West Bloomfield

West Bloomfield voters pick trustees

By Eric Czarnik
C & G Staff Writer

WEST BLOOMFIELD — West Bloomfield Township Supervisor Michele Economou Ureste will begin a second term as supervisor with mostly familiar faces on the Township Board of Trustees, according to Nov. 6 Election Night results.

Ureste, a Democrat, beat her predecessor, independent David Flaisher, at the polls by roughly a two-to-one split. With all 25 precincts reporting unofficially, Ureste stood ahead in a 67.4-32.1 percent vote.

As an incumbent, Ureste said she spent a positive campaign knocking on doors and learning that the township needs to become more focused on code enforcement. She also said West Bloomfield would be dealing with road issues like a 14 Mile Road rehabilitation project.

And she hopes to raise more awareness of existing domestic violence programs.

“It’s a universally accepted fact that traffic stops and domestic violence response calls are the most dangerous for our police officers to respond to,” Ureste said.

“We have responded to over 260 domestic violence calls this year so far, so I want to take some proactive measures to make it more safe for our police officers and our community.”

Flaisher, who previously served as West Bloomfield’s supervisor from 2000-2008, could not be reached by press time.

Besides the supervisor race, other familiar faces will join Ureste on the township board. Clerk Cathy Shaughnessy and Treasurer Teri Weingarden easily won their unopposed elections.

In addition, three incumbent trustees will be returning. Steven Kaplan (22.3 percent), Larry Brown (21.2 percent) and Howard Rosenberg (20.7 percent) took the highest percentages among the four open seats. Newcomer Diane Rosenfeld Swimmer became the last person to win with 20.2 percent.

Tom Pustelak, the lone Republican running for trustee, lost with 15.4 percent. But he said it was his first time running for elected office, and he called it a great experience.

He said he ran on a platform of promoting transparency and ending acrimony on the township board. But even though he wasn’t elected, he said the experience hasn’t stopped him from contemplating another run in the future.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to be able to talk to people,” he said. “I’m just going to keep trying to be active in the community.”

Even before the results were tallied, Brown said he felt confident that he’d be back in office. He explained that he did not do much campaign mailing but had plenty of discussions with his supporters.

“When I do get back in office, it’s going to be a new term,” he said. “As for the problems that may arrive … I’m ready, willing and able to address all concerns to this community.”

Learn more about West Bloomfield at www.wbtwp.com or at (248) 451-4800.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Eric Czarnik at eczarnik@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1058.