By James Windell
Sitting on the patio behind Tom Capps’s house, he hesitates before responding to the question, “Why did you decide to run for City Council?”
After deliberating he says: “I think I can have a calming effect on the city council.”
He also adds: “There’s a lack of civility on the South Haven City Council. Those who are on the council are probably all great people, but I think there are personality conflicts. As a result, they don’t seem to get things done.”
Capps adds that people who urged him to run for the position that will be available by the end of the year have said similar things to him: “Tom, they don’t get things done. You have commonsense and you know how to get things done.”
Not that Capps, who is running for city council in Ward 2, has ever served in an elected position. “I know I’ll have a learning curve,” he says, “but I learn pretty quick.”
Capps says that he brings a business background to the city council and based on his background decisions that the present city council makes “don’t make a lot of sense.” That business background includes the 17 years he and his brother owned Maple Grove Tavern and several more years as a salesman for Stanz Food Service. “In business,” he says, “you have to get things done. That’s my mentality: Let’s do something.”
For the past 13 years, he has been in sales and finance at Walt Sicard Car Company building a reputation as an honest person who is a straight shooter.
Born and raised in South Haven, Tom Capps isn’t just a resident of South Haven; he’s woven into the very fabric of the community. As a proud fourth-generation South Havenite, Capps inherited a legacy of local commitment from his parents, Gerry and Dixie Capps, who were themselves dedicated South Havenites involved with the Coast Guard Auxiliary, with Dixie also serving on numerous local boards.
Tom’s dedication to the community is a family affair. He shares his life with his wife, Sandra Capps, who formerly served the community as the Geneva Township Treasurer. They are proud parents to two sons who are also contributing members of the South Haven community through their local work.
Asked about his priorities as a South Haven City Council member, Capps said that one of his priorities would be something that other candidates have not addressed. “My priority would be to expand our health care facilities in this town,” he says. “We don’t have an after-hours urgent care facility. If you have an emergency now, you have to go to the emergency room – usually at great cost and after a long wait.”
Another issue he feels strongly about is beach safety. “I would say that most of the people I have talked to say that South Haven has done more than enough to try to make it safe for people at the beach. Many residents are not in favor of a lifeguard program.” Capps says he is concerned that hiring lifeguards creates a whole new set of liabilities for the city.
He also believes that the city needs to focus on bringing in new businesses and retaining the ones that are already in the city. “We need business,” he says, “but in order to bring new businesses and keep the ones we have we need someone who is an economic development person.”
If elected, Capps says he will work hard for South Haven. “I don’t have a personal agenda,” he says. “I have no reason to go on the city council for any financial gain. I love this town and I hate to see the bickering that’s going on.”
