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Local Election Results for Berrien County Communities

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As the votes continue to be tallied across Michigan’s Great Southwest, there will be some new faces in local units of government. Here’s what we know so far (and this story will be added to as other race results come in):

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  • City of New Buffalo: A trio of outsiders who ran as a slate in the City of New Buffalo has marched to victory as the top three vote getters in Tuesday’s elections, leaving two incumbents at the bottom of the six way battle for three seats on the New Buffalo City Council. Roger Lijewski, John Humphrey and Brian Flanagan topped the tallies when the dust settled and will take the reins next. They told the New Buffalo Times last month, “We are running because we feel the current City Council is not working in the best interests of our local residents. Compromise through the debate of opposing views on our City Council is the only real way to bring solutions to issues that are fair to all residents. This is how we move the town forward together. We want to bridge the divide between residents and second homeowners, not continue to widen it.” They added, “We will be proactive, engaged, accountable and available as your new City Council members. All three of us are full time members of this community. You can find each of us out working somewhere on the streets of our town every day. We are the regular residents of this town with a deep investment in our homes, families and this community. We hope New Buffalo Voters will turn out and support us for that.” They did, indeed. Giving the three the win. Lijewski was tops with 639 votes, followed by Humphrey with 452 and Flanagan with 425. Finishing fourth and out of the running was challenger Karen Billingslea with 369 votes, and incumbents Mark Kroll and Robert Spirito finished the list with 337 and 277 votes respectively. Just under 59-percent of the registered voters turned out in New Buffalo.
  • Baroda Township: Following Jim Brow’s retirement party last month after 20 years at the helm as Baroda Township Supervisor, the township’s voters have also “retired” Treasurer Brenda Troxell who was defeated in Tuesday’s election by newcomer James Zobl, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, 930 votes to Troxell’s 480. Replacing Brow as Supervisor is Trustee Dennis Krotzer who ran unopposed for the leadership post. Incumbent Clerk Christina Price turned back two challengers, pulling in 1,058 votes to Stacey Stubblefield’s 327 and Kathryn Redding’s 199 votes. Incumbent Trustee David Wolf is joined by former Fire Chief Larry Klug running unopposed for Trustee positions in the township where nearly 71-percent of the registered voters turned out to cast ballots.
  • Bridgman: Bridgman Mayor Vince Rose garnered the most votes to retain his post on the City Council with 715 votes, with incumbent Georgia Gipson following close behind with 707 votes and newcomer John Bonkoske pulled in 628. Bonkoske will replace Mayor Pro-Tem Rick Fuller who did not seek re-election. Following each regular city election in Bridgman, elected Council members are sworn in and seated at the organizational meeting wherein the Mayor is appointed by the Council for a two-year term, and the Mayor, with consensus of the Council, appoints the Mayor Pro Tem.
  • Watervliet: Watervliet Mayor David Brinker’s time in office has come to an end as voters chose City Commissioner Deah Muth by nearly 2-to-1 in the election Tuesday. Muth pulled 427 votes by opting to run for Mayor instead of the city commission, while Brinker got 212 votes. Incumbent City Commissioners Duane Cobb and William Whitney Jr. also won re-election, running unopposed. About 56-percent of the registered voters in Watervliet turned out on Tuesday.
  • Buchanan Township: Buchanan Township Clerk Wendi Heyliger ended up as a qualified write-in candidate to retain the job, but lost to Sheila Reitz who scored 1,206 votes to Heyliger’s zero, while there were 346 unqualified write-ins for the post. Incumbent Buchanan Township Supervisor Malinda Cole-Crocker ran unopposed for re-election as did Treasurer Rachel Plank and Trustees Lynn Ferris and Brad Huebner who all won new terms in Tuesday’s election.
  • Chikaming Township: Chikaming Township voters had only one race to decide at the local township board level, and they returned everyone to office in Tuesday’s election. Supervisor Dave Bunte, Clerk Paula Dudiak, and Treasurer Liz Rettig were all unopposed. One challenger for the Board of Trustees was turned back by the two incumbents. William Marske tallied 1,135 votes, and fellow incumbent Rich Sullivan got 1,088 to defeat Jill Underhill who garnered 655 votes. The township voters showed up in force with a nearly 75-percent turnout.
