Dennis Cook, known by students as “Gate Guy” endorsed Matthew Bentley for Hillsdale mayor. Charles Hickey | Collegian
Dennis Cook, known to students as “Gate Guy,” endorsed Ward 3 Councilman Matthew Bentley for mayor of the City of Hillsdale in an Instagram post this summer.
“I try not to talk politics or religion too much,” Cook said. “A little bit goes a long way.”
The city’s planned “road diet” prompted him to endorse a candidate, Cook said. The plan will add bike lanes and slim down Broad Street from four to three lanes, with the middle lane serving as a left-hand turn lane. The city council voted 5-3 on Aug. 18 to move forward with the plan. Cook said he supports Bentley because the councilman opposes the road diet.
“The road diet’s a huge issue,” said Cook, who has become well known on campus thanks to his friendly supervision of a construction crossing zone. “It’s going to add a lot of time that my coworkers don’t get to see their families, that they’re just sitting in the streets. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. People say it’s for tourism, but how much tourism can we really have?”
Bentley said he first met Cook while going door-to-door as part of his mayoral campaign this summer.
“It’ll be great when that construction project is done,” Bentley said. “But it’s nice to have Dennis here in the meantime. He’s great. He talks with everyone and knows so many names and faces.”
Bentley is running against Scott Sessions, who served as mayor from 2013 to 2017. Students registered to vote in Hillsdale can cast a ballot Nov. 4.
The road diet would slow traffic, contribute to a more pleasant experience of downtown, and create more visibility for downtown businesses, according to Luke Robson. Robson owns Hillsdale Renaissance, a real estate development and property management firm that owns more than a dozen buildings in the downtown area.
“No traffic plan will be perfect, but we can certainly improve upon what we already have,” Robson said on his Substack this summer. “The proposed road diet is good, maybe even great.”
Bentley said the “ill-conceived and poorly executed” road diet would only advantage downtown business owners.
“There would be a few very specific winners, and a broad swath of the population who would pay the cost,” Bentley said on his Substack.
Cook, who lives in Hillsdale, said the city’s people have often been ignored by the city council — a trend Cook said he hopes Bentley will reverse.
“During city council meetings, Hillsdale people will speak up and the majority will say ‘don’t do something’ and the council still just does it,” Cook said. “They don’t listen to their constituents. They just do whatever they want to do.”
Cook said Hillsdale’s high taxes are an example of financial misgovernance by the city.
“They tax us as much as they possibly can, maxing out all these millages, but we still don’t have any good roads,” Cook said.
He said he sees the city’s special assessment districts — which charge residents who live on deteriorating roads designated for repairs — as another problem.
“They want to charge the citizens on some streets $5,000 per household to fix their roads,” Cook said. “You’re already taxed an exorbitant amount, and now you have to come up with five grand, which most people don’t have. That’s robbery in my book.”
Cook said Bentley’s lack of career ambition is another reason for the councilman’s appeal.
“I like that he’s not looking to further himself in office,” Cook said. “He just wants to be the mayor, so he’s not going to kowtow or do what certain parties want him to do so he can raise himself up. He’s just here for the people of Hillsdale.”
Bentley expressed appreciation for Cook’s endorsement and said that his goal as mayor would be to increase political responsibility.
“I intend to hold the city council accountable as a body, and senior staff, as there has been precious little accountability,” Bentley said.
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