Matt Gibb moved one step closer to becoming the next Orion Township Supervisor. But, unlike the rest of last week’s primary winners, he still has more work to do before joining the new board.
Gibb’s 2,158 votes beat Dan Myslakowski’s 1,527 to win the Republican primary. He advances to take on David Hodges, who won 917 votes running unopposed in the Democratic primary, in November.
‘Our race was very interesting at the end,? said Gibb, crediting his opponent’s hard-working campaign. ‘But some of it calmed down on its own and the results don’t lie in the end.?
Meanwhile, the rest of the new board is set, with Penny Shults (clerk), Alice Young (treasurer) and Neal Porter, Mark Crane, John Steimel and JoAnn Van Tassel (trustees).
The clerk’s position was the closest among the full-time seats, with Shults edging Justin Dunaskiss 2,014 votes to 1,782.
Shults had a quiet election night with her family, while celebrating her grandson’s birthday. But she admitted keeping a close eye on the results, which became official around 11 p.m.
‘It was pretty much neck and neck,? she said.
Young, the only full-time incumbent seeking reelection, earned 1,981 votes to challenger Sandra Dyl’s 1,477.
‘What I feel best about is the confidence the voters have in me,? Young said.
Porter was the highest vote-getter among the seven trustee candidates, garnering 2,035 votes. He was followed by Crane (1,975), Steimel (1,858) and Van Tassel (1,798).
Van Tassel is the former township supervisor and Lake Orion village manager. She edged Michael Toth (1,537), Sandy Walker (1,410) and Ken Van Portfliet (1,295) for the final trustee seat.
Clerk Jill Bastian said the 23.88-percent turnout was just a bit under the 25-30-percent range primary elections typically draw.
‘We did almost 24-percent, which is five-percent better than two years ago,? Bastian noted.
Of the township’s 23,792 voters, 5,682 cast ballots in the primary election, with about 73-percent of those voters participating in the Republican primary.
‘People did participate and for those that did, I think we had a successful election,? Bastian said.
Nearly one-third of the election workers were new, and Bastian said she has gotten good feedback so far. She also said the new on-call waiting list worked very well, with almost all of those workers getting assignments.
Voters easily passed all three local millage renewals, for fire (78-percent), police (73.5 percent) and safety paths (61.7-percent), and also supported the county-wide Zoological Authority proposal (64-percent).
Most of the discussion after the election, however, centered on the board, which will have at least two brand-new members.
‘I am so looking forward to working with a new board,? Young said. ‘We aren’t always going to agree, and we shouldn’t, but we have to get things done. Everyone I talked to feels the same way. I really think all 14 people who ran could work together.?
Shults agreed, saying that fact was evident on the campaign trail.
‘I was grateful the way everyone ran their campaigns,? she said. ‘We were running for our positions, not against each other.?
Shults will move from the township’s assessing department to the clerk’s office across the hall.
‘I’m so glad that I’ll be able to continue to serve the people,? she said. ‘I feel incredibly blessed.?
For Gibb, though, more campaigning remains.
‘We worked very hard to get to this point, but there’s a lot of work left to be done,? he said. ‘My hope is that the Orion voters stay engaged beyond the presidential race. I think they will, because our area is pretty savvy.?
Gibb added that regardless of who wins the supervisor’s seat come November, the township will have a solid board representing them.
‘I think it’s an excellent mix. There’s a lot of experience and knowledge.?