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Posted on Fri, Feb 4, 2011 : 2:34 p.m.

Ypsilanti Township Trustee Dee Sizemore resigns; board seeks candidates to fill the vacancy

By Tom Perkins

Longtime Ypsilanti Township Trustee Dee Sizemore has resigned from the township board.

The board accepted her resignation at its Tuesday meeting and must appoint a candidate within 45 days to serve the remaining two years of her term.

Dee-Sizemore.JPG

Dee Sizemore

Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo said Sizemore recently underwent hip replacement surgery, and her husband of 61 years died suddenly in November, making it difficult for Sizemore to serve.

Stumbo said the board accepted her resignation "with great sadness." Sizemore had been on the board since 1992.

"Dee's service to our community and residents has been very much appreciated and will be greatly missed," Stumbo said. "She is one of the strongest women I have ever known in my life, but we all get to a point where it is too much and time to get better."

Township Clerk Karen Lovejoy Roe is accepting letters of interest and resumes from potential candidates until noon on Feb. 11. She will provide each candidate with a list of questions submitted by board members, and candidates must provide their responses by Feb. 11, as well.

Each candidate will have two to three minutes to speak about his or her request for appointment at the board's regular Feb. 15 meeting. Lovejoy Roe said the board will likely make an appointment at its March 1 meeting.

Several people have filed paperwork to apply for the post.

One candidate is Lonnie Scott, who lost last August in his bid for the Democratic Party's nomination to represent the state's 54th District. Scott served as a legislative aide to state Rep. Alma Wheeler-Smith from 2008 to 2010, and most recently served as an aide to state Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor.

Scott said he believes those posts provide him with a strong set of credentials that could benefit the board. The nearly lifelong Ypsilanti Township resident highlighted his work with Wheeler-Smith, who represented the township in the state house, and said he is knowledgeable about the serious budget issues and challenges facing the municipality.

As Wheeler-Smith's aide, he said he helped to work on four of the state's largest budgets and is prepared to help the township cope with expected cuts to state revenue sharing.

"I know how think outside of the box and work at finding creative solutions," he said. "I'm familiar with the challenges and ready for fact that we are going have to make some tough choices."

Other residents who have applied include Maudie Abraham, Billy D. Williams, Ethel Burns, Mattie Odessa Smith, Shoshana DeMaria and James Hallman.

Lovejoy-Roe said she is looking for a candidate who is involved in making the community a better place and who brings a new strength and perspective to the board.

"I want someone who can be part of a team but bring independence in their thinking," she said.

Tom Perkins is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.

Comments

ypsineighbor

Sat, Feb 5, 2011 : 12:43 a.m.

This is a difficult thing for the Township Board because they can only pick 1 person and the people who don't get picked could feel anger or resentment. And those rejected are often well-intentioned, active, perfectly qualified people. So I don't envy the Board for being in this position. My suggestion is that the Board put extra weight on each applicant's past contributions. Not just how long they lived in the area, who they know, or what they say or write on the application, but what they actually did and achieved. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. And to those of you seeking to apply: If you've never been to a meeting, don't bother. If you've never been involved with Township affairs, it's probably not best to start at the top. We need serious people in these positions to deal with the issues effecting our community.

joe golder

Sat, Feb 5, 2011 : 1:30 a.m.

Very nicely put.

jondhall

Fri, Feb 4, 2011 : 8:54 p.m.

I hardly think the township needs a man that leaps tall buildings at a single bound. The guy is a lose canon, No thanks. Thank you Dee Sizemore for your many wonderful years of service.

joe golder

Fri, Feb 4, 2011 : 8:05 p.m.

I agree with Mr. Ed... Bill Riney has demonstrated he has the ambition and desire to serve the voters of Ypsilanti Township. He has went the extra mile in my book and has earned my respect.

Mr. Ed

Fri, Feb 4, 2011 : 7:47 p.m.

Lovejoy-Roe said she is looking for a candidate who is involved in making the community a better place and who brings a new strength and perspective to the board. How about Bill Riney, Karen Lovejoy-Roe this who your looking for. He's willing to go to new heights to make changes.