By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


A date has been set for Brighton City Council to interview the candidates who expressed interest in filling the vacant seat.

City Council met Thursday night, mere hours after the application deadline, and discussed next steps. In total, 7 candidates threw their name in the hat. Those candidates are City watchdog Susan Backhaus, MSU Libraries Director of Development Dr. Caitlyn Perry Dial, realtor Jordan Genso, attorney Paul Gipson, purchasing analyst Andrew Miller, sales and marketing manager/owner Ken Schmenk, and business development manager Michael Schutz.

Backhaus, Genso, and Gipson were on the City Council ballot last November. Schmenk and Schutz are both currently members of the City Planning Commission.

Brighton Mayor Kris Tobbe said it was a strong list of candidates, and shared some of the qualities he might be looking for in the person who will fill the empty seat, saying that to sit on Council you need to be very dynamic as a person, thoughtful, and a visionary in a lot of ways.

Interviews will be held at Council’s next meeting, which is February 3rd at a special start time of 6pm. Following a 60-second introduction by the candidate, the six sitting members of Council will each get 5 minutes to ask questions of their choosing. The order in which candidates will interview will be selected at random. Council is expecting to make their decision that night.