Primary winners ready for hard work!
Mount Clemens-Clinton-Harrison Journal (MI) Primary winners ready for hard work Jennifer Brock and Heidi Roman C & G Staff Writers   Published: August 16, 2006 The ballots have been counted and winners of the Aug. 8 primary election are preparing for the political battle to come before the general election Nov. 7. Out of the 15,072 ballots cast in Clinton Township, one race was decided by just two votes. Carey Torrice came out on top for the spot on November’s 16th District county commissioner ticket in what was the closest race of the primary. Torrice beat Christine Delvecchio with 566 votes; Delvecchio received just a hair less with 564. That equates to a difference of only 0.13 percent. Jerry Kieliszewski trailed both opponents with 367 votes.Torrice will run against republican incumbent William Revoir, who ran unopposed in the primary.
There’s no word yet on whether or not Delvecchio will file a petition for recount, according to the Macomb County clerk’s office, but she’s still within the window of opportunity to do so. A recount petition must be filed within six days of the election certification, which would be no later than Aug. 22.
The open seat left by retiring District 17 Commissioner Bobby Hill in Mount Clemens paved the way for a tight race between the Republican contenders.
James Michael Shamaly won by a 23-vote margin over challenger Gary Mallast. Shamaly received 596 votes and Mallast received 573.
Ed Bruley won the Democratic nomination with 1,197 votes. Bruce Ingersoll had the second-highest number of votes with 422.
Shamaly and Bruley will compete in the Nov. 7 election for the two-year term commissioner seat.
In the 31st District state representative race, Daniel Tollis came out ahead of opponent James Korona with a 78-vote lead. He will face off against incumbent Fred Miller in the general elections.
I’m feeling giddy, Tollis said. I’m as sunny as it is today.
The race is Tollis’ first taste of politics, but he feels his business background will appeal to voters. A brick paver by trade, Tollis says he understands what it means to be a working man. He expects Miller to be a tough opponent, but is optimistic about the general election.
Miller began his term as state representative in 2005 and has made higher education, raising the minimum wage and providing affordable prescription drugs for seniors his priorities. He sits on the education, tax policy, natural resources, Great Lakes, land use and environment committees.
Voters in the 19th District will have a choice between two experienced county commissioners in November, with James Perna returning to the ticket after giving up his seat to Paul Gieleghem in the last election. Gieleghem, the current county commissioner, fended off challengers Marcella Slappy-Thrash and William Smith by a whopping 78.3 percent.
It feels really good to have people show up and test the vote, and put some faith and trust into what we’re trying to do in the Macomb County Board, Gieleghem said.
One of the issues Gieleghem will focus on if re-elected is the need for higher education in Macomb County as a way to attract high-paying jobs. He also feels the county needs an executive.
Perna sat four terms as 19th District county commissioner, from 1996-2004, and was the chair of the county’s finance committee for eight years, too. Perna says that under his tenure, the county’s budget was balanced, and he feels he played a big part in that.
My contention is that the county cannot spend more than they take in in taxes to have a balanced budget, Perna said, and during that tenure, I think I contributed immensely to that balance.
Now that the primaries are out of the way, most of the winners agree on what it will take to come out on top in the general election.
A lot of hard work, said Tollis. Miller is going to be a tough opponent ¦ he’s got a lot of good people working for him.
While they each tout different agendas and platforms, all of the candidates who made it through will turn up the volume on their campaign to get their message out before November. There are 69,645 registered voters to vie for in Clinton Township and another 12,000 for candidates campaigning in Mount Clemens.
The general election is Nov. 7. For information on voter registration, polling locations or other voting information, visit the Web site www.michigan.gov/vote or call the county clerk’s office at (586) 469-5209.
A full list of primary election results is available at the Macomb County Clerk’s Web site, www.macombcountymi.gov/clerksoffice.
