West Bloomfield, Sylvan Lake, Orchard Lake, Keego Harbor

Most WB township board incumbents survive primary vote

Incumbents on the West Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees largely triumphed after the Aug. 7 state primary election.

Township Supervisor Michele Economou Ureste edged out challengers Jonathan Warshay and Robert Egren. Ureste had 45.4 percent, Warshay had 42.7 percent and Egren had 11.7 percent of votes.

Township Clerk Cathy Shaughnessy also succeeded in retaining her position by beating challenger Neha Patel 63.7 percent to 36.1 percent.

Meanwhile, Treasurer Teri Weingarden defeated her challenger, Trustee Gene Farber, 56.6 percent to 43.2 percent. As a result, Farber is the only township board incumbent who is guaranteed not to return to the board after the November elections.

Among the eight Democrats on the ballot running for four trustee spots, incumbents Steven Kaplan, Howard Rosenberg and Larry Brown and led with 17.8, 15.7 and 14.8 percent respectively. Challenger Diane Rosenfeld Swimmer also made the cut with 14.2 percent.

Tom Pustelak was the only Republican on the ballot running for trustee, which means he will face the Democratic primary winners in November.

Rosenberg said the vote outcomes indicate that the public wanted the township board incumbents to come back.

“They are satisfied with the work that the incumbents have done,” he said. “They have indicated to us that they want us in office, but they don’t want us to fight, they want us to build consensus. And I am gratified to the extent that the voters supported me.”

Among Republicans in the 39th State House District, Klint Kesto came out on top, beating five other candidates with 28.2 percent of the vote. Among the Democrats, Pam Jackson beat Regina Strong 67.9-31.9 percent.

In the 40th State House District, Michael D. McCready beat three other Republican candidates with 32.1 percent. Democrat Dorian Coston was the only declared member of his party in the race.

A proposed 0.2435-mill renewal of the West Bloomfield Parks and Recreation Commission millage passed overwhelmingly with 77.3 percent of the vote. A proposed parks millage increase of up to 0.35 mills also won by a narrower 54.3-45.7 percent victory.

Turnout in West Bloomfield precincts ranged from 26-39 percent. Orchard Lake reported a 30.1 percent turnout, and Sylvan Lake reported 32.41 percent, according to the Oakland County Elections Division’s website. At press time, Keego Harbor reported that turnout stood at 15.23 percent, with Democratic ballots barely inching out Republican ones 46.98 to 46.67 percent.

On the night of Aug. 7, Kaplan was hesitant to comment on the election until all the votes were tabulated, but noted the community’s enthusiasm. “I am pleased that a substantial number of voters voted in the primary,” he said. “Obviously, there was avid interest in these races for township offices.”

To learn more about Oakland County’s elections, visit www.oakgov.com/clerkrod/elections.