The Clawson City Council interviewed four finalists for a vacant council seat on June 30 and agreed to delay a final appointment until the council’s next meeting.

The interviews, held in a special session at Clawson City Hall, featured candidate presentations and question-and-answer periods. Mayor Millan opened the meeting by reading Charter Section 4-4.31, which bars from office anyone “convicted of theft, misuse, or misappropriation of public funds or who is in default to the city or to any other governmental subdivision of the state of Michigan or who has been convicted of a felony.” Council members also discussed timing and the oath of office required by the State Constitution.

Why it matters: The council must fill the seat within the time frame set by the charter or extend the deadline, and the person selected will serve until the next election. The selection process and any appointment affect how the council votes on upcoming matters such as infrastructure projects and local ordinances.

During the session, each candidate answered the council’s preset questions about background, experience, priorities and how they would approach divided public opinion. Alex Aprilli, who said he has served about a year on Clawson’s Parks and Recreation Board and works in a congressional office for Michigan’s 9th District, emphasized outreach and visibility for local recreation services and noted a recent parks-and-rec survey that received “over 600” responses. Aprilli told council members he would seek to make the recreation department more “front facing” so residents know what services are available.

Andrea Lalonde described 18 years living in Clawson and her recent service on the Oakland County Road Commission, where she served as chair. Lalonde said that experience — including work on special assessment districts and infrastructure funding — prepared her to weigh neighborhood impacts against broader fiscal priorities. She singled out enforcement of local nuisance rules such as burning permits as an example of the day-to-day issues that most affect residents.

Lauren Matar, an engineer who works in the nonprofit sector on community and smart-city projects, described projects in other Michigan cities that used water-level and air-quality sensors to help municipal departments anticipate flooding and protect residents. Matar said that community engagement and matching technology to neighborhood needs were central to her work and to how she would approach council business.

Richard Scott, a near–30-year Clawson resident and a current planning commissioner, summarized his planning commission experience and an IT and operations background. Scott said he would focus on informed decision-making and identified short-term rentals and local tax levels as items where the council should take care to protect resident interests.

Public comment: Heather Rinkovich, a Clawson resident and frequent meeting attendee, urged the council to appoint a member who reflects the city’s demographics and to consider the community’s recent 2-to-1 vote to retain an expanded council. “Please, I ask that you make the best decision this evening, not just for yourselves, but for our community,” Rinkovich told the council.

Council discussion after the interviews focused on next steps rather than a choice. Members reviewed the charter language on qualifications and the State Constitution requirement that officers take an oath before entering duties. The council discussed options for swearing a designee (including formal oath administration outside a public meeting) but did not make an appointment. Several members said they preferred to review the recorded interviews and deliberate further; the appointment is on the agenda for the council’s next regular meeting.

Formal actions: The council did not appoint a candidate. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn, which passed by recorded voice vote (yes votes recorded for Council member Anderson, Mayor Millan, Mayor Pro Tem Moffatt and Council member Shepherd). The appointment and any subsequent oath of office will be handled at the next scheduled meeting or as permitted by the charter if the council extends the swearing-in deadline.

What the council and public flagged as priorities: infrastructure and flooding, downtown economic development, parks and recreation visibility, enforcement of nuisance and burning permits, short-term rental regulation, and careful use of tax dollars. Candidates offered different experience backgrounds — parks and recreation and congressional staff work (Aprilli); county road commission leadership (Lalonde); engineering and smart-city projects (Matar); planning commission and IT leadership (Scott) — but all emphasized listening to residents and preparing for meetings by reviewing staff packets and speaking with departmentheads.

Next steps: The council will revisit the appointment at its next meeting, where members expect to deliberate further and may administer the oath of office to the appointee at that meeting or by separate arrangement in line with charter and constitutional requirements.