Winfield Township Board of Trustees recall, Winfield Township, Michigan (2022)

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Winfield Township Board of Trustees recall
Officeholders
Phyllis Larson Cathy Killinger Colleen Stebbins John Black Steve Cole
Recall status
Recall approved (Larson, Stebbins, & Black) Did not go to a vote (Killinger & Cole)
Signature requirement
25% of township votes cast in previous gubernatorial election
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2022 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws Mayoral recalls City council recalls Recall reports

An effort in Winfield Township, Michigan, to recall Township Supervisor Phyllis Larson, Clerk Colleen Stebbins, and Trustee John Black was initiated in March 2022. Organizers submitted signatures to the Montcalm County Clerk's Office on August 1, 2022. The recall election took place on November 8, 2022, and all three officials were removed from office as a result of the vote.

Organizers originally tried to recall all five members of the board: not just Larson, Stebbins, and Black, but also Treasurer Cathy Killinger and Trustee Steve Cole. The Montcalm County Election Commission rejected an initial round of petitions against the five officeholders.

Recall vote

Larson recall

General election

Special general election for Winfield Township Supervisor

Ryan VanSolkema defeated incumbent Phyllis Larson in the special general election for Winfield Township Supervisor on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Ryan VanSolkema (Independent)	52.7	543
	Submit photo	Phyllis Larson (R)	47.3	487

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,030
= 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.

Stebbins recall

General election

Special general election for Winfield Township Clerk

Kenneth Bloom defeated incumbent Colleen Stebbins in the special general election for Winfield Township Clerk on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kenneth Bloom (Independent)	51.0	526
	Submit photo	Colleen Stebbins (R)	49.0	506

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,032
= 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.

Black recall

General election

Special general election for Winfield Township Board of Trustees At-large

Julia Potratz defeated incumbent John Black in the special general election for Winfield Township Board of Trustees At-large on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Julia Potratz (Independent)	51.1	525
	Submit photo	John Black (R)	48.9	503

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,028
= 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

Resident Dave Meyers filed several sets of recall petitions against Larson, Stebbins, and Black, which were approved for circulation by the Montcalm County Election Commission in a hearing on July 6, 2022.

Larson

The recall petitions against Larson, which have been approved for circulation, appear below.

“

At the June 15, 2022, meeting of the Winfield Township Board, Supervisor Phyllis Larson voted to approve Ordinance No. 6-15-22, an ordinance amending Winfield Township zoning ordinance to regulate wind energy facilities, with the addition of a 665-foot wind turbine height limit included in said ordinance. The ordinance was adopted by a 3-2 vote. At the June 8, 2022, and June 15, 2022, meetings of the Winfield Township Board, Supervisor Phyllis Larson participated in wind ordinance discussions after the signing of her two wind energy easement agreements with Coral Wind I LLC, each dated April 7, 2020. At the June 15, 2022, meeting of the Winfield Township Board, Supervisor Larson voted to approve an ordinance amending Winfield Township zoning ordinance to regulate wind energy facilities, Ordinance No. 6-15-22. At the Dec. 9, 2021, meeting of the Winfield Township Board, Supervisor Phyllis Larson voted in favor of Ordinance No. 12-9-21, ordinance amending Winfield Township zoning ordinance to regulate solar energy systems, which amended Ordinance No. 11-4-21, the day after referendum petition signatures on Ordinance No. 11-4-21 were submitted to the township. The ordinance was adopted by a 5-0 vote and provides for a minimum setback distance of 100 feet from all property boundaries and all public rights-of-way on the outside perimeter of a large solar energy system. At the June 8, 2022, and June 15, 2022, meetings of the Winfield Township Board, Supervisor Phyllis Larson participated in wind ordinance discussions after the signing of her two wind energy easement agreements with Coral Wind I LLC, each dated April 7, 2020. At the June 15, 2022, meeting of the Winfield Township Board, Supervisor Larson voted to approve an ordinance amending Winfield Township zoning ordinance to regulate wind energy facilities, Ordinance No. 6-15-22. At the Dec. 9, 2021, meeting of the Winfield Township Board, Supervisor Phyllis Larson voted in favor of Ordinance No. 12-9-21, ordinance amending Winfield Township zoning ordinance to regulate solar energy systems, which amended Ordinance No. 11-4-21, the day after referendum petition signatures on Ordinance No. 11-4-21 were submitted to the township. The ordinance was adopted by a 5-0 vote and provides for a minimum setback distance of 100 feet from all property boundaries and all public rights-of-way on the outside perimeter of a large solar energy system.

”

Stebbins

The recall petitions against Stebbins, which have been approved for circulation, appear below.

“

At the June 15, 2022, meeting of the Winfield Township Board, Clerk Colleen Stebbins voted to approve Ordinance No. 6-15-22, an ordinance amending Winfield Township’s zoning ordinance to regulate wind energy facilities with the addition of a 665-foot wind turbine height limit included in said ordinance. The ordinance was adopted by a 3-2 vote. At the Dec. 9, 2021, meeting of the Winfield Township Board, Clerk Colleen Stebbins voted in favor of Ordinance No. 12-9-21, ordinance amending Winfield Township zoning ordinance to regulate solar energy systems, which amended Ordinance No. 11-4-21, the day after referendum petition signatures on Ordinance No. 11-4-21 were submitted to the township. The ordinance was adopted by a 5-0 vote and provides for a minimum setback distance of 100 feet from all property boundaries and all public rights-of-way on the outside perimeter of a large solar energy system.

”

Black

The recall petitions against Black, which have been approved for circulation, appear below.

“

At the June 15, 2022, meeting of the Winfield Township Board, Trustee John Black voted to approve Ordinance No. 6-15-22, an ordinance amending Winfield Township zoning ordinance to regulate wind energy facilities, with the addition of a 665-foot wind turbine height limit included in said ordinance. The ordinance was adopted by a 3-2 vote. At the Dec. 9, 2021, meeting of the Winfield Township Board, Trustee John Black voted in favor of Ordinance No. 12-9-21, ordinance amending Winfield Township zoning ordinance to regulate solar energy systems, which amended Ordinance No. 11-4-21, the day after referendum petition signatures on Ordinance No. 11-4-21, were submitted to the township. The ordinance was adopted by a 5-0 vote and provides for a minimum setback distance of 100 feet from all property boundaries and all public rights-of-way on the outside perimeter of a large solar energy system.

”

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan

Meyers filed a round of recall petitions against Larson, Killinger, Stebbins, Cole, and Black on March 11, 2022. The Montcalm County Election Commission later rejected the petitions in a hearing on March 23, 2022.

Meyers later re-opened the recall effort in July 2022, and petitions against Larson, Stebbins, and Black were approved for circulation.

To force a special recall election to be held, organizers needed to collect signatures equal to 25% of the votes cast for governor in the township during the previous gubernatorial election. Organizers turned in signatures to the county clerk in August.

See also

• Recall campaigns in Michigan
• Political recall efforts, 2022
• Mayoral recalls
• City council recalls
• City official recalls

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Winfield Township, Michigan

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