seeks a move upward to the Mayor’s job.
He is married to Mary Jane, the president of the Belleville Area District Library Board. Their children are all adults: Jim Baird, Scot Baird, Brad Dawson, Jason Baird, Ryan Dawson, and Burke Dawson.
Dawson said he moved to Belleville in 1976, so he has lived here almost 36 years.
Dawson is a retired FAA Air Traffic Controller, currently City Council member (elected in 2007) and Mayor Pro-Tem for the City of Belleville.
He is a Salesian High School graduate and holds an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts from WCC.
Dawson is a Life member of the VFW, Viet Nam Vet, Society of Airway Pioneers and Star Touring and Riding.
He also is a member of VFW Post 4434, Polish League of American Veterans Post 167, VFW 4434/PLAV 167 Honor Guard, Patriot Guard Riders, American Motorcycle Association, Team Ali-Gator for Curesearch.org, Belleville Area Historical Society, Belleville Area Council for the Arts, Friends of the Belleville Area District Library, Star Touring and Riding Chapter 211, board member for Belleville Senior Transportation, IDPA and NRA.
He said he also is a financial supporter of the Belleville Community Chorus and supporter of Bugles Across America.
As for hobbies, “I love spending time with my family, especially my grandkids, (there are 12 grandkids). I enjoy traveling with my wife, riding motorcycles, long trips on motorcycles, boating, and shooting.”
Dawson said, “During the past 36 years as a resident of Belleville, a lot of changes have come to our city. Some have been good, some not so good.
“Since retiring from the FAA in 2001, I have been fortunate enough to have had the time and passion to get involved in our community.
“In the last four years, as one of your City Council members, I have been able to affect a lot of positive changes for our city. I have more ideas and would like to continue this work to keep moving Belleville forward in these hard economic times.
“Because I am retired, I only serve one master, the City of Belleville. I have no allegiance to any other employer. I have the time and commitment to attend daytime governmental and city meetings and events. I will be able to represent the citizens full time, not just in the evening.”
Dawson said if he is re-elected his goals will be to: “Keep the City on the positive financial path it is on now by continuing to be fiscally responsible.
“I plan to continue looking for ways to save the City money while complying with the new mandates coming from Lansing, which will ensure that we get every penny of state revenue-sharing money.
“I will continue to support the local businesses and look for ways to attract new business to Belleville.
“I formed a committee that is now in the final phase of revising the sign ordinance so that it will be easier to understand and follow. I also plan to review some of the other ordinances that residents are having trouble with.
“I will also be looking at consolidation of city services, where we can, to save taxpayer money. I have developed a very good working relationship with the elected officials in Van Buren, Sumpter, Wayne County and Lansing.
“Being able to form and foster relationships with other governmental entities and officials has had a positive effect for the City; and I plan to continue those types of relationships as I advocate for our great City.”
At the recent Meet the Candidates’ forum, Dawson said the location of the proposed new library “should be left to the library committee, but, I’d love to see it downtown somewhere.”
Dawson has recovered from his second bout with cancer, the most recent last winter.
Candidates for City Council
There are two, four-year seats open on the Belleville City Council. Currently, they are held by Reginald “Rick” Dawson, who now is running for mayor, and James Shrove, who is seeking to retain his seat, plus four other contenders.
Vera Z. Howell
Vera Zorina Howell, 567 Thornhill Court, a retired registered nurse, is a former member of the Downtown Development Authority.
She is married to Donald Walter Howell and they are parents to Donald Walter Howell, II, and Torya.
They have lived in the city for 12 years.
Howell has an associate degree in nursing. In the past she unsuccessfully ran for mayor.
She enjoys reading, traveling, volunteering, and collecting cook books.
Howell said she is running for council, “To bring some fresh ideas to the table. This is a beautiful city. The Belleville Lake is a jewel. More needs to be done with this asset.”
Her goals once elected are: “To let outsiders know more about the city and the lake.”
Jack Loria
Jack Loria, 64, 118 S. Edgemont, is seeking a return to the City Council, where he served in 1977 and then 1978 through 1981.
He is married to Rosemary and they have a son Michael (Jennifer) and a daughter, Jaclyn (Ken) Floro.
Loria is retired after 38 years with American Airlines. He is a laid-off paraprofessional for the Van Buren Public School District. Loria holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Cleary University.
He served on the Belleville Planning Commission in 1976-77 and 2002-09. He was Belleville Fire Chief for 13 years and served 27 years as a fire fighter for the city.
Loria is a member of the Moose and Eagles, St. Anthony Men’s Club, serves as a MHSAA official umpiring softball and baseball, and an umpire for Belleville Area Little League.
He also enjoys playing golf and volunteering with Belleville High School football.
When asked why he is running for City Council, Loria replied: “Belleville is a beautiful city with much potential for future growth.
“My history of public service to the city as a previous council member, fire chief, and planning commission member has given me some insight into where Belleville can realize this growth.
