English elected to school board; Tindall, Blackburn to council

By Rosemary K. Otzman

Independent Editor

   Voters elected 19-year-old Kevin English to the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education in the Nov. 3, 2009 election with a margin of 564 over his opponent Steve Henry.

   Ralph Nodwell, who had served on the board for 13 years and failed to file for reelection because he was out of state, came in short with a write-in bid.

   Unofficial totals were: English, 1,734; Henry, 1,170; Nodwell, 158.

   Turnout was low in all the precincts throughout the tri-community, with 12.88% in Belleville (386 ballots cast out of 2,998 registered voters), 6.8% in Sumpter (503 ballots cast of 7,358 registered voters), and 10.93% in Van Buren Township (2,022 ballots cast of 18,493 registered voters).

Belleville City Council

   Belleville City voters returned incumbent Councilman Brian Blackburn to office, but newcomer Kim Tindall was elected with nine more votes. Tindall ran to fill the vacancy left when Councilman George Chedraue chose not to run for re-election. Tindall earned 264 votes (50.57%) and Blackburn 255 (48.85%).

   Belleville voters also approved a proposal, 223-151, to reverse the council’s earlier action that made 100 N. Liberty Street a park. The site of a former pump station now can be sold, since it no longer is a public park.

County Proposition O

   Unofficial returns show that Wayne County’s proposal to renew the one mill of operating tax for ten more years has passed. It was first approved in 2000.

   Belleville’s vote was 260 yes, 116 no; Sumpter 232 yes, 262 no; and VBT 1,183 yes, 798 no.

Washtenaw Proposal

  Sumpter voters turned down the Washtenaw Intermediate School District Regional Enhancement Millage Proposal, 40 yes, 69 no; VBT voters 33 yes, 39 no.

   In Sumpter, Lincoln School Board candidate Jennifer A. Czachorski got 54 votes (26 in VBT), Jennifer LaBombarbe got 50 votes (26 in VBT), and Zack Conley II got 43 votes (28 in VBT).