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Election results »

Charter voted in,
so is Anita Banach

by CHRIS GRAY
Observer Staff Writer

      Area residents who cast their votes decided on a new form of county government and a new school board member.
       Macomb County residents who voted during the Nov. 3 election overwhelmingly chose to adopt the Home Rule Charter proposed by the Macomb County Charter Commission. In relation, voters chose to see the Road Commission of Macomb County reorganized under the charter.
       Meanwhile, Romeo Community Schools residents elected candidate Anita Banach to fill the sole vacancy on the Board of Education, left by Dale Chesney, current board president, who decided not to seek another term.
       Though it was a typical voter turnout for such an election a total of 95,605 votes were cast regarding the Home Rule Charter. A total of 52,839 votes were in favor of the charter, or 60.4 percent, while 34,627 voted against it, or 39.6 percent of the votes.
       "If you give people the opportunity to streamline government, to make something that is going to be efficient and transparent, then they're going to jump all over that, and that was evident by the turnout of voters from the people in Macomb County," said Jacob Femminineo, Jr., charter commission chairperson.
       Groups such as Taxpayers Against Bloated Government were against the charter and plan to become a watchdog group now that it has passed.
       "Our concerns are still valid, so we'll continue to monitor the issues and see where we go from here," said Bonnie Hayter, a Washington resident and member of the group.
       The decision to reorganize the Road Commission saw similar results, with 55,378 (63.5%) voting in favor and 31,871 (36.5%) voting against it.
       School Board
       At a local level, 1,824 (56.3 percent) residents selected Banach as their candidate of choice for the Board of Education, while 1,416 (43.7 percent) chose Deane Maue.
       "I'm excited," said Banach. "As a new member I'll do a lot of listening. I'm certainly not coming in and thinking I know everything about Romeo."
       Maue said he was disappointed with the results, but wished Banach well, saying he thinks she'll make a good board member.
       Banach will take her seat on the board beginning January 2010.
       Chesney decided to forgo a re-election bid believing he couldn't dedicate the proper amount of time to being a board member.