By Megan Kelley
Editor
mkelley@mihomepaper.com
OAKLAND COUNTY — Voter turnout for the Aug. 6, 2024 Primary Election was low for both Oakland County and Independence Township.

In Oakland County, just 24.88% of registered voters participated in the primary election, according to the Oakland County Clerk’s Office. Of the county’s 1,058,171 registered voters only 263,303 voted across all 498 precincts.

In Independence Township across the 13 precincts, precinct 10 had the lowest voter participation with 18.88% of registered voters casting ballots, while precinct 8 had the highest participation with 36.62%.
Below are the millage and candidate race results that were on Independence Township ballots.

With 100% of precincts reporting, all vote totals are from the Oakland County Clerk’s Office unofficial election results and represent only Oakland County voters.

Fire and Emergency Services Operating Millage

The only proposal on the ballot in Independence Township was the Fire and Emergency Service Operating Millage, a four-year increase of the current millage levy of 3.3716 to a millage levy of 3.8716.
Independence voters were asked to increase the current millage by .5 mills beginning in December of 2025 through 2028. It is expected to collect up to $9,273,790.72 in the first year.

One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value. So, for Independence residents with a home taxable value of $100,000, that’s $387.16 a year. That’s $31.51 per month.

The millage renewal request was passed decisively in Independence with 5,217 (65.35%) supporting the proposal and 2,766 (34.65%) opposed.

Representative in Congress – 9th District

Republican incumbent Lisa McClain ran unopposed, receiving 23,157 votes (99.50%).

Democrat Clinton St. Mosley also ran unopposed, receiving 12,699 votes (99.82%)

The two will face off in the November General Election.

The 9th Congressional District includes all of Independence Township.

State Representative – 52nd District

Republican incumbent Mike Harris of Clarkston ran unopposed in the republican primary for state representative, receiving 10,002 votes (99.71%).

Democrat Caroline Dargay of Clarkston also ran unopposed, receiving 6,682 votes (99.82%).

The two will face off in the November General Election.

County Commissioner – 8th District

Both incumbent republican Karen Joliat and democrat Jesse Brown ran unopposed in their respective county commissioner races.

Joliat received 6,927 votes (99.71%) and Brown received 4,862 votes (99.86%)

They will square off in the general election.

The 8th District includes Independence Township, the cities of Lake Angelus and Clarkston, and portions of Waterford Township

Other Local Candidate Elections for November

Independence Township Board of Trustees

There were no democrats running in the August Primary Election for any seat on the Independence Township Board of Trustees. There is however, an independent candidate, Darwin Moore, running for supervisor who will appear on the ballot for the Nov. 5 General Election. Because of that, unless someone files as a write in candidate, there will only be one contested race in the township for the general election.

Newcomer, republican Chuck Phyle won the primary for supervisor with 2,263 votes (42.08%) beating out incumbent Supervisor Jose Aliaga who received 1,987 votes (36.95%)

Newcomers Terry Whitney and Donald Tillman received 714 votes (13.28%) and 407 votes (7.57%), respectively.

Incumbent clerk Cari Neubeck won the primary as well, receiving 2,886 votes (58.27%), beating out Marianne Hallett who received 2,060 votes (41.59%).

“I feel incredibly honored and humbled to have secured re-election for a second term as Township Clerk through the primary ballot. Looking ahead, we now focus on the General Election ballot on Nov. 5,” said Neubeck.

Incumbent treasurer Paul Brown also won his primary with 2,739 votes (54.80%), defeating challenger Erik Kline who received 2,253 votes (45.08%).

“Thank you for your continued trust in allowing me to manage the treasurer’s office and please let me know if I can be of assistance with anything,” Brown said to residents.

The township’s trustee race saw a number of new faces and several incumbents, all running under the republican ticket.

The four candidates who will move on to the Nov. 5 General Election and who will run unopposed are incumbent Jim Tedder who received 2,538 votes (14.94%), newcomer David Hayward who received 1.858 votes (10.94%), incumbent Sam Moraco who received 1,692 votes (9.96%) and incumbent Terri Nallamothu who received 1,502 votes (8.84%).

Hayward is the only new face in the trustee race, something that he says is bitter sweet.

“I was hoping for more of a shake up but I am excited to serve our residents by going to work for them,” Hayward said.

Hayward looks forward to working to resolve resident issues like neighborhood flooding in the township.
Incumbent Ronald Ritchie did not win his bid for reelection receiving 1,455 votes (8.56%), the fifth highest number of votes.

Newcomers who will not continue on to the Nov. 5 General Election, in order of vote total, are: Mark Petterson with 1,450 votes (8.53%), Emiralda Gojcaj with 1,247 votes (7.34%), Linda Ybarra-Bozzone with 1,216 votes (7.16%), Jesica Spencer with 1,137 votes (6.69%), Bruce Quigley with 996 votes (5.86%), Tasha Schurgin with 616 votes (3.63%), Ryan Cosper with 644 votes (3.79%) and Tina Holland with 610 votes (3.59%).