Local election results: GACS bond proposal fails; Mayer, Smith, Swajanen elected
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MARQUETTE -- While the big story from Tuesday's Midterm Election is certainly the Democrats taking control of the house and the senate in Washington, Several elections local to Marquette County had consequential results as well.
The Gwinn Area Community Schools bond proposal failed by 14 votes on Tuesday, making it the fifth consecutive bond proposal to fail in the GACS district.
GACS Superintendent Dr. Sara Croney responded, saying that "Although we are disappointed by the outcome, we respect the decision of our voters and appreciate everyone who took the time to learn about the proposal and cast a ballot.
"As a district, we recognize that the facility, infrastructure and educational needs identified in the board proposal remain. These needs will not go away, and it is now the responsibility of the Board of Education, district leadership and the Tier 2 Citizen's Committee to carefully evaluate our options, prioritize needs and develop a thoughtful plan for addressing them moving forward."
Cody Mayer and Jenna Smith, both running unopposed on the ballot, comfortably won their elections for Marquette County Commission District 1 and District 3, respectively. Local resident and interim County Commissioner Margaret Brumm ran a write-in campaign against Mayer; while it is unclear how many votes she received, there were 98 "unresolved write-in" votes against Mayer's 4,425.
"Thank you everyone for supporting me and getting us across the finish line," said Mayer in a statement released Wednesday morning. "Thank you Ashley for letting me embark on this wild ride earlier this year and for always supporting me. Thank you to the voters of District 1 for turning up and voting in a big way! We have now beat two incumbents, for the same office, in the same election cycle."
In the race for 96th District Court Judge, Derek Swajanen defeated Patrick Crowley, earning 52% of the vote.
"I am beyond proud and humbled to have been elected for the 96th District Court Judge position," said Swajanen in a statement released on Wednesday.
"Thank you for supporting me and believing in me. Your confidence means more than I could ever put into words.
"I am excited for what is to come and look forward to serving Marquette County!"
In the race for Marquette City Commission, the top three candidates were elected: Marcella Krupski received 21.5% of the vote, Paul Schloegel received 18.6% and Kevin Clegg received 16.9%. David Campana and John Prince were elected to the Marquette Board of Light and Power.
The City of Ishpeming library millage passed easily with 74.7% of the votes cast, and Ishpeming elected Brett Argall to be its new mayor. Argall received approximately 66% of the vote over opponent Jason Chapman. Bill Anderson and Collin Fleury were elected to serve full terms on the Ishpeming City Council, and Andrea Jackson was elected to a partial term.
In Negaunee, Jon Becker was elected mayor with approximately 56% of the vote over Amanda Ghanavati, and Kevin Flohe and Kristen Wainio were elected to Negaunee City Council, having run unopposed.
Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.