A GUIDE TO THIS YEAR'S COUNCIL ELECTIONS.
Vicki Goldbaum
Profession: Computer
Instructor, Executive
Secretary
I
n anticipation of Gov. John
Engler's "Robin Hood"
plans, Vicki Goldbaum has
sounded the alarm. She views
state revenue sharing plans
as ominous signs of state
belt-tightening.
"In order to stay a stable
community, we have to fight
that," she said. With an
excellent bond rating and
strong city services,
Southfield is not given over
to fear of financial ruin. But
Ms. Goldbaum is concerned
that the city's infrastruc-
ture, especially its roads,
could suffer if the state
keeps cutting its aid.
So Ms. Goldbaum, a 14-year
council veteran, is busy try-
ing to find ideas that will
make the city more thrifty
and more competitive.
She's also fending off
challengers who charge that
incumbents are to blame for
the city's financial woes.
In closing ranks with her
fellow incumbents, she has
accused challengers of ne-
glecting the need for a vet-
eran hand .at the wheel of
government.
"If you'r .e going to
challenge us and tell us
we've been there too long,
where are your credentials?"
she said. Indeed, Ms.
Goldbaum is quite proud of
her background.
She says Southfield's hard-
won financial standing and
infrastructure can not be left
to the inexperienced.
The specter of urban
sprawl is an example of one
of Southfield's future prob-
lems. Ms. Goldbaum said it
can be fought by halting the
expansion of sewers and
other infrastructures into
the outlying suburbs. That,
plus improved economic de-
velopment within the city,.
can propel Southfield back
into its preeminent role in
the region. ❑
Sylvia Jordan
Profession: Employment
Consultant
T
o Sylvia Jordan, South-
field's city council has
for too long operated in a
vacuum, ignoring many of its
citizens and the problems
they face.
Her run for a council seat
has focused on these themes,
and as a result, it has
become an intensely per-
sonal candidacy.
Southfield, she says, is a
diverse city. Mrs. Jordan
wants the council to reflect
that diversity, both in the
way it governs and who
governs it.
Citing the need for "fresh
ideas" and "new voices," she
has campaigned heavily in
the city's black community,
which represents close to 30
percent of the city's popula-
tion. It is a community,
however, which does not
vote in droves.
"I'm hoping that all
citizens will begin to take
seriously their right to
vote," she said.
She is not restricting her
campaign to the black com-
munity. Rather, she is hop-
ing voters see diversity as a
strength in city government.
"It's going to take a work-
ing together on both ends,"
she said.
A five-year city resident,
Ms. Jordan said she moved
from Detroit for the safety
and quiet of suburbia. "We
moved here and we want to
make sure that our neigh-
borhood stays intact," she
said.
Her campaign rests on the
issues of support for schools,
neighborhood preservation
and government respon-
siveness to citizens. She has
criticized the council for not
being "really interested" in
the city's problem with los-
ing residents.
"If they wanted to do
something, we wouldn't
have had these problems,"
she said. ❑
Sidney Lantz
J. Thomas Pride
Eli Robinson
Profession: Retired
Profession: Advertising
and Marketing Executive
Profession: Accountant
I
f you weren't familiar with
Southfield politics, you'd
think Sidney Lanz was an
upstart challenger, not a six-
year incumbent.
He is proud of his often
lone voiced opposition to
council decisions, and has
developed his campaign
strategy around that image.
"I should be responsive to
the public and I am," he
said. "But remember, I'm
the only one."
He, like the other
challengers, has argued for
council meetings that
welcome citizen input. He
also thinks strategies for
fighting development are
frequently flawed, and is
pessimistic about the city's
ability to attract new in-
vestment because of the
economy.
But he is optimistic when
it comes to Southfield's
image. He rejects the theory
that the city is losing
residents by citing rising
school enrollment. "Just as
many people are moving in
as people are moving out,"
he said.
What's more, Mr. Lantz
feels the city could benefit by
working closely with neigh-
borhood associations and
other citizens.
"If people get to know each
other, don't they respect
each other?" he said. "If
citizens are given the oppor-
tunity to tell us their prob-
lems, I believe we can have a
stronger city."
In addition to his often
forceful rhetoric on council,
he has staked out positions
on helping senior citizens,
protecting the environment
and increasing the profes-
sional police force.
"I may be part-time, but I
think full-time," he said.
"Sometimes I get into trou-
ble helping people."
❑
J
. Thomas Pride is a rela-
tive newcomer to South-
field politics, having spent
most of his political life on
regional and global issues.
That does not mean, he
says, that he has no business
running for office.
"This is where I live; this
is where I work," he said.
"That, in itself, should be
enough to want to run."
Mr. Pride, a Southfield
resident for eight years, has
sent out 5,000 question-
naires to city residents, ask-
ing them to rank in order
seventeen city issues.
The 500 responses he's
received from that survey
are Mr. Pride's fodder for
campaign. He's a self-
declared "non-politician,"
favoring citizen input over
individual agendas.
"As a representative of the
people, you should represent
the people's concerns," he
said.
Aside from those gen-
eralities, Mr. Pride has
focused on three issues that
he feels Southfield must ad-
dress: the status of the elder-
ly, the young and what he
perceives as the city's
"image" problem.
Speculation on
Southfield's supposed ills
"feeds on itself," Mr. Pride
said. The perception of a
crime problem, among other
things, is often greatly ex-
aggerated. Still, police pro-
tection was ranked highest
by those who responded to
Mr. Pride's questionnaire.
"We're looking back at
what made Southfield
great," he said. "We have to
look forward to what will
make Southfield great in the
future."
Mr. Pride's admitted inex-
perience in city politics
doesn't faze him. "Win, lose,
or draw, I'm not going to let
them (city council) off the
hook." ❑
E
li Robinson is a strong
believer in the impor-
tance of financial stability.
He says Southfield's bond
and cash reserves gives it the
freedom to pursue other city
services.
"Money puts the books in
the library and it hires the
policemen," he said.
"Without money, all your
plans are smoke and
dreams."
It isn't strange to hear Mr.
Robinson preach the value of
strong finances. As an ac-
countant and public speaker
on property tax assessment,
he has made a career out of
keeping an eye on the
coffers.
Challengers, he said, have
criticized the way money is
spent. But Mr. Robinson
feels the real issue is how to
bring in the dough. With
state revenue sharing cur-
tailed, the city has to make
sure its other income sources
don't dry up.
"How stable are those
sources?" he said. "We're
not a new city anymore."
In that spirit, Mr. Robin-
son is interested in main-
taining the city's "front-line,
street-level services," like
police and fire, schools, trash
removal, and other essen-
tials.
Strengthening the city's
quality of life, he said, is
crucial. Without it, he feels
Southfield will not remain a
regional center.
Mr. Robinson warns that
without quality leadership,
not only will the city suffer,'
but the voters will grow in-
creasingly angry with their
elected officials.
And that, he said, is no
joke.
"If you're not going to
show leadership, you're
defrauding the voters." ❑
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
45