GLADSTONE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The results of a Gladstone election have been confirmed in a recount.
In November, incumbent Steve O’Driscoll won a partial term on the City Commission over opponents Mike O’Connor and Steven Viau. O’Driscoll earned 39.19% of the vote, with O’Connor earning 29.15% and Viau receiving 29.62%.
O’Connor filed for a recount due to the fact that fewer people voted on the City Commission race than on the proposal to eliminate special assessments.
“In Gladstone, there were 3,000 ballots cast,” he said. “There were 10% less for the question concerning the special assessment and 20% less for the City Commission, so that amounted to about 600 votes. There was concern that something might have happened.”
On Tuesday, the Delta County Clerk and Deputy Clerk led a recount of ballots from Precints 1 and 2, absentee ballots, and early voting ballots. The recount found only one vote for O’Connor that was not originally counted.
“The oval wasn’t completely filled in,” County Clerk Nancy Przewrocki explained. “It was obvious. We could see where the machine may not have picked it up, but we could see that it was a vote so we counted that.”
O’Connor acknowledged that the recount showed everything “worked perfectly” and praised Przewrocki for her work. As for the low voter response to the City Commission race, he believes an outside factor could be to blame.
“What we found out is a lot of people, obviously in this election year, were in a hurry and didn’t fill out the back side of the ballot form,” said O’Connor. “That accounted, I think, for a large majority of the votes not being cast.”
City Manager Eric Buckman takes issue with O’Connor’s recount request, shown below with personal information redacted.
“I took offense to the fact that in the paperwork, we were accused of fraud,” Buckman said. “We take pride in being very accurate.”
O’Connor defends his request, noting that “fraud” is only stated in the pre-written form and not his own wording.
Now, O’Connor says he wants to move on. However, Buckman says that is easier said than done for the City since the passing of the special assessment proposal.
“There were about 245 people that didn’t want to pay their special assessment, so that was the difference in vote,” he said. “I’m disappointed in the community in voting that down. Now, we’re going to have to find another way to subsidize road funding. It’s not going to come from the state; it’s got to come from the people of Gladstone. If anyone has any ideas for a fairer way than a special assessment to do it, my door is always open.”
Przewrocki says she and the Deputy Clerk were glad for the opportunity to do a recount.
“What I like about a recount is it verifies that the tabulators are counting the ballots exactly like they should,” she said. “We went through a couple thousand ballots and the vote was right on. We want to make sure that every vote counted exactly the way it should, and that’s what this shows.”
For more information on the ballot proposal to eliminate the City’s power to collect tax revenue through special assessments, click here.
