Council members Platt, LaFever vie for mayor.

Council members Platt, LaFever vie for mayor.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

HART — Hart City Council members Vicki Platt and Jason LaFever are battling it out for mayor in the Nov. 3 general election. Platt’s name will be appear on the ballot, but LaFever is running as a write-in candidate.

Current Mayor Ron LaPorte cannot run for re-election due to term limits, said Hart City Manager Lynne Ladner. “Mayor LaPorte after having successfully served the city as a council member and mayor for more than 30 years is not running for re-election due to term limits.”

LaFever is running as a write-in candidate, because he “did not meet the requirements to be on the ballot,” said Ladner. However, LaFever does not agree.

“At a public meeting the council, as specified in Chapter 3 of the City Charter, determined that Mr. LaFever did not meet the requirements to be on the ballot as outlined in Chapter 7 of the City Charter,” the city manager said.

“I believe the way I was removed from the ballot was incorrect and not in accordance with Michigan Attorney General opinion regarding defaults. However, it was presented at last minute, where no one had a chance to properly review the information.”

The city council race is a non-partisan election.

The following is biographical information the candidates provided OCP:

Vicki Platt:

Vicki Platt RN, BSN, MM is currently employed as “The Nurse” at “Our Friend’s House” and Oceana Council on Aging (OCCOA) in Hart. Since 2017, she has been an MSU Extension educator/volunteer for the Chronic Pain PATH Program. She is practicing to be a certified Tai Chi instructor (for arthritis) through the same program with MSU.

She is a master trainer with IMPART ALLIANCE/BTBQ with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the State of Michigan’s Aging and Adult Services Agency (AASA). She has attended biweekly Zoom meetings with Michigan’s AASA which has the goal to keep direct care workers in our seniors homes, but most importantly, to do it safely and effectively.

As a current member of the Hart City Council, she serves on the Library, Biopure, HEART and Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) boards.

She was crowned by the National Asparagus Festival of Oceana County as the 2017 Asparagus Queen promoting Oceana County’s favorite vegetable locally and throughout the state.

In her “spare” time, she has been married to her husband, Mark, who has been superintendent of Hart Public Schools since 2013. On June 1, 2021, she and Mark will have been married 30 years. They have two children. Their daughter, Selina works for Jake Tufts State Farm Insurance in Hart and son, Braxton is a 2016 Hart graduate and a 2019 graduate from Alma College. He is also running as a “write-in” candidate for city council. Vicki loves to walk the city streets with her dear friend, Lesa Gale. Most weeks, they are out there 3-5 days per week logging 3-5 miles on a given day.

Vicki’s goals for her tenure include:

– Working alongside the teams that control the integrity of the dam;

– Working with the community for feedback regarding needs of the residents;

– Following the Economic and Redevelopment business plan for the city and complete a new five-year plan;

– Increasing Hart’s attraction for new businesses;

– Working with developers for additional housing opportunities;

– Opening lines of communication between residents, businesses and local government.

Jason LaFever:

Jason LaFever has an AA in liberal arts and sciences along with a corrections certification from West Shore Community College. He has been on the Hart city Council for over six years and served as mayor pro tem for over two years. He is a 1995 graduate of Hart High School.

He is operations manager at Kard Protection, which provides uniformed security. He has worked 15 years as a security professional.

LaFever is a a US Air Force veteran having served from 1996-1999.

As a city council member, he has served on the police committee, power board, planning commission and parks and recreation.

He and his wife Savanna have three daughters: Samantha, 18; Anastasia, 15, and Gabriella, 9.

“The city needs leadership that is inclusive of all persons and ideas. This is all of our community, and we all have a voice. Working together to create the best Hart, should be our goal. Under my leadership, I will move us forward.

“I’m running as a write-in, because I believe citizens of the City of Hart deserve a candidate that has the experience and leadership to do the right thing, in all situations.”

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