  • City of Coloma: The City of Coloma will have a new Mayor after the retirement of long running Mayor James Polashek. Mayor Pro-Tem Marsha Hammond elected to run for the top post and beat out City Commissioner Justin Hicks Sr. who also sought the post, with Hammond winning by a 410 to 260 vote margin. Hicks departure from the commission spurred considerably interest with 6 people running for three positions. Newcomer Jamie Balkin won her first bid for political office alongside incumbents Kent Churchill and Julie Smith who were the top vote getters. Narrowly turned back was Coloma merchant Taylor Prestidge from Soulard’s who garnered 272 votes. Balkin beat her by a dozen, taking 284 votes while Churchill got 335 and Smith 328. Also running were Jeff Krolzick who pulled 171 votes and Harold Bragg with 130. Also on the ballot in Coloma were City Clerk Martha Darling and Treasurer Roseann Clements, neither of which faced opposition. The City of Coloma saw a 64-percent voter turnout.
  • Galien Township: Galien Township Supervisor Bruce Williams has won re-election with 429 votes. There were 163 write-ins, and qualified write-in candidate Tim Richter was shut out with zero votes. The Township’s Clerk Jennifer Richter and Treasurer Kendra Truhn were unopposed and re-elected, while incumbent Township Trustees Matthew Kinne, with 552 votes and Gerald Mast, with 325, turned back challenger Durie Bennett who mustered 227 votes. Galien Township’s voter turnout was 66-percent.
  • Lake Charter Township: More than three of every four voters in Lake Charter Township took time this year to vote to return long running leadership in the form of unopposed candidates John Gast for Supervisor, Gloria Payne for Clerk and Robert Clark for Treasurer, each getting more than 1,620 votes in re-election. On the Township Board, top vote getter was Nancy Mensinger with 1,517 votes, followed by Mike Essig with 1,486, Zach Carson with 1,455, and John Wilk with 1,434, all elected to the board for four year terms. More than 76.5-percent of the Lake Charter Township electorate turned out for the election Tuesday.
  • New Buffalo Township: In New Buffalo Township, out of the 1,952 registered voters, only 320 failed to show up in Tuesday’s election, despite an unchallenged slate for township elected officials. Incumbent Supervisor Michelle Heit, Clark Judith Handley Zabicki, Treasurer Jack Rogers, and Trustees Patty Iazzetto and Pete Rahm all won re-election, running unopposed on the ballot, as nearly 84-percent of the township’s voters turned out to cast ballots.
  • Royalton Township: Royalton Township voters cast aside the lone Democrat among the three candidates for the Township Board vying for two positions. None of the three were incumbents, but Julie Marsh takes top vote honors with 2,018 votes while Jason Ackerman gains the other open seat with 1,996 votes. Democrat Becky Foster garnered 1,099 votes in a losing cause. In the leadership roles, Bob Basselman as Supervisor, Rachel Bernard as Clerk, and Michael Eisenhart as Treasurer are all swept into office by the nearly 75-percent voter turnout in Royalton Township.
  • Sodus Township: Sodus Township gains a new Township Treasurer following the departure of Karen Morgan, as Terry Gilson-McCain takes the reins at that post. Otherwise, all incumbents were re-elected while running unopposed on Tuesday including Township Supervisor David Chandler, Clerk Cheryl Andres, and Trustees Loyall Bennett and Ken Peters. Some 64-percent of the Sodus Township electorate took the time to vote in the election.
  • Pipestone Township: Pipestone Township’s leadership all ran unopposed in Tuesday’s election, with Supervisor Doug Davis, Clerk Karen Basham, Treasurer Shawn Wolske and Trustees Robert Bishop and Floyd Sommer all returning to office with new terms in Tuesday’s election where nearly two thirds (65.62-percent) of the registered voters cast ballots.
