“The good guys won,” Barbara Rogalle Miller summed up her feelings at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday after the voting totals from Haggerty Elementary School’s Precinct 8 were added to the rest of the totals and it was clear the Van Buren Township recall attempt had failed.
“The people have spoken: There is no recall,” Miller said, adding, “Some heads ought to roll starting tomorrow.”
She referred to the appointees at Van Buren Township Hall who have been undermining the four elected officials targeted for recall.
Miller, a Van Buren Township resident and local attorney, has been a leader of the POWW group that sought to keep the four officials from being recalled.
She was smiling as she headed off from the VBT Hall to the victory party at the Belle Villa clubhouse in Belleville Tuesday evening.
The election results are deemed unofficial until certified by the board of canvassers later this week.
Voters were asked to vote yes or no to recall each official. Unofficial totals were:
* Supervisor Paul White: 1,761 yes; 2,154 no – difference of 393
* Clerk Leon Wright: 1,723 yes; 2,183 no – difference of 460
* Trustee Albert Ostrowski: 1,717 yes; 2,178 no – difference of 461
* Trustee Denise Partridge: 1,689 yes; 2,145 no – difference of 456.
The numbers show Supervisor White got 55% of the voters casting a ballot to keep him in office, while the other three recall targets got 56% of the voters in their favor.
“I’m very pleased with the results and I had confidence in the residents, that they would vote to support us,” Supervisor White said after all the votes had been tallied.
“I’m very concerned about the divisiveness of the township caused by the recall. We must all start working together to create a good working relationship for the benefit of our residents,” he said.
“We have accomplished many good things in the 14 months we have been in office and now I’m hopeful we can move forward and everyone can benefit from the resolution of this election.”
A handful of recall supporters had been waiting for election returns at the township hall, but as the incoming totals indicated that the recall was failing, one by one they left the building.
The final numbers were delayed by the absence of returns from Precinct 8, at Haggerty Elementary School, where the workers didn’t relay totals by phone, but waited to bring them in in person – about 9:30 p.m.
It had been a cliffhanger for those waiting, with rumors that Haggerty could tip the balance to approve the recalls.
The Haggerty totals had more yes to recall votes than no votes, but only about 30 to 40 more votes for each target, not seriously affecting the overall totals.
After a Sunday-Monday snowfall of about 7 inches, the streets were dug out and the skies sunny for Tuesday’s special election, which was run smoothly by Deputy Clerk Kathleen Cline.
Of the 20,678 registered voters in Van Buren Township, 3,926 cast ballots: about 19%.