History repeated itself after the City of the Village of Clarkston posted the wrong deadline date to run for city council.
A public notice in the July 13 edition of The Clarkston News stating the deadline for nominating petitions for November’s city council election was Aug 16.
However, Clarkston’s City Charter states the deadline to be ‘the first Tuesday after the first Monday in August,? which would be Aug. 2 this year.
The same error happened last year. At the time, City Manager Dennis Ritter said ‘it was unfortunate. It won’t happen next time.?
When asked about the date last Thursday, Ritter checked with the city clerk and said the deadline was Aug. 16, according to state law.
‘In that case, I think state law prevails,? he said at the time.
Ritter said he’s come across a few things in the charter that conflict with state laws.
‘As state laws change and come in conflict with the city charter, that needs to be reviewed to see if it’s a conflict that has to be dealt with in some fashion or another,? he said.
However, after talking to City Attorney Tom Ryan last Friday, Ritter found the city can set the filing petition date earlier, but not later than the state date. A corrected public notice is posted this week’s paper.