McGarity, Calhoun and Yore win Mount Clemens City Commission seats

By: Dean Vaglia | Mount Clemens-Clinton-Harrison Journal | Published November 8, 2023

 Shutterstock photo

Shutterstock photo

MOUNT CLEMENS — Incumbent Ronald Campbell is out, while Theresa Scruggs McGarity, Spencer Calhoun and Jill Towner Yore are in for the next four years on the Mount Clemens City Commission.

According to unofficial results posted by Macomb County elections officials, McGarity finished first in the race for three full four-year terms with 1,216 votes (28.4%), followed by Calhoun with 1,174 votes (27.4%) and Yore with 974 votes (22.7%).

All winners of the contested full-term seats were nonincumbents and will join a board that will be faced with major decisions in the near future.

“I know that we will have the issue with the Great Lakes Water Authority and switching over to that. We’ll have to finish (that) up,” Calhoun said. “That is a big thing that we’ll be pushed into doing and we want to make sure that it’s done correctly. I’m really excited to take a closer look at our boards and commissions, many of which have a ton of open seats and work with community members to fill those spots and help recruit new people to do that.”

Campbell finished fourth with 924 votes (21.5%), ending his 16-year stint on the commission.

“Barb Dempsey, the old mayor, had called me last night and I told her that if I didn’t make it, it was a sign that my mission on the commission had been completed and it was time to move on in a new direction,” Campbell said. “I didn’t make it, so my mission there is complete and I’m going to move onto my next chapter. But it was the greatest honor to be on the commission for 16 years.”

Blight control was a primary goal of Campbell’s time on the commission, which recently culminated in the adoption of an administrative hearings bureau. Campbell does not worry about the future of blight management under the new commission.

“I don’t want to say that I have any concerns, but I hope that they continue to focus on making the city look good,” Campbell said. “I’m sure the new commission will do a great job.”

Incumbent City Commissioner Erik Rick ran unopposed for a partial term set to expire on Nov. 10, 2025, and incumbent Mount Clemens Mayor Laura Kropp ran unopposed for the next two-year term as mayor.