Election results certified; recount planned for Onaway Commission
by Peter Jakey–Managing Editor
Members of the Presque Isle County Board of Canvassers convened and certified the election.
“All the results were certified, as they had been reported on election night,” said county clerk Ann Marie Main. “There were no changes.” The board met for four hours Nov. 7.
In the wake of the election, a recount has been requested by Onaway city commissioner Jessie Horrocks, who was recalled by one vote.
Three members of the Onaway City Commission were targeted for recall. Roger Marsh won Horrocks’ seat on the commission with 115 votes. Horrocks had 114.
Marsh will serve the commission through the remainder of the year, but Horrocks won the general election and will begin serving a two-year term in January. She still wants a recount.
If results of the recount indicate a tie between the candidates, the winner will be determined by a name being drawn from a hat. It happened a few years ago in an Onaway city election when incumbent Mel Perkins trailed challenger Joe Libby.
The recount resulted in a tie and Perkins’ name being drawn.
There were rumblings of a recount in the mayor’s race in Rogers City, but nothing had been submitted into the clerk’s office Tuesday afternoon. Tom Sobeck won by a large margin with 375 votes. The next closest was Jerry Wagner with 200.
Paperwork needed to be in by 2 p.m. on Wednesday (past press time). Horrocks’ paperwork was submitted Tuesday. No date for the recount has been set.
The county board of canvassers includes Theresa Heinzel, Janet Lamb, Cynthia Minier and Joseph Schleben.
In other postelection news, the Presque Isle County Council on Aging executive director Kati Kuznicki said the transportation program will improve with the voters approving a request for a quarter-of-a-mill.
“We had a board meeting (Tuesday) and we are in the process of determining the best way to distibute that, to meet the needs,” said Kuznicki. “We are ecstatic about having the additional funds.”
The general fund had been supplementing rising transportation costs when state funding remained stagnant.
With the new funding, other programs will be better served.
The other countywide proposal was a bond proposal to build a new addition to the Presque Isle County Courthouse. About 70 percent of the voters rejected the request.
County board chairman Carl Altman said the majority of the people he talked to believe the old section of the building should be replaced but are not in favor of paying more taxes.
Altman said the project was discussed at Tuesday’s finance committee.
“I thought that maybe we could do it on a longer term,” said Altman. “We were trying to do it in 15 years, which would have avoided a lot of int
Commissioner Kris Sorgenfrei said the issue should not be dropped. She said that is what has happened in the past.
“We did not put it on the ballot as a frivolous item,” said Sorgenfrei. “It is definitely needed. We are going to have to do some stop-gap things in the interim, which is unfortunate, because that costs money.”
She said safety and security should be a priority.
“If we absolutely, indeed, need a new courthouse, new county offices, safe county offices, we can’t quit,” said Sorgenfrei. “We have to do it again.”