By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY — A change of leadership coming to two major county offices highlighted the unofficial results of Tuesday’s local primary elections.
Chad Spence, a former St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department detective sergeant and current Career and Technical Education (CTE) Public Safety class instructor, won the Republican nomination for St. Joseph County sheriff over the current undersheriff of the county. Meanwhile, Deborah Davis, a former assistant prosecutor for the county, won the Republican nomination for St. Joseph County prosecutor, upsetting the incumbent David Marvin.
Those two results highlighted a number of key races around St. Joseph County that produced some new blood for county offices, a near-total flip of a township board, and some incumbents winning re-election.
The following is a rundown of the major races and proposals county residents voted on Tuesday.
Spence wins GOP nomination for sheriff
There will be a new sheriff in town come 2025.
On Tuesday, Chad Spence won the Republican nomination for St. Joseph County sheriff in the August primary election, garnering 49.29 percent of the vote (5,549 votes) to lead the five-candidate field.
Current undersheriff Jason Bingaman finished in second place with 29.82 percent of the vote (3,357 votes). Former undersheriff Dennis Allen finished in third with 12.5 percent of the vote (1,407 votes), 19-year law enforcement veteran Joe Bingaman finished in fourth with 4.9 percent of the vote (552 votes), and former Florence Township supervisor Gordon Evilsizor finished in last with 3.38 percent of the vote (380 votes).
As he is running unopposed in the November election, Spence will be the new sheriff of St. Joseph County beginning in 2025. He will replace the embattled Mark Lillywhite as sheriff, who did not run for re-election amid his multiple controversies over the last 18 months.
In an interview Tuesday night, Spence said he was appreciative of those who voted for him.
“I’m happy for our county. I’m happy for all the citizens, because that’s what we’ve been about throughout this campaign,” Spence said. “I’ve said it over and over, it’s not about me, it’s not about anybody but serving our citizens, so I’m very happy for our county.”
Davis wins Republican nomination for prosecutor
A new prosecutor will be roaming the halls of the St. Joseph County courthouse come 2025.
In Tuesday’s election, Deborah Davis won the Republican nomination for St. Joseph County prosecutor, taking home 56.1 percent of the vote (6,061 votes). Incumbent first-term prosecutor David Marvin finished in second with 30.9 percent of the vote (3,335 votes), while former prosecutor John McDonough finished third with just 12.6 percent of the vote (1,361 votes).
Davis will be running unopposed in the November general election. When she takes office, Davis will be the first female prosecutor in St. Joseph County history.
Davis’ return to the prosecutor’s office comes after she was fired by Marvin in January for an alleged integrity issue. She said in an interview Tuesday she’s looking forward to being the new prosecutor.
“I definitely owe it all to my voters that came out, and they spoke. When voters say there needs to be a change, and the number of people that show up for me that did, I really believe I’m in the right spot where I should be,” Davis said. “I’m going to help rebuild this prosecutor’s office and make it something to be really proud of.”
Wenzel edges out Harter for drain commissioner
In one of the closest races of the election, incumbent St. Joseph County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wenzel narrowly won the Republican nomination – and near-certain re-election in November – over challenger Josh Harter.
Wenzel, who has been drain commissioner since 2008, won the primary election with 50.65 percent of the vote (5,282 votes), while Harter received 48.93 percent of the vote (5,103 votes).
In an interview Tuesday night, Wenzel thanked those who voted for him, and said he looks forward to continuing in the role, as he is running unopposed in November.
“I want to thank all the constituents within the county and my supporters, and I look forward to another four years in the drain office to carry on some good work here,” Wenzel said.
Rosado wins primary re-election for Fourth District County Commissioner
In one of two contested seats on the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners, incumbent Luis Rosado won the GOP primary for the Fourth District seat on the board, which covers White Pigeon Township, Mottville Township, and Constantine Township.
Rosado took home 54.12 percent of the vote (814 votes), while challenger David Hayslip, in his second race against Rosado, garnered 45.48 percent of the vote (684 votes). As he is running unopposed in November, Rosado will secure his second term on the county commission.
In an interview Tuesday night, Rosado said he looks to continue his work on the commission once he re-takes office in 2025.
