West Bloomfield, Keego Harbor, Walled Lake voters weigh in on Election Day

GREATER WEST BLOOMFIELD — Residents in the West Bloomfield Beacon’s coverage area recently cast their votes for local candidates running for elected offices.

The general election was Nov. 8, and aside from choosing candidates, residents also had the opportunity to decide on some local-specific proposals.

 

City Council results
In Keego Harbor, two candidates were running for one open spot on Keego’s City Council.

Theresa Shimansky was elected to fill the spot, as the 521 votes cast for her put her ahead of the 376 votes that Manhal Shammami received.

Shimansky is set to serve a three-year term.

In Sylvan Lake, three open spots were available, with five candidates running for a four-year term.

The top three vote-getters were Feather Buchanan with 558, Michael Zubrzycki with 538 and Ben Clarke with 482.

David Bowman and Gary Voiles also ran for spots on Sylvan’s City Council, with Voiles finishing with 465 votes and Bowman finishing with 392.

“This is my first time in politics or running for anything,” Buchanan said. “I really am excited.”

Buchan wanted to get an idea of what Sylvan Lake’s Council agenda was before outlining her goals.

She discussed the process of trying to earn a spot on Sylvan’s City Council.

“I enjoyed it. Everybody who was running was very nice,” Buchanan said. “I got to learn so much more about the community. … I canvassed the whole neighborhood — went house to house … meeting people that I never realized even lived here.”

 

West Bloomfield school board results
There were two positions open for a spot as a West Bloomfield School District Board of Education member, with nine candidates running for a six-year term.

The candidates who earned the most votes were Ashleigh Davis with 4,091 and Wm. Art Holdsworth with 2,692.

Dianne Holloway Browne finished with 2,480 votes; Earnestina Moore with 2,129; Chris Tucker with 2,104; Brian Dunne with 2,088; Sherri Anne Wynter with 1,776; Brandon A. Kalasho with 1,426; and Jeremiah Williams with 812.

There were three positions available for a spot as a Walled Lake Consolidated Schools board member, with seven candidates running for a six-year term.

The top three vote-getters were Julie Fernandez with 15,169; Shayna Levin with 14,226; and Christy Tice with 12,939.

Christopher Titus finished with 12,533 votes, Susie Muzbeck Crafton with 10,653, Becky Spagnuolo with 10,511 and Nancy van Leuwen with 10,455.

 

Keego Harbor dedicated police millage proposal
A supplemental police millage is set to expire in 2026.

The millage was 4 mills, which is $4 per $1,000 of taxable property within Keego Harbor.

However, it was reduced to 3.6189 mills due to the Headlee Amendment. Under the Headlee Amendment to the Michigan Constitution, a community’s millage rates are reduced to offset any increase in overall taxable value exceeding the rate of inflation in a given year.

Voters were asked if they wanted to replace the current millage and increase it to 8 mills, which would have been levied from 2023 to 2029.

The proposal did not pass, as 581 residents voted no, compared to 557 who voted yes.

 

Medical marijuana proposal
Keego Harbor has been an opt-out community when it comes to sales of both medical and recreational marijuana for years.

However, part of the ballot for Keego residents at the Nov. 8 general election included a proposed charter amendment to end the city’s prohibition of medical marijuana facilities and create a city department for medical marijuana responsible for overseeing the local regulatory structure of facilities.

The group behind the initiative reportedly goes by the name Oakland Cares.

The proposal passed, with 637 residents voting yes, and 527 voting no.

 

Walled Lake Consolidated School District proposal
This proposal left residents with a decision about whether or not to renew and restore the Walled Lake Consolidated School District’s authority to levy a building and site sinking tax fund, with proceeds used to make improvements and repairs to the district’s facilities, according to language that was on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.

The proposal passed, with 30,242 yes votes to 18,556 no.

The approval of the proposal means that the district is authorized to levy 0.5 mill, which is 50 cents per $1,000 of taxable valuation from 2023 to 2032.

Based on the approval, according to language on the ballot, the WLCSD is expected to receive estimated revenues of $3,034,496 during the 2023 calendar year.

“Thank you to the Walled Lake Schools community for the continued support we have received as a result of this successful millage renewal,” WLCSD Superintendent John Bernia stated via a press release. “We are appreciative and remain humbled by the community’s trust in our commitment to serve every child, every day.”

 

Oakland County Board of Commissioners results
In the Oakland County Board of Commissioners District 10 race, Democrat Kristen Nelson beat Republican Vincent F. Sitto, with Nelson finishing with 17,205 votes, compared to 13,377 for Sitto.

Nelson is set to serve a two-year term.

Nelson said that she first ran as a candidate in 2018.

“Any and every initiative that I’ve worked on since being on the Board of Commissioners (has) been short-term — what can I accomplish in two years? I take that same (approach) forward to 2023, in regards to continuing efforts that we started at the tail-end of 2020, and now 2022, and moving into 2023,” Nelson said.

Nelson shared some of her aspirations.

“I look forward to continuing to charge full-speed ahead with the work and initiatives that we’ve established that support our older adults, looking at ways we can enhance quality-of-life for our older seniors and adults across Oakland County, expand equitable access to mental health and behavioral health care services, and working on continuing and expanding those policies that enhance outdoor recreational opportunities, including marine safety patrol,” Nelson said.

In the Oakland County Board of Commissioners District 11 race, Democrat Marcia Gershenson finished ahead of Republican challenger S. Dave Sullivan, as she had 22,035 votes, compared to 14,061 for Sullivan.

“It was one of the most exciting days I’ve experienced in my political career,” Gershenson said following her victory.

Gershenson, who is set to serve a two-year term, discussed agenda items she would like to be part of helping to accomplish.

“For the county, we’re gonna be very focused on transit, affordable housing, climate change (and) … infrastructure,” she said.