Yesterday was election day, my first election day as a political reporter. Sure it was an off year for elections, in the sense that there were no national or statewide elections, but that doesn't mean that there weren't important decisions to be made across Downriver.
Allen Park saw one of, if not the most important elections in the history of the city. Bill Matakas won the mayoral race, while four new councilmen were elected along with two incumbents. A new treasurer was also elected. A proposal to help the city fund public safety (ie the police and fire departments). There had been a ton of debate on both sides of the issue, but it passed by a healthy margin. A second proposal for the debt reduction of the Allen Park Studio Center (formerly Unity Studios) failed by a large margin. The new mayor and council need to figure out a way to pay off that debt now without the extra money that would have generated, they have a tough road ahead.
Taylor saw Mayor Jeffrey Lamarand face a recall, and after a brutal campaign he prevailed by a large margin and will serve out the rest of his term.
In Lincoln Park, sitting Mayor Frank Vaslo was defeated by Pat Krause. I don't know a lot about the politics of that city, but our LP reporter Alan Burdziak was a bit surprised when the results rolled in.
Melvindale, the other city that I cover saw sweeping changes, as only a single incumbent was re-elected, the city will have a new mayor, clerk, treasurer, and five new council members.
Southgate, Flat Rock, and several other of our communities saw mostly no contests in their elections as most positions ran with just the requisite number of candidates to fill the offices.
Several of us worked in the office from very early in the morning, until around midnight going to polling locations, taking pictures, shooting video and generally updating the website at every opportunity. All in all it was a very fun night last night, and congratulations to all the winners.
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