Reporter for The Canyon Weekly
With the Dec. 6 final certification of the Nov. 8 ballot the books are closed on a few unresolved issues from the election.
Measure 24-466, the Detroit city charter update, failed by a four-vote margin, 55-51. The measure trailed 45-43 on election night, with the no margin growing to 53-49 and eventually the final four-vote margin as the final votes were counted.
No recount is projected because the margin of defeat is greater than the 2 percent required to trigger a recount.
The key piece of Measure 24-466 would have made it easier for those who are not full-time Detroit residents to serve in election positions, including mayor and councilor.
Councilor Denny Nielsen, who played a key role in the development of the charter review, told The Canyon Weekly, “I’ve visited with our team via email to discuss options regarding how to proceed with our charter project. Current thinking is that we’ll meet with counsel to explore possibilities for format and language alterations, then meet with community members to gather input regarding issues that led to the initiatives failure.
“By early spring we should have enough data to formulate a plan to resubmit for next year’s election. Should we agree to resubmit our charter, community education will be key to a more positive outcome.”
Meanwhile, The Canyon Weekly needs to correct information published in the Nov. 25 edition on the election outcome in Gates.
Ronald Evans was appointed to fill the seat of Lisa McCall, who resigned Sept. 15. Donald Mann, who was one of three councilors elected, is replacing Sabrina Kent, who chose not to seek re-election. One seat will become vacant when Councilor Brian Gander is sworn in as mayor at the Jan. 19 meeting. Gander’s council seat will be filled by appointment of the new council.