  • Bainbridge Township: Bainbridge Township gains a new Township Supervisor, but all other township officials remain the same as they ran unopposed in the election. The new Supervisor is Rodney Winkel, who replaces Bill Hodge who did not run for re-election. Joining Winkel will be Clerk Patty Hiler-Molter, Treasurer Nancy Weber and Trustees Donald Baiers and John Yetzke.
  • Coloma Charter Township: Long-time Coloma Charter Township Supervisor Kenneth Parrigin fought off a primary challenger in August only to have to face a Democratic challenger in Tuesday’s general election and he prevailed again by a more than 2-to-1 margin. Parrigin tallied 1,816 votes to Jeffrey Weber’s 722. The Township Clerk, Sheila Hickmott and Treasurer James Fulton were re-elected, having run unopposed, and in the Trustee ranks five people ran for four seats, with the winners being Bryan Keith Duffield (1,848), Kendyl Ann Adams (1,774) Lance Becht (1,766) and Jerry Willmeng (1,677), leaving Nathalie Johnson as odd-woman out at 488 votes. Voter turnout in Coloma Charter Township was just over 60-percent.
  • Hagar Township: Hagar Township Treasurer Susan Herrmann narrowly held off a challenger, winning by just 98 votes over Kimberly Schmuhl by a tally of 599 to 501 according to results posted by officials. The Township also fills an open seat for Trustee with businessman developer Peter Colovos, who joins re-elected Trustee Andrew Ulleg on the board alongside Township Supervisor Izzy DiMaggio and Clerk Sarah Rodriguez who both ran un-opposed in Tuesday’s election. The township turned out 66-percent of registered voters on the day.
  • Lincoln Charter Township: With everyone on the ballot running unopposed in Lincoln Charter Township, it all came down to bragging rights for most votes overall. Treasurer Terrie Smith takes that honor with 6,729 total votes, followed by Clerk Stacy Loar-Porter’s 6,691, and Supervisor Dick Stauffer’s 6,633. Among the Trustee candidates, Marc Florian garnered the largest vote total at 6,131, edging Deborah Peterson by 1 with her 6,130, and then came Kevin Gillette with 5,978 and Rick Stone with 5,922. Lincoln Township’s electorate clocked in at a more than 74-percent participation rate.
  • St. Joseph Charter Township: Voters in St. Joseph Charter Township had only one township government race to settle, and they decided to stay the course. The only contested issue was on the Board of Trustees where Ian Haight was trying to gain entry, but was turned away as the fifth in an “elect no more than four” situation. Incumbent Trustees include Melissa Hahn (3,847 votes), Thomas Milnikel (3,568), Ronald Griffin (3,541) and Edward Meny (3,504) leaving Haight on the outside looking in with 3,008 votes. Incumbent Supervisor Roger Seely, Clerk Patrice Rose, and Treasurer David Vonk all earned re-election running unopposed.
  • Three Oaks Township: As was the case in St. Joseph Charter Township, Three Oaks Township voters turned aside a challenger, as Trustee Candidate John Swanstrom finished third in a two person chase with 390 votes as compared to Rexalee Gordon’s 677 votes and Christian Mitchell’s 644. They were both incumbents winning re-election along with Township Supervisor George Mangold, Clerk Elizabeth Zabel and Treasurer Kathleen Osburn who all ran unopposed.
  • Berrien Township: All Berrien Township Board members and the Supervisor, Clerk and Treasurer ran unopposed and were re-elected to new terms on Tuesday, following a more than 67-percent turnout of registered voters there.
  • City of Buchanan: The City of Buchanan has two new City Commission members on the way as voters culled through five candidates to fill two positions. The winners were Honor Credit Union exec Patrick Swem with 969 votes and Board of Review Member Larry Money with 883. Falling short were former City Commissioner Daniel Vigansky (453 votes), Monroe Lemay (418) and Jeccika Yoder (268). Buchanan’s turnout was just north of 56-percent of their 3,675 registered voters.