By BRIANNE COOK
news@yourdailyglobe.com

BESSEMER TOWNSHIP – Dennis P. Aspinwall has been appointed as the new supervisor of Bessemer Township.

After interviewing three applicants, the township’s Board of Trustees voted him in unanimously, with all members present, during a Dec. 2 meeting. Aspinwall will be sworn in on Dec. 19.

He will replace Jeffery Randall, who said that he is retiring in part due to health issues.

Aspinwall made the biggest impression with his articulate and soft-spoken answers. As the current laboratory manager at Aspirus Ironwood Hospital, he applied his 11 years of management experience directly to most of the questions posed.

Aspinwall strongly emphasized seeking community and board input, along with careful planning. His experience managing the hospital lab has included budgeting when there was not enough for all of the important purchases. He said he also has maintained cohesion among a diverse team and has addressed public backlash when unpopular steps had to be taken.

Regarding his staff, he said, “You have to learn their strengths, where they need help and where you can use their expertise.”

Aspinwall said that he would carefully allocate funds and that he would find the least disruptive cuts, would seek funding opportunities, would work to keep local talent in the area, would not promise what he could not deliver, and would not “put off little things so they become major problems.”

He added that he also would stay in touch with other local governments in person, ideally by attending their meetings.

The laboratory manager does not have direct experience with government at any level. “I’m green at government, I’m going to be totally honest here,” he said, noting that he would defer to his team’s judgment and community input for prioritization.

The two other applicants were David Zazeski and Tom Novascone. Zazeski worked his way up from entry level to division management in an oil field and was eager to bring his marketing expertise to the township as a means to attract new residents and businesses.

Novascone has 50 years of experience in local government, in part as a tax assessor for Ironwood Township and as the equalization director for Gogebic County. He also has held positions with various other counties in the western U.P.

Along with Randall, other board members are township clerk Hope Tarnaski, treasurer and utility clerk Lisa Hegbloom, and trustees Steven Selin and Sue Roberts.

As part of the decision process, they all scored the answers that each interviewee provided to the same 20 questions. Aspinwall then resulted in scoring nearly twice what the other men did.

Randall thanked all the applicants for attending. “All candidates spoke very well,” he said.

He added that the role of supervisor is “something you learn and do every day,” and said that he, himself, had no history in government before being appointed to the role, so lack of experience is not something he would judge harshly.