THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, November 1, 1985 15 INCUMBENTS criticism, this Despite Goldbaum, an artist and historian, feels the importance of the neighborhoods should not be over- looked while the commercial inter- ests are being catered to. Goldbaum is an energetic cam- paigner, out "pounding the pave- ment" since May. She has knocked on doors in almost all of Southfield's precincts. She realizes she has to work hard to beat an incumbent, but is determined to try. It is time for a change in administration, she says. Fracassi, with three terms in office behind him, approaches cam- paigning confident that he has done a good job, and that there is no real issue that would take an incumbent out of office. The Southfield mayor is a part- time position, but with the change in the size of Southfield's population over the past 27 years, the job encompasses a lot more than was first envisioned in the Charter. Fracassi says he often puts in a 40- to 60-hour week in this "part-time" position. The mayor is the ceremonial head of city government, and repre- sents the city to outsiders. Pont feels Goldbaum is very pro-Southfield, and that she "would promote the city from a residential perspective rather than just from the viewpoint of its commercial advantages." Others say she is abrasive in her approach to people. Fracassi counters that he has a O long history of being "responsive to people, to the business community and to the city itself, making sure it's physically sound and it's a beau- tiful city." During his administration, Southfield was named an All- America city, and has attracted much overseas business, such as . the Nippondenso firm from Japan. What do both candidates see in Southfield's future'? Vicki Goldbaum foresees a "highly technical commu- nity with much office service. I hope there's not too much industrial building. My dream is for it to con- tinue to be a community of homes, single-family residences and apart- ments, living with all the services we can possibly give them, where they can work, play and live in the same community." Fracassi looks to Southfield be- coming "much stronger in the next four years. The economy has picked up and new construction has allowed us to reinvest in some of the areas we hadn't been able to before this because we didn't have the money to do it." Interest in the upcoming elec- tions varies in Southfield's Jewish community. There are strong sup- porters working in each candidate's campaign, like Schlussel and Pont. Senior citizens in areas like the Knob in the Woods apartment com- plex are very involved. But for many, the primary was just another Continued on next page A HINT OF BIAS? A letter to the parishioners of the Brightmoor Tabernacle in Southfield recently made its way to the desk of Dick Lobenthal of the Anti-Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith. Some angry members of the church objected to the letter which exhorted them to vote for Mayor Don Fracassi in the up- coming election. The letter, writ- ten by Pastor Thomas E. Trask, stated that the mayor stands for the moral issues the church holds, and that his opponent, (Vicki Goldbaum) is opposed to all the values that we stand for." Trask denies this statement infers anti-Semitism, and says he favors Fracassi as a personal friend who helped the church when it wanted to build. Lobenthal says the letter in- sinuates that Goldbaum is im- moral, although Trask admits he's never met her and knows little about her. When asked about the fact that Fracassi's party store sells liquor and cigarets — which are against the church's teachings — Trask said this wasn't important as Fracassi isn't of their religion. He thinks what is important is the fact that Fracassi believes in family values — a belief that the church shares. According to Lobenthal, the Brightmoor Tabernacle is a major contributor to the "Youth for Christ" rhovement which seeks to convert people, includ- ing Jews. Fracassi told The Jewish News that he had no knowledge of Trask's letter before it was sent to Brightmoor members, and while appreciating the sup- port, he regrets inferences of religious bias. Vicki Goldbaum says there's runaway commercial growth in Southfield which has added to traffic snarls, and there's an increase in street crime.