News

Clark seeks to fill Clymer's seat as Berrien County Commissioner

Monday, August 4, 2008 11:03 AM EDT

NILES - A new face will fill the seat of former Niles Mayor Larry Clymer on the Berrien County Commissioners Board. Scott Clark, Republican and John Klimek, Democrat are campaigning for the position of Commissioner of the 13th district.

Voters will go to the polls Tuesday. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Clark, a member of the Niles business community for decades and took a few moments to address questions posed to him by the Niles Daily Star regarding his qualifications and their campaigns for commissioner. No responses were received from Klimek, electrical inspector for the city.

What motivated you to run for commissioner of the 13th district?

"My motivation to run for the commissioner's position is to serve the City of Niles and some Niles Township residents. I feel that as a Niles City Councilman I served with passion and integrity, always doing what was best for the majority of the people even with self-sacrifice to my own interests."

What experience do you bring with you to the job?

"I have eight years experience on the Niles City Council and 30 years business experience in the Niles community. I have served on many boards, countless hours of community service, always with our city in mind, making it a better and safer place for all of us to live."

What qualifications do you feel are most important in being an effective commissioner?

"The qualifications that I feel are most important are my knowledge of how government works and not allowing anyone to pull the wool over my eyes. My business experience and dealing with budgets and coming from a great Conservative community that knows how to stretch a dollar and not cut services, and maintain a good fund balance."

What current issues do you feel are most important to the 13th district?

"The No. 1 item is the 911 center trying to take jobs from our community and Niles Township by moving all of the staff to Benton Harbor in the name of central dispatch. By doing this our manpower to continue to operate our jail would be lost. If this happens all of the people being arrested would have to be driven to Benton Harbor. A loss of our police protection for hours at a time, not including fuel at $4.50 a gallon, is not a good business decision and not in the interest of our community. I think that we need a person to combat this waste at all cost. As the loss of services to the south county go away, so do our tax dollars!"

How do you plan to address those issues?

"I plan to address these issues head-on as I always have and come to a fair conclusion and protect our rights as our community deserves. I will fight tirelessly and passionately for our rights and fair share of the revenue that we send to the county."

Print this story   |   Email this story