Sumpter Township voters supported their police department millage renewal in numbers about three to one in Tuesday’s primary election.
The unofficial totals were 1,041 to 379 to renew the two mills for police operation. Results were available at about 8:30 p.m. after the polls closed at 8. Volunteers at each precinct called in the totals to Police Chief Jim Pierce at township hall, so the celebrating could begin at the pavilion across the street.
“I would like to thank all the people in the township who came out and voted yes,” said a relieved Chief Pierce. “You knew how important it was for the township.
“For those who voted no, we’ll do everything we can to change your minds so at the next election you’ll vote yes,” he added, noting there were so many volunteers who helped it’s impossible to name them all.
“We wouldn’t have been able to succeed without them,” said Chief Pierce, whose wife was in St. Joseph Hospital after suffering a heart attack on Sunday and a smaller attack on Monday. She insisted he stay with his department for the election, he said.
Of the 7,356 registered voters in Sumpter, 1,500 cast ballots for a 20% turnout. In Belleville the turnout was about 17.7%, with 535 voting of the 3,022 registered. In Van Buren Township, 3,668 of the 20,929 registered voters cast ballots, 17.53%.
Independent photo by Rosemary K. Otzman
The three heads of police departments in the tri-community pause for a picture following the July 28 official swearing-in of Carl McClanahan as permanent public safety director for Van Buren Township. At left is Sumpter Police Chief James Pierce and at right is Belleville Police Chief Gene Taylor. More than 50 people gathered at the township hall for the brief ceremony, including about a dozen VBT police officers and staff, township officials and employees, Belleville Mayor Pro-Tem Rick Dawson and his wife MJ, Belleville City Manager Diane Kollmeyer, and McClanahan’s family members. Director McClanahan made brief comments after he was sworn in by Clerk Leon Wright. He said he was officially appointed as interim director in December, during a contentious recall campaign and his objective was to keep politics out of the police department. On Feb. 22, before the Feb. 24 recall election, he went home and typed up his resignation. On Feb. 24, he shredded the resignation and started to do what he thought was the right thing to do for the Public Safety Department. He said he is a manager committed to customer service and keeping politics out of the department. His goal is to keep “our highly trained, highly motivated employees doing the things they need to do and keep them out of politics.”
Cop Hug
VBT Police Captain Greg Laurain (back to camera) embraces Public Safety Director Carl McClanahan after the director’s swearing-in July 28. Captain Laurain is one of the four command officers suing the township alleging they were passed over for the director’s job because they are white and asking the federal court to give them McClanahan’s position. The suit was filed in December and is heading toward trial next spring.