“I’m excited, and I’m glad the citizens voted for me and they supported me, and I’m glad they’re happy with the work I’ve been doing,” Rosado said. “I’m looking forward to continuing to work with the rest of the commissioners, and I’m looking forward to trying to help solve of the problems we have in the county, such as bringing affordable housing to the county. I’m looking forward to working with the new sheriff-elect and his team, and I’m glad the election is over so we can all come together again and work for the benefit of everyone in St. Joseph County.”
Yunker defeats Crabill for Fifth District county seat
In the other contested county commission race, St. Joseph County Grange Fair Manager Christina Yunker won the Republican nomination for the Fifth District seat on the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners.
Yunker received 45.13 percent of the vote (852 votes) in Tuesday’s primary, while Craig Crabill took second place with 40.63 percent of the vote (767 votes). Alan J. Albarran, despite having dropped out of the race prior to the election, still got 13.51 percent of the vote (255 votes) to finish third.
The Fifth District covers Nottawa Township, Sherman Township, Sturgis Township, and part of the City of Sturgis.
As she is running unopposed in November, in 2025 Yunker will fill the seat that will be vacated by Allen, who had held the seat before deciding to run for sheriff. In an interview Tuesday, Yunker said it was “exciting” to win.
“I came out to win, and I’m looking forward to working with the citizens of the county and in my district to do the right thing,” Yunker said.
Carra wins landslide for GOP state rep nomination
Steve Carra will once again be the Republican nominee for the 36th District in the Michigan House.
The two-term politician, whose campaign has mainly focused on social issues and his personal conservative record, won the nomination convincingly in Tuesday’s primary election, held across St. Joseph County and Cass County, garnering 68 percent of the vote between the two counties. Sturgis mayor Frank Perez finished a distant second at 21 percent, while Mendon-area teacher Michael Malmborg finished third at 11 percent.
Carra will face off with Democrat Erin Schultes in the general election. Schultes garnered 2,276 votes in the Democratic primary Tuesday. If elected in the general, Carra will be in his third and final term in the House.
Carra thanked supporters in a statement Tuesday night.
“We get conservative victories in primaries and Republican victories in November. It’s an honor to have the support of our community and I look forward to the general election,” Carra said. “As the radical left keeps rapidly destroying our country, I will continue to expose them for who they really are.”
Four challengers win election in near-total board flip in White Pigeon Twp.
In what was one of the more surprising results of the night, all four challengers in contested seats for the five-member White Pigeon Township Board of Trustees won the Republican nomination – and essentially election – over many long-time incumbents and nearly flipping the entire board.
In the township supervisor race, Jason Trosper won election over longtime supervisor Don Gloy, winning 61.13 percent of the vote (508 votes), with Gloy finishing second with 38.51 percent of the vote (320 votes).
For township treasurer, Anita Casada, who led failed campaigns last year to recall all five members of the township board for, among other complaints, alleged “ethics” issues, won election over longtime treasurer Trudy Gloy. In a race decided by just 56 votes, Casada garnered 53.29 percent of the vote (437 votes), while Trudy Gloy received 46.46 percent (381 votes).
In what was the tightest race in the entire county, Amy Snook and Sheila Kroupa won election as the township’s two trustees, just barely defeating incumbents Vincent Schroen and Jean Tefft, in a race where second through fourth place was decided by just 15 votes. Snook took the highest total votes with 394, while Kroupa took 331 votes to finish in second. Schroen finished four votes behind Kroupa with 327, while Tefft took last place with 318. Three write-in votes were cast.
Trosper, in an interview Wednesday, said it felt “great” for him and the others to have the support they got in the election, and noted the plans the new group hopes to have moving forward.
“A lot of people talked to me about running, and they were a little upset about a few things that’ve happened in the township over the last few years, and needed someone well-known enough in the town to run and have a chance to change power out there. It was a lot of husband-and-wife on the old board, which I’m not really keen with. … If you weren’t with the in-clique, you had a hard time getting things passed,” Trosper said. “We want to do some improvements to just the way things are ran. We’ve got a great fire department, we want to improve that and look to expand and make it better and keep costs down for the taxpayers. One of the things we want to do is make the meetings public knowledge and have them broadcast live through video. We want to move meetings back to 6:30 at night. We want to get a lot of taxpayer input.”
The only person to not lose their seat on the board was Township Clerk Lacie Pletcher, who ran unopposed in the primary and won with 95.21 percent of the vote (656 votes). A total of 33 write-in votes were cast.
All seats will be unopposed in the November election.
Other township election results
There were a few other contested township seats up for grabs in Tuesday’s primary, all of which will have unopposed general election races in November.
