Ortonville- After much confusion just hours before the petition deadline, the dust has settled and 10 residents have filed to have their names to be on the election ballot for Sept. 11.
The problems began on Monday, when Village Clerk Mary Clark was informed by Joseph Rozell of the Oakland County Elections Division that the village did not have a 2-year council trustee term available as initially believed.
Up until Monday, the seats announced as available were a 2-year term for council president; two four-year terms for council trustee and one 2-year term for council trustee.
By the end of Monday, there were three 4-year council trustee seats available, no 2-year term, and a candidate that had withdrawn because of it; and by Tuesday morning, a 2-year term was back on the ballot, albeit a partial term currently occupied by council trustee Larry Hayden, who had no idea his term was expiring.
‘The confusion is because all of the previous elections had a 2-year term on the ballot, instead of a partial term expiring on such and such a date,? explained Clark. ‘I’ve been clerk since March 2003 and this has been happening since 2000. It’s just the way the ballot has been written, an error in terminology. It was a misunderstanding. I’m really upset about it and sorry it happened.?
The council president term remains unchanged, as well as the two 4-year term council trustee seats currently filled by Marcy Hanes and Mary Kassuba, who are both running for their seats again. The 2-year term that was initially announced as open and that Bob Flath is currently serving, will actually be a 4-year term. Flath is not running for the seat.
The 2-year partial term was announced Tuesday, after Rozell said the county clerk’s office was tipped off. This is a seat that Hayden was appointed to in September 2005. Tom Peters was originally serving the term, which he was elected to in March 2004. His wife, Nancy Peters, was appointed to the seat by council in November 2004 after her husband’s work schedule changed. She later stepped down for personal reasons.
Rozell said it is necessary to have the 2-year partial term up for election, because it is too long to have an appointee in the position.
Hayden, 48, a systems administrator for Continental Automotive Systems in Auburn Hills, was able to file a petition in the nick of time on Tuesday to run for the partial term, which ends in Sept. 2009. Also running for the partial term is Melanie Nivelt, a 43-year-old photography agent for Acme Photo Works in Detroit.
Seeking one of the three 4-year terms, besides Hanes, 51, the supervisor of Drake Wood Manor, an assisted living facility in Clarkston and Kassuba, 64, the deputy supervisor of Brandon Township, Daniel Eschmann, a 47-year-old account manager for PPG Industries in Troy; Glennis Hubbard, a 47-year-old stay-at-home mom; Michael Via, a 50-year-old account manager for Cooper Standard in Auburn Hills; and Aileen Champion, who was considering withdrawing her candidacy as of press time Thursday.
Competing for the 2-year council president term are Ken Quisenberry, 48, a former school board trustee and retired police lieutenant who currently owns his own private investigation company, Capital Investigation in Waterford; and current Council President Sue Bess, 57, who has been on the council for 21 years, 18 of those as council president, and co-owns Bess Bookkeeping Services.
Lee Stewart, who had filed for the mistaken 2-year term last week, has withdrawn.
‘I’m disgusted,? he said. ‘If they can’t get their act together enough to know what positions they’re offering and how long they last for, it doesn’t say much for the county elections board. This is being jerked around… I’m led to believe the screw-ups are at the county level, but I would think the village should know the positions and how long they’re for.?
Rozell deferred questions about how the errors were made to Clark and said his office wasn’t aware of the mistake until the affidavits were filed.
‘I can’t answer whether it is unfair,? said Rozell, who adds that the county has no sanction authority for this kind of mistake. ‘Anyone who missed the filing deadline, can file as a write-in candidate. We can’t correct it any other way. Nothing addresses an error of this type.?