“I want to contribute my time and talents to this task.”
Once elected, Loria said his goal would be “to maintain fiscal and financial responsibility while always working with the entire council as a team to keep Belleville moving toward growth and improvement.”
Deanna Schrecengost
Deanna Schrecengost, 38, of 516 Robbe, is making her first bid for elective office.
She is married to Belleville Police Cpl. Todd Schrecengost and they have three children: Mason, 10, and twins Jesse and Jared, 7. She has been married to Todd for 12 years and they have lived in the city for 10 years.
Schrecengost works part-time at Andrew’s Pharmacy and is an on-call substitute paraprofessional for the Van Buren Public Schools. Otherwise, she is a full-time wife and mother.
“I love taking care of my children. They are my world,” she said.
Schrecengost graduated from Belleville High School in 1991 and completed one semester at Washtenaw Community College.
She recently completed training as a member of the Community Emergency Response Team for the tri-communities.
Schrecengost said she is running for city council because, “I think that being involved in your community is the key to bring productive, positive and sensible change to your community. I say your community, but it is our community.
“I have a lot to offer in terms of understanding the concerns of the citizens and bringing my views. I’m unique because I live here, work here and have a family here. So I think I can bring that unique perspective to a seat on the council.?
“I think in the future we need to look at revenue-enhancing strategies. We need to plan ahead. The number one thing we can do is get businesses back into Belleville.
“I know we’ve improved the Downtown area but we need to generate business activity and foot traffic now and get aggressive with our promotional program to bring businesses to downtown Belleville.
“Along with promotion of the downtown area, we need to maintain the same level of services that we currently offer. These services include police and fire services, maintain arts and music events, support park development and maintenance.
“We need to support the museum and library — a must to any successful downtown or business district.
As to her goals once elected, Schrecengost said she wants to: “Maintain a balanced budget, work closely with current and/or newly elected officials and improve levels of communication between the council, the citizens and business owners.
“I also intend to research and suggest additional revenue-generating ideas,” she said.
James Shrove
James “Jim” Shrove, 71, 525 Harbour Pointe, is retired and has lived in the city for six years with his wife Nancy, who he married in 2006. He was married for 43.5 years to his first wife, he told the audience at the recent Meet the Candidate forum.
He currently serves on the City Council and is seeking re-election.
Shrove holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management.
He is the city’s representative to SEMCOG, belongs to the Michigan Municipal League, Friends of the Library, and Moose Lodge #934.
Shrove said he is seeking re-election because, “I want to stay on top of the city’s finances, continue to support that businesses that have been a part of our history. Support our citizens on the needs and wants of all Belleville citizens.”
As to his goals, once elected, Shrove said he wants to “work with the other elected officials to keep our city on the right path for growth and development. ABCs for Belleville: 1. Accountability, 2. Businesses, and 3. Continuity.”
Thomas Smith
Thomas Smith, 52, lives at 248 Roland with his partner of 31 years Michael Dacko. Smith has lived in the City of Belleville for 11 years and in Van Buren Township for another 40.
Smith is employed in management at AT&T. He graduated from BHS in 1977 and is just shy of earning a bachelor of arts degree from Concordia University.
This is his first try for elective office.
Smith has been on the Belleville Planning Commission since 2006 and has served as vice-chair since 2010. He also has served on Belleville’s Brownfield Development Authority since 2005 and has been treasurer since 2007.
Smith said he is running for City Council, “because I feel the primary mission during this economic downturn is to be proactive and stop the bleeding in tax revenues. I also feel there is a need to work closely with the community to solicit feedback, educate on initiatives and communicate consistently and effectively in a way that ensures a solid partnership with the city’s residents.
“I have chosen to live in the Belleville area for my entire life. I love, respect, and support the area.
“I feel we have always been a little too comfortable in the status quo and we need to be more aggressive than we’ve been in the past to hold onto and build upon the incredible potential we have with the only lake in Wayne County.
“I was recently in Charlevoix and know that we can learn from them in attracting both visitors to spend dollars here and development of our downtown to lure investment.
“With our close proximity to virtually any area in SE Michigan and to Metro Airport, we can accomplish even more than Charlevoix on a year-round basis, rather than seasonally and improve our community’s standard of living.”
Smith said his goals, once elected would be: “I want to find new avenues of marketing Belleville and attracting new business and commercial expansion in the downtown district in a continued partnership with the DDA and Chamber of Commerce.
“We have a beautiful and exciting new downtown ready to lure investors. Without a solid plan to entice further development and turn vacant land, empty storefronts, and lake living into tax dollars coming in, the hard work and effort to transform Belleville will be for naught.
“What a shame that would be to waste the huge beautification effort. This will lay the groundwork for increased job opportunities for our residents, increased land, home and business values and increased tax revenues for the city.
“We have a short time to do this while the improvements look fresh and new – the urgency is necessary to capitalize on those funds already invested,” Smith concluded.