Chelsea Business Alliance hosts ‘meet the candidates’ luncheon

Members of the Chelsea Business Alliance and Chelsea community had a chance to chat with city council and mayoral candidates this Wednesday.

The Chelsea Business Alliance hosted a meet the candidates luncheon on July 27, during which candidates in the Aug. 23 municipal election were able to share their platform points. CBA president and founder Ben Smith thanked all of the candidates for attending the luncheon and for their willingness to commit their time to the city of Chelsea.

“Regardless of how your campaign comes out, I think that’s commendable, and I appreciate you and appreciate you getting involved,” Smith said.

Each candidate was limited to two minutes of speaking, starting with the city council candidates. Most council candidates talked about improving the city’s roads and taking care of traffic issues, as well as bringing new businesses into the city. Others discussed the importance of public safety and establishing a municipal court, supporting the schools in Chelsea and opening up communication with citizens.

The three mayoral candidates also emphasized improving traffic issues and bringing new businesses into Chelsea through a business recruiting firm.

Dale Neuendorf was the first candidate to speak, and he thanked the CBA for hosting the luncheon and inviting the candidates to speak.

“It’s obvious that everyone that you heard, and everyone that will still come up, are very passionate about serving in the city of Chelsea,” he said. “We see a lot of other cities where they can’t even get people to run for the positions, so it’s great news that we don’t have that problem here. We’ve got a lot of people that want to run and really want to win and work for the city of Chelsea.”

Neuendorf covered several of his platform points in his speech, including more citizen involvement through citizen advisory committees, partnering with Chelsea schools, enhancing the city’s emergency service and bringing more businesses into Chelsea. More money would come into the city through attracting a building supply store, a professional office building, an all-suites hotel and other businesses, he said.

“I think it’s going to come down to who has the most business experience and the most life experiences,” he said. “I am a U.S. Army veteran. I spent a lot of time with the army and worked with IBM for 32 years. It’ll come down to leadership, and I would appreciate your vote.”

Alison Nichols said she believes focusing on Chelsea’s values of faith, family and freedom are what give the city’s government its purpose.

“As a city leader, my job is to create an open environment, one that inspires passion, in both the businesses and individuals, to participate in the growth and the direction of our city,” Nichols said.

When she ran for city council, Nichols said she ran with road safety as a prominent point on her platform. She noted two improvements, widening King’s Home Road and constructing a left turn lane on Highway 11, which she said helped prevent numerous accidents.

“For me, a promise is a promise, and I say this because I take my campaign promises very seriously,” she said. “And this is the nuts and bolts of it. I believe by prioritizing the improvements of our infrastructure, we’ll increase public safety, draw new business and industry to our area, thus we’ll be able to help our schools by a greater tax base.”

Tony Picklesimer thanked the CBA for the opportunity to speak, and also addressed anyone at the luncheon as guests of CBA.

“I realize you are here because you care about Chelsea, and you want to make a good decision about who you cast your vote for,” he said.

To members of CBA, Picklesimer said as a former business owner, he understands the process of building budgets and working to make payroll. He said he has also seen a city work hard to bring in new businesses, something he promises to do as mayor.

“But I also know what it feels like to be neglected as a current business owner,” he said. “As I watch my wife struggle to work to grow her business, the only time she saw a city leader was for her to make a donation for a special event. That is not how it’s supposed to be, and I promise to you today that if I’m elected, I will not be that kind of mayor.”

Picklesimer said he plans to be present in the businesses of Chelsea and hopes to establish relationships with the city’s business owners.

“You being successful makes Chelsea successful,” he said. “You being better makes Chelsea better. If you have an idea of how to grow and expand your business, I want to be the first to hear about it.”

At the end of the luncheon, Smith told all the candidates that while two minutes seems like too short of a time to share a plan for the next four years, any amount of time would be too short. He asked that candidates keep that in mind when planning for the candidate forums the CBA will sponsor on Aug. 4 and Aug. 11.

“It [the forum] is not about you showcasing your campaign,” Smith said. “The forum is about the citizens getting the best profile they can to make the best informed decision they can.”

A full list of Chelsea City Council and mayoral candidates, along with candidate profiles, can be found here.