Claudia Roblee Seeks Re-Election in November

Claudia Roblee is one of five candidates competing for four open seats on the Brighton City Council. Follow Brighton Patch this week as we introduce all of candidates.

Family

Husband, Mark Gougherty; three daughters and five grandchildren.

Education

Some college at Macomb Community College, Lansing Community College and Michigan State University. Did not get a degree. 

Employment

My husband and I have been self employed for 25 years. We have a custom framing and fine art store in downtown Brighton called ArtVentures. We have been in Brighton for 18 years and live above our store.  

Government Involvement

Current City Council member.

Community Involvement

I am chair of the Brighton Arts and Culture Committee, council liason to the Main Street Committee, on the Mill Pond Design Committee, the Merchant Advisory Committee, the Business Recruitment and Retention Committee and on the Principal Shopping Board. 

Why are you running?

I am running for office to be of service to my community. That is why I ran the first time and why I am running again. My first term in office, I was concerned about our downtown. We were starting to have empty store fronts. I believe a strong downtown helps to makes a strong community especially in a city the size of ours. Our downtown is now strong. The circumstances this time are very different. Now the question is how do we create an efficient governmental organization with dwindling revenue so that all taxpayers are served. I am also very concerned about the amount of rental housing properties in our town. How do we attract families into our town so that our rental properties will be decreased? What can we do to make our town the place where people want to move to?

Are there any changes you wish to make?

I believe that our city as well as all governmental organizations need to change the way they are doing business. Over the years, bureaucracies have become unsustainable. This is true in business and all institutions that run under a bureaucratic system. We need to find a way to provide services for tax dollars that is sustainable and resilient. That will be the challenge not only in this city but in all government entities that rely on personal and real property taxes.