TOWNSHIP

from page 33

morale is low among employees, and
she wants to supply "fresh blood and
energy."
She opposes cuts in the police or
fire-protection portion of the budg-
et, and favors auditing all expenses.
"I would like to create more town-
ship after-school and night activities
for teenagers, possibly in connection
with synagogues and churches," she
explains.
She also wants to expand bus
transportation for seniors.

Diane Reis Harnisch profile
Reis-Harnisch, 56, is Jewish, a sin-
gle mother of three children, and a
one-year resident of West
Bloomfield. Born in New York, she
obtained a speech and audio degree
from Ithaca (N.Y.) College and a
master's in speech education from
Wayne State.
A local GOP stalwart for many
years, she also has operated design
and real estate businesses and served
as activities director for the Meer
Jewish Apartments in West
Bloomfield. She belongs to the West
Bloomfield Optimists and ORT.
Reis-Harnisch is not affiliated with a
synagogue.

-

Robert Spector,
Democrat
Spector points out
he's retired and doesn't
need the money, but
he's running for trustee
because he's a "good
taxpayer" and wants to
"help operate the township in a posi-
tive way."
He charged that Republicans dom-
inate local politics; "they keep per-
petuating themselves on the board.
They spend recklessly, chop up the
budget and leave out the cuts
because they always outvote the
Democrats. We need two new faces
on the board. If we give David
Flaisher and Stuart Brickner control,
they'll fix up the budget."
Spector rapped Keego Harbor and
Sylvan Lake residents for not paying
their fair share of the Tri-Cities
Merger. "They have rich homeown-
ers over there — they can afford it,"
he asserted.
He also criticized Republican con-
trol of the clerk's and treasurer's
office.

Robert Spector profile
A 34-year resident of West
Bloomfield, Spector, 60, who is

10/15

2004

34

Jewish, and his wife, Karen Faber
Spector, have been married 38 years.
They have two children and five
grandchildren.
She is a candidate for Oakland
County commissioner in the 16th
District. Spector graduated from
Detroit's Mumford High. School and
attended the Detroit Institute of
Technology. He formerly owned a
Detroit auto parts store. He has
helped train and find jobs for unem-
ployed people through JVS and pro-
vided repairs on several occasions for
buses to transport needy Jewish
campers in New York state. He has
been active in B'nai B'rith. The fam-
ily belongs to Temple Israel.

CLERIC
Two candidates, one position.
Annual salary: $93, 000

Sharon, Law, incum-
bent Republican
Seeking her fifth
term, Law declares she
"will continue to run
an efficient clerk's
office and add more
services as needed to
maintain that efficiency."
She cites her previous job experi-
ences as giving her "heavy exposure
to the legal, judicial, insurance, man-
agement, industrial, bookkeeping
and purchasing fields." She assists
with the fiscal administration of the
township's $50 million budget.
Law has added a passport service
for residents and later office hours
one day a week. She was the first
Oakland County clerk to implement
the electronic scanning machine sys-
tem for elections, helping to get the
system installed in the rest of the
county and state. She pushed in
recent years to obtain a $250,000
grant to update election equipment,
including new ballot boxes for the
township's 27 precincts.

Sharon Law profile
Law, 60, has lived in West
Bloomfield for 31 years, She and her
husband, Thomas, an attorney, who
is not seeking re-election as an
Oakland County commissioner, have
two children, a daughter and a son,
David Law, who is running for the
39th District state House of
Representatives seat.
Thomas Law is chairman of the
township Wetlands Review Board.
Sharon Law graduated from Detroit's

Benedictine High School and took
several college courses. The family
belongs to Prince of Peace Catholic
Church.

Maxine Brickner,
Democrat
Brickner is trying to
accomplish a political
rarity by getting elected
clerk, and, thus, having
a husband and wife
team in two of the top
positions of municipal government.
Her husband, Stuart, is a West
Bloomfield trustee. Maxine Brickner,
elected in 2000 to the township
Library Board, has run unsuccessful-
ly for state representative and county
commissioner. She keeps trying for
political office, she states, because
"Republicans seem to dominate West
Bloomfield area politics, and we have
to show that Democrats at least are
trying. Our residents who are
Democrats feel intimidated ... and
many just don't vote. Also, we need
more female candidates in these
positions."
Brickner charged Law was absent
from her job 71 days in the past
year, including most of April, and
her poor election procedures, includ-
ing improperly sealed ballot boxes,
prevented township ballots from
being included in county candidate
recounts in 1996 and 2002. Brickner
promises to be "a full time, hard
working clerk and improve morale,"
wants to halt "petty fighting and
divisiveness on the board" and
would work to reduce budget expen-
ditures.
Law replied that Brickner's charges
are "ridiculous and pure baloney."
She said she's often "buzzed" into
the inner clerk's office by employees,
making it unnecessary to use her
own identification card (thus no
record of card use to measure atten-
dance); she took regular vacation for
most of April; she says Brickner, her-
self, had a poor attendance record as
a member of the Oakland County
Mental Health Board, and Law's
election procedures were vindicated
in a letter from Oakland Clerk G.
William Cadell, saying "the State
Election Bureau arbitrarily changed
the rules" at the last minute on seal-
ing boxes in 2000 "without notifying
her." Brickner responds that she
attended every Mental Health Board
meeting.

Maxine Brickner profile
Brickner, 59, who is Jewish, gradu-
ated from Oak Park High School
and Wayne State with a degree in
elementary education and a master's
in social work; she's been a social
worker for 10 years.
Married for 38 years to Stuart,
they've been West Bloomfield resi-
dents for 27 years and have two chil-
dren. Besides being a former mem-
ber of the county Mental Health
Board, Brickner serves on the county
Council for Adults With Psychiatric
Disabilities. She belongs to the
Temple Israel Sisterhood.

TREASURER

Two candidates, oneposi-
tion. Annual salary: $93,000

Denise Hammond,
incumbent Republican
Like Sharon Law,
Hammond also is run-
ning for a fifth term,
and, like Law, she is
.11 under fire from her
opponent — her first
opposition in a regular election.
Hammond says she has an "excel-
lent working relationship" with all
township officials "except David
Flaisher and Stuart Brickner, who
always are attacking me."
She boasts a keen knowledge of
treasurer's office laws and proce-
dures, helping to write three acts for
the State Legislature on treasurer's
office procedures and finance while
serving on state committees.
Hammond now manages a $50
million township general fund, and
says her investments have earned
about $28 million in interest for
West Bloomfield during her terms.
She says she helped save money on
water-main construction and negoti-
ated rebates on water rates. She set
up a treasurer's office Web site and a
system to allow residents to pay bills
over the Internet.

Denise Hammond profile
A mother of three adult children,
Hammond, 57, has lived in West
Bloomfield for 32 years. She gradu-
ated from Warren's Lincoln High
School and Wayne State with a bach-
elor of science degree in medical
technology and a master's in finance
and economics.
She holds government financial
manager and public finance adminis-
trator credentials from accountants