Monroe County Elections: Milan Township voters recall two officials
Voters in Milan Township made their voices heard during Tuesday's consolidated election as two elected official were successfully recalled.
Township trustee Robert Dopkowski and clerk Barbara Collins both lost their bids to remain in their positions following a recall petition that was filed late last year.
In the trustee election, Nicholas Straub unseated Dopkowski, who had been elected five times to the position. Straub collected 313 votes against 117 for Dopkowski. A third candidate, Tom McGettigan, received 31 votes.
"The people spoke and they spoke loud," Straub said. "They wanted some change and they showed they wanted change."
In the clerk's race, Stephanie Kozar won by a 321-138 margin over Collins. Collins had served as the township's clerk for the past six and a half years.
Both the new trustee and clerk will serve the remainder of the current official terms which ends Nov. 20, 2024.
"I was extremely excited and surprised," Kozar said of the results. "It goes to show that when you rally the community, they will bring their voices to be heard. I'm very humbled that so many people came out and chose who they wanted to move forward for the rest of this partial clerk position."
Kozar, 33, is a lifelong Milan Township resident. She said she was motivated to get involved after she regularly started attending township and planning commission meetings back in 2020.
"The next step is to get myself familiarized on what the township is doing and what our plans are moving forward," Kozar said. "I really want to engage the community more and reach out to people. … I really want to reach younger people in the township and get more people involved. I want to be the voice for them and make sure all people are being heard."
The key issue at play in the election concerned Milan Township's embattled solar ordinance. Recall petitions against Dopkowski and Collins were filed last year after both officials voted against rescinding the ordinance at the Nov. 10, 2022 meeting.
At the time, the ordinance stipulated that large solar projects would be allowed in the township on both agricultural and industrial lands. The battle over zoning restrictions spilled over into the new year and was successfully changed during the Feb. 9 board meeting to permit solar only in industrial zones. Both Dopkowski and Collins voted against the change with Supervisor Mark Bogi and trustees Olga Mancik and Joel Gotts voting in favor.
Kozar said that Tuesday's recall election gave a voice in the matter to the residents.
"I think the vote really spoke for itself," Kozar said. "We rallied people to bring their voice whether they were pro-solar in ag or pro-solar in industrial and this was a way for the community to come out and show where their support lied. I think the vote showed what the residents of Monroe Township believe these types of projects should involve. I’m excited to bring that voice to them for the rest of this term."
Straub, 61, expects the conversation on the solar ordinance to continue. From speaking with voters, Straub said it was clear that the majority of residents were not pleased with how the solar ordinance has been handled and changed over the years.
"It was put together in a kind of haphazard way," he said. "It wasn't in one big area of the township, it was in a whole bunch of parcels scattered throughout. It wasn't done properly, but if we keep it in industrial, that's all in one area and I think that's what the township residents want."
Kozar hopes the board and the planning commission can continue to work on the township's solar ordinance to find the best solution for everbody.
"We're headed in the right direction," she said. "I think we made the right steps securing it in industrial. It’s an industrial project and that’s where any project of this size and means should be properly placed. We have a lot of work ahead of us and I’m excited to work with the planning commission and the board to really flesh out this ordinance to make sure it’s feasible for the township and moving renewable energies into our area."
Straub said he will continue to listen to the township's concerns going forward.
"I will reach out to the citizens and see how they feel and what they're looking for, what they want," he said. "That's what I'm here for, that's what I ran for. … It's not about me. It's about the people who will be fenced in on 3-4 sides of a 1 or 2-acre parcel. It's not fair to those individuals."
MONROE COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS
City of Monroe Lake Erie Transit Renewal Proposal
Yes: 1,365
No: 455
Frenchtown Township Lake Erie Transit Renewal Proposal
Yes: 1,607
No: 662
Monroe Public Schools Nonhomestead Operating Millage Renewal
Yes: 2,895
No: 1,848
Monroe Public Schools Operating Millage Renewal
Yes: 2,863
No: 1,879
Monroe Public School Sinking Fund Millage
Yes: 2,830
No: 1,908
Airport Community Schools Bond Proposal
No: 2,312
Yes: 1,656
Mason Consolidated Schools Nonhomestead Operating Millage Proposal
Yes: 896
No: 345
London Township Road Millage Proposal
No: 231
Yes: 102
London Township Fire Millage Proposal
No: 206
Yes: 129
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe County Elections: Milan Township voters recall two officials
