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Township supervisor and board of trustees recall, Fremont Township, Michigan (2022-2023)
| Fremont Township Supervisor and Board of Trustees recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Reta Gardner Patti Shinn Michael S. Noll Karen Kovach |
| Recall status |
Reta Gardner Patti Shinn Michael S. Noll Recall defeated Karen Kovach |
| Recall election date |
| November 7, 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 Jeffrey Furness, Clerk Reta Gardner, Treasurer Patti Shinn, and Trustees Michael S. Noll and Karen Kovach was held on November 7, 2023, in Fremont Township, Michigan.[1][2][3] Furness, Gardner, Shinn, and Noll were removed from their positions as a result of the recall vote. Kovach retained his position as a trustee.[4]
Ballotpedia covered recall elections against 35 officials on November 7, 2023. Click here to read more about the other recall elections on the ballot.
Recall vote
Furness recall
General election
Special general election for Fremont Township Supervisor
Mark Kenward defeated incumbent Jeffrey Furness in the special general election for Fremont Township Supervisor on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mark Kenward (Independent) (Write-in) | 55.8 | 221 | |
| Jeffrey Furness (R) | 44.2 | 175 | ||
| Total votes: 396 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Gardner recall
General election
Special general election for Fremont Township Clerk
Sonya Francis defeated incumbent Reta Gardner in the special general election for Fremont Township Clerk on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sonya Francis (Independent) (Write-in) | 57.4 | 229 | |
| Reta Gardner (R) | 42.6 | 170 | ||
| Total votes: 399 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Shinn recall
General election
Special general election for Fremont Township Treasurer
Jessica Onufrak defeated incumbent Patti Shinn in the special general election for Fremont Township Treasurer on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jessica Onufrak (Independent) (Write-in) | 56.5 | 225 | |
| Patti Shinn (D) | 43.5 | 173 | ||
| Total votes: 398 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Kovach recall
General election
Special general election for Fremont Township Board of Trustees At-large
Incumbent Karen Kovach defeated Debra Diane Allen in the special general election for Fremont Township Board of Trustees At-large on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karen Kovach (R) | 64.4 | 253 | |
| Debra Diane Allen (Independent) | 35.6 | 140 | ||
| Total votes: 393 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Noll recall
General election
Special general election for Fremont Township Board of Trustees At-large
Kevin O. Bradley defeated incumbent Michael S. Noll in the special general election for Fremont Township Board of Trustees At-large on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kevin O. Bradley (Independent) | 57.9 | 230 | |
| Michael S. Noll (R) | 42.1 | 167 | ||
| Total votes: 397 | |||
| = 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
Township resident Sonya Francis filed recall petitions to recall Furness, Gardner, Shinn, and Noll. Recall organizers initiated the campaign after the town board voted in favor of raising the maximum permissible height of wind turbines that were planned for construction in 2023 and 2024.[1]
The approved recall petition language read, "On August 19, 2021, (board member and title) voted in favor of zoning ordinance amendment #100-03, which raised the maximum permissible height of a WECS (Wind Energy Conversion System) from 500 to 700 feet."[2]
Fremont Township resident William Allen filed a petition seeking to recall Kovach.[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
The Sanilac County Election Commission rejected the initial recall petition language in a hearing on December 12, 2022. Sonya Francis, who filed the petition, later submitted an amended version, which was approved for circulation on December 22.[1][2]
For a recall election to be scheduled, organizers needed to collect signatures equal to 25% of township voters from the previous gubernatorial election.
See also
- Recall campaigns in Michigan
- Political recall efforts, 2022
- Political recall efforts, 2023
- Mayoral recalls
- City council recalls
- City official recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sanilac County News, "Recall petitions rejected for unclear wording," December 14, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sanilac County News, "Contentious hearing on Fremont recall," December 28, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sanilac County News, "Despite controversy, Fremont officials unopposed on ballot -again," May 10, 2022
- ↑ Sanilac County News, "Voters recall board members in Fremont, Speaker townships," November 8, 2023
