Ludington's New Treasurer Mari Jo Lange Won with 0.3 % of the Casted Votes

[XLFD]

To many folks this will be an exclusive news story regarding an election victory that took place seven weeks ago.  Mari Jo Lange, currently serving as the Deputy Chief Treasurer for the County of Mason, was covertly elected as the only declared write-in candidate for City of Ludington treasurer position on December 3rd.  

This was unknown to me before I wrote a comment to be read at tonight's Ludington City Council meeting decrying city leaders for not actively pursuing replacement of the departing treasurer, Tom Ezdebski.  Those people who cast votes on Election Day in Ludington probably noticed that there were no candidates named in the City Treasurer race.  The record shows that most, 93%, passed over this section.  The record also shows that 7% voted for a write-in candidate other than Mari Jo Lange.  The remainder, 14 votes out of 4450 votes cast or 0.3% of the total, wrote in Mari Jo Lange's name.  

To their credit, the city manager and clerk contacted me when they noticed I wrongly suggested that the City would fail to have a duly elected or duly appointed treasurer after the year's end and showed me not only the voting canvass for treasurer but also, after a request, the necessary declaration of intent that she would need to file in order to serve.  If she had not signed such a declaration, her votes would have been uncounted, just like the 318 other write-in votes for undeclared candidates.  

Ironically, 1 in 318 Ludington voters on December 3rd wrote 'Mari Jo Lange' on their ballot.  You can bet the 14 voters who voted for her were mostly fellow officials in on the otherwise secret declaration she made on October 14th, near the end of the time she would be able to file her paperwork.  It shows how far the City still needs to go to become transparent and honest with the people, consider how they kept the following secrets this year about the treasurer position from the public (and it will only get worse as city hall stays closed for meetings):  

1) that the current treasurer was not running for re-election

2) that there was a declared write-in candidate for the treasurer position

3) that there was a winner who won with  0.3% of the vote

Add the fact that early March lockdowns extending through the candidacy-filing deadline effectively squelched prospective candidates from getting enough names on nominating petitions shows more evidence of an anti-democratic sentiment city leaders have towards the clerk and treasurer positions.  Congratulations, Mari Jo Lange, but don't expect an electoral mandate after getting 14 votes from co-conspirators in a city with over 8000 people.  

[AQUAMAN]

Every time we see something new on the COL for a low stunt being perpetrated on the locals, we see another that beats that again for lowness in transparency and honesty, shameful, and disgusting to witness.

[Freedom Seeker]

Sad and well said, Aquaman.

[Du Wright]

Oh my! X, Can you better explain who 318 other votes were and why not shown? Because they didnt register with the clerk? I thought a write in didnt have to be registered.

[XLFD]

The link provided explains that if you wade through the legalese.  Unless a declaration of intent is filled out they won't count your votes, even if you had accumulated more than the 14 votes Lange received.  Back in 2011, I was a little disappointed I only received 30% of the citywide vote going against the popular incumbent Kaye Holman.  I can now feel better since I faired 100 times better than Mari Jo Lange.

[Du Wright]

Thanks, X for that link. Wouldn't there be election laws regulating announcement of vacancies of elected officials. When did Tom Ezdebski resign?

[Freedom Seeker]

I was wondering why, if Mari Jo Lange had her Intent notarized on Oct. 14, what took 9 days for the clerk to sign it with 25 minutes left before deadline. That looks real fishy. Would it have been so that the clerk didnt have to report it to the election board or something?

This looks like just a more fancy way of appointing a clerk or treasurer by someone resigning during term. Another try to overturn the Charter so that they can control the Treasurer as an employee.

[XLFD]

Good attention to detail, FS, as you may have noticed with the provided link to write-in votes:  "An individual who wishes to seek nomination or election to a federal, state, county, city, township, village
or school office with write-in votes is required to file a Declaration of Intent with the appropriate election
official by 4:00 p.m. on the second Friday preceding the election... The local clerk is responsible for notifying the precinct board of any write-in candidates who filed a Declaration of Intent by the filing deadline."

The 9 day gap is at the least suspicious when followed by a last-minute save; it's not hard to believe that some shenanigans were afoot when you look at what they did to keep things in the shadows.

[Freedom Seeker]

Thanks, X.   And being suspicious of everything now, if you look closely at Luskin's date of 10-23-20, and blow up the 23, the "23" looks funny, darker, and possibly written over  or changed, to me, and not uniform in spacing as her other numbers are.  But maybe it was an honest goof of not knowing what day it was.  But getting the Intent in 25 minutes before the deadline when you sit on it for nine days seems suspicious.  What would be a write-ins advantage for waiting nine days?  Seems like none.  Maybe it took the clerk five  or more working days to process it with so much going on around that time? 

[Willy]

X, were there any other write in votes for the Treasurer's job other than for Lange that were not counted? I can understand Lange deciding that she wanted the job but was to late to get on the ballot so she simply became a write in candidate. That's part of the Democratic process of elections, however, if any City official was involved with this scheme and masterminded  and/or participated in it, I would say there would be good grounds for impeachment of those individuals. If Lange was involved with City officials to rig the election how can we trust her with the City's money.  The swamp is alive and well even after Shay and Henderson have moved on.