Muskegon County posted its unofficial election results to its website early Wednesday morning, with voters making their voices heard in many races.
The county reported that 62.8% of registered voters cast ballots in the election.
Whitehall District Schools voters rejected the school’s non-homestead operating millage renewal when ballots were counted Tuesday night, with 53.1% of voters saying no. The school has moved quickly in response to the vote and will host community engagement nights Wednesday, Nov. 13 and Thursday, Nov. 21, both at 6 p.m. at the Viking Athletic Center, to determine what steps to take next.
“Although we are disappointed by the recent operating millage vote, we fully recognize the importance of gathering more community input,” interim superintendent CJ Van Wieren said Wednesday. “We hope these sessions will provide valuable feedback as we explore ways to move forward together in support of our students. Our commitment to providing a high-quality education remains the same, and our staff and students continue to work hard toward that goal. We recognize the need to address concerns and work together to ensure our students and staff have the resources they need to succeed.”
Voters in the city of Montague, meanwhile, approved a change to the city’s charter that will make the mayoral term four years long instead of two, which will line it up with city council members’ terms. The measure was approved with 60.9% of the vote.
In the U.S. presidential election, Muskegon County flipped from blue in the 2020 election to red, mirroring the flip of the state of Michigan. Republican nominee Donald Trump, whom national news organizations announced as the projected winner of the presidential election Wednesday morning, narrowly drew more county support than Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, with 49.9% of the vote to Harris’ 48.6%.
Democrat Elissa Slotkin edged out Republican Mike Rogers among Muskegon County voters in a U.S. senatorial race that Slotkin narrowly won. Slotkin got 48.6% of county support to Rogers’ 48.1%. In the U.S. congressional race, incumbent Republican John Moolenaar decisively defeated Democrat Michael Lynch with 57.4% of the vote. The state house race also went to an incumbent Republican, Curt VanderWall, who drew 60.2% of the vote against Democrat Kathy Pelleran-Mahoney.
Both Democratic-backed candidates won races for the Michigan Supreme Court. Kimberly Ann Thomas defeated Andrew Fink, drawing 61.3% of county support, and Kyra Harris Bolden beat Patrick William O’Grady with 60.8% of the vote. Interestingly, the statewide races had those percentages almost exactly reversed (Bolden got 61.3% of the vote and Thomas got 60.8%).
Local results in contested races are as follows:
County commissioner: Kim Cyr (R) def. Bruce Froelich (D) with 60.4% of the vote
Blue Lake Twp. trustee: Lyle Monette (R) and Jackson Wall (R) elected with 41.1% and 35.5% of the vote respectively over Todd Conzemius (D)
Dalton Twp. supervisor: Heather Petrie-Cooley (R) def. Kevin Ferguson (unaffiliated) with 75% of the vote
Dalton Twp. trustee: Nola Twining (R) (23.5%), Eugene Kooi (R) (23.1%), Leeland Witte (R) (22.2%) and Michael Bennett (D) (15.6%) elected over Daniel Hess (D), who finished 2 votes behind Bennett
Fruitland Twp. supervisor: Jeff Marcinkowski (unaffiliated) def. Kimon John Kotos (D) with 54.5% of the vote
Fruitland Twp. clerk: Alexa Steffes def. Marie Hamilton with 51.3% of the vote; neither had a party affiliation
Fruitland Twp. trustee: Four Republicans - Michael Holman (21.8%), Brent Brower (21.5%), Sondra Cross (21.4%) and Christopher VanOosterhout (21.2%) were elected over unaffiliated Lori Lundell
Whitehall Twp. trustee: David Holly (R) (41.5%) and Charles Schmitigal (R) (38.3%) elected over unaffiliated Kayla Flaska
Probate court judge: Gregory Pittman def. Kendrah Robinson with 55.8% of the vote
Reeths-Puffer school board: Christopher Brooks (27.8%) and David Muskovin (26.8%) elected over Austin Aamodt and Zach Neumann
Rothbury village president: Vern Talmadge def. Anthony Schiller with 55.3% of the vote
Rothbury trustee: Incumbents Michael Harris (22.0%), Denise Kurdziel (21.3%), and Troy Voorhees (18.3%) were re-elected over Patricia Day, Cynthia Grossman, Brook Schiller and Marieanne Canales