In Nottawa Township, Dave Peterson won re-election as supervisor, winning 64 percent of the vote (576 votes), while challenger James Shears garnered 34.78 percent of the vote (313 votes).
In Colon Township, Teresa Owsley won re-election as treasurer, earning 57.83 percent of the vote (395 votes), while challenger Virginia Trattles took 41.73 percent of the vote (285 votes).
In Flowerfield Township, challenger Nicole Hess won election to be the township’s new treasurer, defeating incumbent Alan Pearson by a 52.87 percent (138 votes) to 46.74 percent (122 votes) margin.
In Florence Township, incumbent Don Schrock won re-election to the township board as a trustee with 44.32 percent of the vote (195 votes), while out of the two challengers for the other trustee seat, Elwood Miller came out on top with 35.68 percent of the vote (157 votes). Janet Suhonen finished in last with 19.55 percent (86 votes).
In Mottville Township, the two incumbents won re-election as trustees to the board. Glenn McNamara received 40.76 percent of the vote (128 votes), while Larry Grindle garnered 33.76 percent of the vote (106 votes). Challenger Mark Ripplinger came in third with 25.16 percent of the vote (79 votes).
For Park Township, their two trustees won re-election to the board. Tom Springer and Bill Brislen garnered 41.18 percent (292 votes) and 30.89 percent (219 votes) of the vote respectively, while challenger Regina Chapman received 27.36 percent (194 votes) of the vote to finish last.
Road Millage, COA millage pass
Two countywide millage renewals passed relatively easily in St. Joseph County Tuesday.
The St. Joseph County Road Commission’s road millage renewal was passed by county voters with a near 2-to-1 margin, with 62.99 percent of voters voting yes (7,425 votes), and 37.01 percent voting no (4,362 votes). With the renewal, the 1-mill millage will remain in place for the next 10 years to help with projects on local roads in the county.
Road Commission Manager John Lindsey thanked voters for passing the millage in an interview Tuesday.
“We’re very thankful to the citizens of St. Joseph County for supporting the Road Commission and the millage,” Lindsey said. “It’s huge, and most importantly, it’s money that goes to just local roads. We have a large hard-surfaced, 82 percent local road network, and it takes a millage to have that for the citizens.”
Meanwhile, the St. Joseph County Commission on Aging’s millage renewal also overwhelmingly passed with 71.3 percent of the vote (8,411 votes). The renewal will keep the COA’s 0.75-mill millage going for the next six years.
COA Executive Director Pam Riley said there was a lot of celebration at the COA for the renewal.
“We have had lots of cheering and celebration at the centers, and all our members and our staff are excited that we’ll have at least another six years of providing great services to our seniors,” Riley said. “It’s critical, and we would be struggling to provide much of anything without the renewal.”
Township proposals pass
A number of township proposals also passed around St. Joseph County Tuesday.
In Colon Township, 69.05 percent of voters (502 votes) approved a renewal of its .8826 mill library millage, which goes for five years. In Fawn River Township, 59.64 percent of voters (201 votes) approved a fire protection and ambulance special assessment proposal in an amount not to exceed 2 mills. In Leonidas Township, 69.51 percent of voters (155 votes) approved a renewal of its fire and ambulance service millage of 1.694 mills for four years to provide funding for fire protection and ambulance services in the township.
In Mottville Township, by 10 votes, voters approved a 0.25-mill road improvement millage, with 128 “yes” votes to 118 “no” votes. In Sherman Township, 58 percent of voters (554 votes) approved a 2-mill fire protection and ambulance special assessment proposal. Sturgis Township voters also approved the same 2-mill special assessment for fire and ambulance protection, with 62.08 percent of the vote (221 votes).
Centreville school operating millage passes, Sturgis millage increase fails
Voters in the Centreville Public Schools district approved a renewal of its operating millage or the next 10 years with 62.4 percent of the vote (828 votes) to 37.6 percent (499 votes). The approval would keep the millage rate of 19.5295 mills intact.
On the flipside, though, Sturgis Public Schools voters did not pass an operating millage increase for the district by just over 100 votes. 52 percent of voters (1,409 votes) voted “no” on the 3-mill increase for 11 years, while 48 percent (1,301 votes) voted “yes.” It is the second time a millage increase was placed on the ballot, which would have offset millage money lost because of the Headlee Rollback.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
