The next Traverse City mayor could help decide the future of downtown development, the pace of the city's growth, the homeless shelter, and the proposed public pier. But who will it be, and where do the candidates stand? Here's your first report. 

Note: Candidate Ian Joseph Winkelmann declined to participate in this article.

The Candidates

Jim Carruthers: A Cincinnati native, 52-year-old Jim Carruthers has lived in the Traverse City area since 1989. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Connecticut and has worked for organizations including the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and Planned Parenthood. Carruthers has served on the city commission for eight years and was previously a Parks & Recreation commissioner for eight years.

Jeanine Easterday: 62-year-old Jeanine Easterday is originally from Detroit but has lived in Traverse City since 1975. She has a master’s degree in nursing administration from Northern Michigan University and retired in January after 39 years at Munson Medical Center. She is a past president of the League of Women Voters and has served on the city and planning commissions and board of zoning appeals.

The Ticker: Why are you running for mayor? And how would you describe your leadership style?

Jim Carruthers: I’d like to bring (the position of mayor) back to working as a team of seven people. I want to ramp up our public services department: streets, sidewalks, trails, sewer lines. As for my style – I’m a very direct, open person. I welcome people to ask me questions; I’m not afraid to talk about controversial issues. It’s in my blood to be active and involved in the community and be a part of the process.

Jeanine Easterday: I’m running because we are at a very important point in the history of Traverse City. We can either continue our vital economic development, or make a choice to close the door behind us. We need a leader who is knowledgeable, experienced and can move our city forward with vision. My leadership style is inclusive…I believe the more people can be involved in a conversation upfront, the less damage control you have to do on the back end.

The Ticker: Traverse City is in the midst of an unprecedented development boom. Do you view the city's rapid growth as a positive or a negative? What criteria do you use to differentiate smart growth from bad growth?

Jim Carruthers: I’m not against development. I just think we should use words like ‘right-sized’ and ‘measured.’ That’s what I’m looking for. It’s our character that makes Traverse City so special. I don’t see tall buildings as a fit for our community. I believe we can spread density throughout downtown, all to the five or six-story level, instead of having all this pressure on Front Street.

Jeanine Easterday: I am pro-economic development and pro-sustainable growth. I think we need to re-engage the public and look at our master plan and plans like "Your Bay Your Say" to make sure they still reflect what the community wants. My concern is we’ve written ordinances to incentivize developers, and then they go through the public process and at the eleventh hour, we change our minds. We need to be sensitive to residents, but also to the people who are building.

The Ticker: Affordable housing has become a hot-button issue for employees and employers in Traverse City. What are real, practical solutions the city can pursue to address it?

Jim Carruthers: I think we need to spread out and have pockets of affordable housing everywhere, instead of trying to make it all super-dense in one spot. We need rental housing, but we don’t have to look just downtown…there are places like Fourteenth Street, Traverse Heights, a lot of areas where we can (encourage) housing that would still be walkable and bikable.

Jeanine Easterday: The housing studies all point to things like PILOTs (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes) and increased density. I think right now we're at risk of gentrifying our downtown. There is room for more density in our core. We also need to engage the development community in terms of what works for them – things like taxes, setbacks and density.

The Ticker: Two controversial projects likely to return before the city commission are the public pier and Safe Harbor [homeless shelter]. Do you support those projects and why?

Jim Carruthers: I’m supporting Safe Harbor until we can find a better way to address the homeless. It’s been frustrating for our community…because no location is right, and no one wants (a shelter) in their backyard. But until we can find a way to subsidize housing for people, at least we’re addressing a need with (the Wellington Street) building. For the pier, I like the idea and like spreading usage across the waterfront. But I’m concerned about the ongoing maintenance and what it’s going to cost. It seems like public opinion is against it.

Jeanine Easterday: Safe Harbor wants to buy property that’s been declared surplus by the city; they’re not asking for anything that isn’t legally acceptable. I don’t support putting additional public dollars into that building – that’s totally up to Safe Harbor. But I support selling it for a public purpose. There are a lot of questions that stand out on the pier. Based on recent public opinion, it seems like we have better priorities and at this time it’s not the best option.

The Ticker: During your time as a city commissioner, what’s one decision you made as a board that you’re proud of? One you’re disappointed by?

Jim Carruthers: One of my very first meetings eight years ago was the ADU (accessory dwelling unit) vote. My biggest mistake was not supporting it back then. It’s a good move we’ve done now approving it to provide a better housing mix in the community. I’m proud of the non-discrimination ordinance. It not only affects me…but it makes us a more welcoming town to many different people.

Jeanine Easterday: I think Safe Harbor could have been done differently. I would have backed up the train right at the beginning to have a more public process – not for or against it, but in terms of looking as a city at how we look out for all our citizens. I’m proud of chairing the ad hoc committee for use of the Carnegie Building. We did it by asking the public what they wanted to see, and then crafted the ordinance. I think that’s how things should happen in the city.

The Ticker: What's an issue that’s important to you that you don’t think gets enough attention?

Jim Carruthers: I think we need to get a better hold of our priorities and our capital improvement plan. We have some 90 projects on it, many of which have been on there for years, and we’ve kicked the can down the road on implementation. We need to get a better hold on how we move things forward. We need to help the public understand project priorities and how things will be funded.

Jeanine Easterday: I don’t think we provide the public enough information at the beginning of projects. We throw around words like SLUP (special land use permit) and TIF (tax increment financing) without explaining what they mean or how they work. I know it’s more difficult to engage people upfront, but if you do, you don’t get anywhere near the trauma at the back end. I’m willing to have longer discussions or presentations so people are really informed on issues.