Town supervisor and board of trustees recall, Keene Township, Michigan (2022-2023)
| Keene Township supervisor and board recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Kara Albert Corey Wojcik Harvey Noon |
| Recall status |
Did not go to a vote (Wojcik & Noon) |
| Recall election date |
| May 2, 2023 |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2023 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws Mayoral recalls City council recalls Recall reports |
An election to recall Township Supervisor Robert Simpson and Treasurer Kara Albert was scheduled for May 2, 2023, in Keene Township, Michigan. The filing deadline to run in the election passed on March 13, 2023. Voters recalled both Simpson and Albert.[1][2]
A previous recall effort in the township did not qualify for the ballot in 2022. The officials facing recall at that time were Simpson, Albert, and Trustees Corey Wojcik and Harvey Noon.[3]
Recall vote
Simpson recall
General election
Special general election for Keene Township Supervisor
Bob Schafer defeated incumbent Robert Simpson in the special general election for Keene Township Supervisor on May 2, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Bob Schafer (No Party Affiliation) | 51.1 | 316 | |
| Robert Simpson (R) | 48.9 | 302 | ||
| Total votes: 618 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Albert recall
General election
Special general election for Keene Township Treasurer
Taylor Lewis defeated incumbent Kara Albert and Denise Oesch in the special general election for Keene Township Treasurer on May 2, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Taylor Lewis (No Party Affiliation) | 49.0 | 304 | |
| Kara Albert (R) | 48.6 | 302 | ||
| Denise Oesch (No Party Affiliation) | 2.4 | 15 | ||
| Total votes: 621 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Recall supporters
Residents Christine Hendrick and Joshua Nolan initiated the first recall effort in 2022. Hendrick submitted four petitions against each official. The text of one petition read, "On or about March 8, 2022, she (or he) voted in favor of Ordinance No. 3-8-22 A, amending the zoning regulations for solar energy systems in Keene Township."[3]
Hendrick initiated a second recall effort on the same grounds in 2023. She gave the following comment on the recall campaign: "A year ago, when the residents of Keene heard whispers of a potential industrial solar project being proposed on what we know today as over 3,000 acres signed by Invenergy, we started attending township planning commission meetings and board meetings. ... The residents asked questions and voiced concerns on the magnitude of an industrial project on our rural community, but month after month those concerns fell on the majority of these boards’ deaf ears. It was evident that Invenergy was being given more latitude with what their needs were over the safety, health and wellbeing of our residents.”[1]
Recall opponents
Simpson gave the following comment on the recall to Daily News: "The reason why they’re recalling us is because we passed a solar ordinance in March 2022. ... We have different sections in our solar ordinance for small, medium and large projects and the commercial side of it. The reality is that we made changes to all of that and we weren’t happy with the commercial portion so we the board sent that to our Planning Commission to rework it. ... What’s so misleading about it is nobody’s upset to the changes we made to the small, large and medium — they’re all upset about the commercial stuff. ... To recall me because I voted yes on that … if I had done something illegal or shady, I’d get that, but all that was was just a means for them to bring our name up to be recalled.”[1]
He added, "Nobody’s ever come and asked me what my thoughts are on it as supervisor. ... I run the meetings and I’m pretty strict on following the rules. I want to give everybody a chance to speak and let the process play out. I’m not pro-solar, I’m pro-Keene Township. I want to hear the whole story. I want to give the property owners a chance and I want to give the people who don’t want the solar project a chance.”[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
The Ionia County Election Commission rejected the initial recall petition for circulation at a hearing in June 2022.[3]
The commission later approved a second petition for circulation, and a recall election was scheduled for May 2, 2023.[1]
For a recall election to be scheduled in Michigan, organizers needed to collect signatures equal to 25% of the number of people who voted in the previous gubernatorial election in the electoral district of the officer for whom a recall is sought.
See also
- Recall campaigns in Michigan
- Political recall efforts, 2022
- Political recall efforts, 2023
- City council recalls
- Mayoral recalls
- City official recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Daily News, "Keene Township supervisor, treasurer facing recall," March 7, 2023
- ↑ Daily News, "JUST IN: Keene Township supervisor, treasurer narrowly recalled," May 2, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Daily News, "Wording of recall attempts against Belding, Keene Twp. officials denied," June 16, 2022
