A Small Town,
A Big Election
Oak Park mayoral race sees two
Jewish candidates vying for the job.
inpower
Your child is mug
with the academic advantages a i
unequaled choice of a Bloomfield Hills
Schools education. Learn more duriii
our November Preview Tours.
Bloomfield Hills Schools
choiarsho. Opportunity
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For families of children 6 weeks - 5 years, incoming kindergarteners
and current third, fourth, seventh and eighth grade students
Bloomin' Preschools
Fox Hills
Lone Pine
Conant
(For children 21/2 - 5 yrs) (For children 6 wks - 5 yrs) (For children 6 wks - 5 yrs)
Nov. 9 • 9:30-11 a.m.
Nov. 1 or 3 • 9:30-11 a.m. Nov. 4 • 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
RSVP
(248) 341-7950
RSVP (248) 341-7075 RSVP (248) 341-7375
Marian Meisner McClellan
Julie Edgar
Special to the Jewish News
Kindergarten
For families of incoming kindergarten students
Conant
Lone Pine
Nov. 1 or 3 • 9:30-11 a.m.
RSVP (248) 341-7000
Nov. 4. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
RSVP (248) 341-7300
Eastover
Way
Nov. 2 • 10-11:30 a.m.
RSVP (248) 341-7100
Nov. 17 • 10-11:30 a.m.
RSVP (248) 341-7800
Middle Grades
Bloomfield Hills
East Hills
West Hills
(For current 4th graders)
Nov. 9 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
RSVP (248) 341-6000
(For current 4th graders)
Nov. 15 • 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
RSVP (248) 341-6200
(For current 3rd graders)
Nov. 2. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
RSVP (248) 341-6100
High School
For families of current seventh and eighth grade students
Andover High School
Lahser High School
Nov. 1 • 7 - 9 p.m.
Nov. 2 • 7 - 9 p.m.
BHS accepts tuition-paying students at
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http://PreviewTours.Bloomfield.org
16 October 20 • 2011
41N
I
n an off-year election, a local may-
oral race is typically met with a
yawn — if it's noticed at all.
But in the city of Oak Park, a chal-
lenge to longtime Mayor Gerald Naftaly
next month has set tongues wagging
and could very well reverse a trend of
dismal voter turnout.
That the challenger is Marian
Meisner McClellan, the mother of
Oakland County Treasurer Andy
Meisner, is stoking the enthusiasm. She
has promised to reinvigorate the city
— or at least its image.
Naftaly, who is seeking an 11th
term as mayor, last faced off against
an opponent in 2007, winning by a
landslide. In 2003, he faced a write-in
candidate who won 651 votes to his
2,311. In other elections, he's had no
opposition. Traditionally, there is a low
turnout among voters — under 20
percent of Oak Park's 22,000 registered
voters go to the polls in an off-year.
Naftaly believes he's been a good
steward of the city, helping to steer it
through turbulent economic times —
even if his budgetary cuts have been
unpopular in city hall.
"Everybody's happy in the city" he
says. "Services are good, the streets are
clean, I communicate with businesses
all the time, and I attend block club
meetings. I run a smooth council meet-
ing, and I made sure we have a new city
Gerald Naftaly
hall and public safety building."
Naftaly served on City Council before
becoming mayor in 1991. The job pays
just over $6,000 annually.
The election could be different
this time, Naftaly acknowledges. The
Orthodox community, while number-
ing in the low thousands, is a potent
electoral bloc, and if lawn signs are an
indication, there seems to be support
for McClellan. Residents say that Gary
Torgow, among the more influential
community leaders, has urged others to
vote for McClellan. The JN was unable
to reach him for comment by press time.
And over the past month, two letters
were sent to Jewish households urg-
ing residents to register to vote — one
from a group of local Orthodox rabbis
and the other from an Orthodox resi-
dent that included voter registration
forms. Neither advocated for a candi-
date, but the resident's letter suggests
that security and taxation are issues of
concern.
Voters on Nov. 8 will be asked to
choose a mayor, city council members
and members of the Berkley or Oak
Park school boards; there are no tax- or
security-related proposals on the ballot.
Naftaly, 59, isn't sure what the beef
is with him, and he's both puzzled
and somewhat stung by the criticism.
He has known and worked alongside
Torgow, chairman of the city's planning
commission, for years. And Torgow, an
attorney and banker, has supported his
Big Election on page 18