Supervisor Mark Grabow Talks Seniors, Cutting Business Red Tape and Re-Election

A lifelong Macomb Township resident and current supervisor, Mark Grabow will face two challengers in his run for re-election this year.

Now 44, Grabow has held various public and private sector positions, including that of a part-time paid firefighter with the Macomb Township Fire Department, local manager with the DuPont Corporation and owner of Brentwood Limousines, a business he started with his late wife, Kimberly.

A volunteer with the Macomb County Sheriff’s Explorers, Care House and Big Brothers Big Sisters, Grabow is also a founder of the Kimberly (Kimmy) Grabow Foundation, which looks to "provide knowledge and awareness to EMS workers and their families for the treatment and prevention of depression, substance abuse, addiction and suicide in current and future EMS personnel."

Macomb Patch recently spoke with Grabow to learn more about the man looking to serve Macomb Township for a second term as supervisor.

Patch: What led you to run for supervisor initially?

Grabow: My thing was, I wasn’t real happy with the way things looked like they were headed. Business was not being welcomed as well as it should have been and Macomb Township was changing dramatically fast. There was a routine struggle between builders and government agencies, and businesses were having moratoriums put on them. I felt that people within the operation itself had not experienced what it was like to be a business owner what type of struggles business people go through. You need to understand it to be able to appreciate the struggles so you can help clear some red tape and make things work. Everybody needs to work together and that’s what made me go forward.

Patch: What has been one of the greatest challenges of the office?

Grabow: Some days its hard. Your heart wants to tell you one thing but your management brain tells you the other and you need to blend the two together and make the right decision. It may not always be the most popular vote, but when it’s all said and done, it’s the most logical vote.

Patch: What changes or improvements would you make if re-elected?

Grabow: I have two very clear goals. One of them is to diversify the senior center and bring life back to it and the life of our seniors. Through the eyes of our seniors our young people can learn so much. (The other is) to cut the business red tape, getting ourselves back in line and actually looking at some of the ordinances to allow mixed usage. We have a lot of industrial buildings, but we need to open our minds to diversifying uses. Car dealerships are no longer car dealerships like we used to think. We have to open our minds on a different note. If it's empty, what can we allow to go in there? Just because the code was written that way yesterday, doesn’t mean that's the way it has to stay for tomorrow.

As I came into office, I realized the community had grown so fast we forgot about the most important people that were here when the community grew. It seemed like people started to push the seniors away, like they’re not important. I quickly realized, I may be 40 when I walked in the door, but I’m going to be 60 in a very short period of time and my drive is to make sure that we have effective and efficient programs for seniors. I understand pay-to-play for sports. I don’t understand the concept of pay-to-play for our seniors.

Patch: Four years ago you ran as a Democrat. Now you are running as a Republican, why?

Grabow: I think our county executive started to show that it’s not really about partisanship. It’s the right person for the job. Now as a business owner, I think I probably fit more in the conservative Republican side than the conservative Democrat side. It’s a very fine line between the two of them. I thought maybe it was time to align myself where I had been and bring it back into perspective. What I’ve done is the right thing for the position. Sometimes we have to wash away some of the party lines to get things done. We have mayors who are neither, why do we have to have supervisors that are one or the other?

Patch: Of what personal and professional accomplishments are you most proud?

Grabow: My wife and I had a dream of starting a prestigious limousine service. We created that and did it. That is a huge accomplishment, along with being able to be there for my son. I think I’m a pretty decent role model. My next major accomplishment is going to be changing my health habits. That is already in motion.

Professionally, I think in all that I’ve done over the years, having this position as supervisor has allowed me to take all the things that I’ve learned and utilize them to the most effective motion that I can for the residents. I consider myself the CEO of a business operation and every resident is a customer and we’re the staff to serve them and I need to make sure we run a fast, efficient, effective business in order to serve those residents. If not they’ll go somewhere else and we’ll no longer have that income, that’s our taxes, to serve our community.

Patch: Is there one individual who has been most influential in your life?

Grabow: My dad, no, probably both my parents. My mother has always been very clear about being honest, hardworking and dedicated. My father was very, very determined. Being raised in that fashion, we went out and we worked all day. Just because you worked today, and it ended at 5, doesn't mean your day is over. You still have to go home and cut the grass. You keep your home business running simultaneously. I believe my drive and sincere passion to please people come from both of them, which hopefully I'm instilling in my son.

Patch: What are key ways Macomb residents can make a difference locally?

Grabow: Understanding. They need to understand what role their township government has. Be open. Look for communications (from us). Let us hear what you’re looking for on a true priority. A thousand people can come, but collectively when they come and speak on something, like the roads, you have to rely on and allow subcommittees to happen. You have to be able to work with subcommittees. The biggest thing that I’m disappointed in is not having an open senior forum. An open senior forum is key.

Patch: You were born and raised in Macomb Township. Why have you chosen to stay here your whole life?

Grabow: As a kid growing up in this community, it was a farm-based community, and the neighbors were all close knit. Everyone helped each other and watched out for each other. As a teenager, I remember picking green beans here where Town Hall sits today for one of the local farmers. I enjoyed growing up in this area … Because of my schooling and my opportunities I didn’t have to go away. I was able to work locally.

Patch: Do you have any hobbies?

Grabow: I like to travel–family trips to Disney were one of our most beloved things. I like to collect fire (department) memorabilia and badges. I share the same passion (for badges) my wife did. And baseball is a priority for my son now.

Macomb Patch intends to interview all candidates with ties to, or oversight of Macomb Township. Q&A interviews with the candidates for supervisor will be posted in alphabetical order: , incumbent Mark Grabow and Charles Missig. Look for our interview with Missig on July 10.

For more candidate interviews and election information, visit our Election 2012 guide.

All candidates are also scheduled to participate in a Meet the Candidates forum, open to the public, on July 19 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Clinton-Macomb Public Library main branch.