Township supervisor and board of trustees recall, Pere Marquette Township, Michigan (2023)
| Pere Marquette Township Supervisor and Board of Trustees recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Karie Bleau Rachelle Enbody Ron Soberalski |
| Recall status |
Recall approved (Karie Bleau) Did not go to a vote (Enbody & Soberalski) |
| Recall election date |
| November 7, 2023 (Bleau & Bleau) |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2023 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws City official recalls Mayoral recalls Recall reports |
An election to recall Township Treasurer Karie Bleau was held on November 7, 2023, in Pere Marquette Township, Michigan.[1][2][3] Karie Bleau was removed from her position as treasurer as a result of the recall vote.[4]
A recall election against Township Supervisor Jerry Bleau was also scheduled for November 7, 2023. The election was canceled after Jerry Bleau resigned on October 1, 2023.[4]
A separate effort to recall Clerk Rachelle Enbody, and Trustee Ron Soberalski did not go to a vote after the Mason County Election Commission rejected the language of the petitions during a clarity and factual hearing on August 11, 2023.[5]
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
General election
Special general election for Pere Marquette Township Treasurer
Sarah Iteen defeated incumbent Karie Bleau in the special general election for Pere Marquette Township Treasurer on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sarah Iteen (Independent) | 83.4 | 544 | |
| Karie Bleau (R) | 16.6 | 108 | ||
| Total votes: 652 | |||
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Recall supporters
Effort against Jerry Bleau and Karie Bleau
Resident Tim Iteen filed a first round of recall petitions with the Mason County clerk on January 5, 2023. The text of the initial recall petition against Gerald Bleau read, "Gerald Bleau has shown a gross lack of leadership, demonstrated unethical business practices, repeatedly abuses his power and continues to put the township in a vulnerable state of liability." The petition against Karie Bleau read, "Karie Bleau has shown concerning accounting practices and she creates a toxic working relationship that cost the township contracted vendors and campground visitors."[1]
Effort against Enbody and Soberalski
Karie Bleau filed two petitions against Enbody. One of the petitions read, “On June 14, 2022 Clerk Enbody made degrading and inappropriate comments about an employee in an open meeting. On Oct. 11, 2022 an employee made a complaint of harassment and bullying against the clerk. Rachelle Enbody has repeatedly created a volatile, hostile and toxic work environment for past and current township staff.”[6]
The other petition against Enbody read, “On or about June 27, 2022 and Aug. 8, 2022 Clerk Rachelle Enbody received information from the auditor that a water and/or sewer billing error was discovered during the auditing process. MCL41.65 requires the clerk to keep accurate accounting records, Clerk Enbody failed to present the board with a corrective action plan to resolve this issue to ensure accurate accounting records are kept.”[6]
Karie Bleau filed one petition against Soberalski. It read, “On or about June 27, 2022 and Aug. 8, 2022, Trustee Soberalski received information from the auditor that a water and/or sewer billing error was discovered during the auditing process. Trustee Soberalski failed to bring a corrective action plan to the board to resolve the billing error which is his judiciary responsibility as a trustee.”[6]
Recall opponents
Response from Jerry Bleau
Jerry Bleau gave the following comment on the recall campaign to the Ludington Daily News: "I’m an open book. I don’t shy away from controversy. ... I try to do the right thing for Pere Marquette Township. I came here to be a building inspector. I’m going to continue to do good for this community and continue to represent the majority of this community. ... This is not going to get me down. I’m going to fight the language. I think it is speculation. I think it is merely opinion, and I don’t think any of this is fact."[1]
Response from Enbody and Soberalski
In a written statement to Ludington Daily News, Enbody said, in part, “As long as the residents of Pere Marquette Charter Township choose to allow me to work for them, I will continue to abide by my oath of office to uphold the laws and faithfully perform the duties of the office of township clerk, according to the best of my ability.”[6]
Soberalski also gave a written statement to Ludington Daily News. He said, in part, "If they are asking for my recall with this wording, isn’t it cynical that the wording for my recall is very similar to wording on (Pere Marquette Township Supervisor) Jerry and Karie Bleau’s recall, and they claim they are innocent?” He also said, “After I became aware of the stated issue, I contacted the auditor and asked him to come before the board to clarify at a public meeting."[6]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
A recall petition must first be filed with the appropriate board, which then holds a hearing to determine whether the reason for the petition is "factual" and "clear;" that is the only criteria considered by the board to approve or reject the petition.
Once approved by the board, the petitioner must amass a number of signatures equal to 25 percent of the number of votes cast in the last general election in the electoral district of the officer sought to be recalled.[7] The petitioner has 60 days to collect these signatures beginning on the date the first signature is collected; however, the petition must be submitted no later than 180 days after it was approved by the board. For recall of state officials, the petition is submitted to the Michigan Secretary of State; for local officials, the petition is submitted to the county or township clerk in the county where the official resides.
The Mason County Election Commission held a hearing on January 20, 2023, to determine whether the recall petitions could be circulated.[1] The commission approved a recall petition against Karie Bleau, but not Jerry Bleau.[8]
Organizer Tim Iteen filed a second round of petitions against Jerry Bleau, which were considered in a hearing on February 24, 2023.[9] The commission approved two petitions against Jerry Bleau for circulation.[10]
A clarity and factual hearing was held on August 11, 2023, for the petitions against Enbody and Soberalski. The petitions were rejected.[5]
Organizers needed to collect 343 signatures for a special recall election to be scheduled.[1]
See also
- Recall campaigns in Michigan
- Political recall efforts, 2023
- Mayoral recalls
- City official recalls
- City council recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Ludington Daily News, "Recall of two PM Township officials filed," January 6, 2023
- ↑ Mason County Press, "Iteen challenging Bleau for PM Township treasurer’s position," July 17, 2023
- ↑ Mason County Press, "PM township voters will make supervisor decision in November," July 21, 2023
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ludington Daily News, "Iteen elected as PM Township treasurer," November 7, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ludington Daily News, "Recall petitions against PM officials fail," August 11, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Ludington Daily News, "Recall petitions filed for PM Township clerk, trustee by fellow official," accessed August 16, 2023
- ↑ Michigan Legislature, "Michigan Compiled Laws Section 168.955," accessed February 16, 2016
- ↑ Ludington Daily News, "One of four recalls moving forward; Appeal planned," January 20, 2023
- ↑ Ludington Daily News, "Three more petitions filed to recall PM Township supervisor," February 15, 2023
- ↑ Ludington Daily News, "Two of three recall petitions against Pere Marquette Township supervisor approved," February 25, 2023
