Petoskey's rec marijuana proposal fails, other election results for Emmet County

EMMET COUNTY — Emmet County voters made their voices heard in several state and local ballot measures in the midterm election on Nov. 8.

Several county commission seats were contested, along with city and township positions. There were also millages and a recreational marijuana proposal in the City of Petoskey.

STATEWIDE RACES

A narrow majority of Emmet County voters chose Republican candidate Tudor Dixon over Democrat incumbent Gretchen Whitmer in the race for governor. In Emmet County, Dixon received 9,590 votes while Whitmer received 9,285 votes. Across the state, Whitmer won by about 10 percent. Dixon conceded Wednesday morning.

In the race for secretary of state, Republican Kristina Karamo received about 500 more votes than Democrat incumbent Jocelyn Benson in Emmet County. Benson won the election by more than 500,000 votes.

Emmet County voters also favored Republican Matthew DePerno for attorney general. DePerno received 9,731 votes and Democrat incumbent Dana Nessel received 8,822 votes. Statewide, Nessel won with 52 percent of the vote.

In the first congressional district race between Republican incumbent Jack Bergman and Democrat Bob Lorinser, 10,787 Emmet County voters chose Bergman and 7,814 chose Lorinser. Bergman won a second term.

In the 37th Senate race, Republican John Damoose received 10,806 votes in Emmet County while Democrat Barbara Conley received 7,955 votes. Damoose won the race with 55 percent of the votes.

In the race for the 107th House seat, Republican Neil Friske received 10,367 votes in Emmet County and Democrat Jodi Decker received 8,516 votes. Friske won with 56 percent of the votes.

Three statewide proposals were on the ballot this year, all of which passed with more than 50 percent of the vote.

In Emmet County, Proposal 1, which set new term limits for state lawmakers, passed with 60 percent of the vote. Out of 18,575 votes cast, 11,308 voted yes.

Proposal 2, which legalized early voting and ballot drop boxes, passed with 54 percent of the vote in Emmet County. Out of 18,700 votes cast, 10,184 voted in favor of Prop 2.

Proposal 3 amended the state constitution to include the right to abortion and contraceptives. The proposal passed in Emmet County with 53 percent of the vote. In total, 18,858 votes were cast for Prop 3, 10,009 of those were yes votes.

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EMMET COUNTY COMMISSION

In the county commissioner races, five out of seven districts were contested.

In District 1, Charles Laughbaum (R) won against opponent Mike Adams (D) with 1,555 votes. Don Mapes (R ) won District 3 against opponent Anne Serafin (D) with 1,592 votes. In District 4, Rich Ginop (R) won against opponent Jeff Boda (D) with 1,511 votes. Brian Gutowski (R) took District 5 over his opponent Cyril Drier (D) with 1,703 votes. In District 6, David M. White (R) won over opponent Jaime Jankowski Brants (D) with 1,557 votes.

HARBOR SPRINGS

Harbor Springs mayor Matt Bugera was elected for another term with 527 votes. His opponent Andrew Johann Potter received 239.

A new member will be joining the Harbor Springs City Council. Two terms were set to expire this November, incumbent Nancy Rondel was reelected with 432 votes and Jamie Melke, who received 349 votes, will be taking the seat of Al Dika, who did not run for reelection.

After two previous millage proposals aimed at solving the city’s revenue crisis failed, the public safety millage request on Tuesday's ballot passed with 484 yes votes and 308 no votes. The proposal asked for one mill for five years to go towards police and fire operations in the city.

More:Harbor Springs tries again for more revenue, narrowing Nov. 8 millage ask to police, fire

The Harbor Springs Public Schools Board of Education had three seats open in this election. Michael Vandermus took one seat with 2,384 votes, current secretary Diane Novak received 2,357 votes, current treasurer Brad Backus received 2,238 and Tom Varner did not win a seat, having received 1,668 votes.

Harbor Springs schools also had two millages on the ballot: an operating millage and a recreational millage. Both passed. The operating millage received 2,841 votes and the recreational millage received 2,932 votes.

OTHER PROPOSALS

Alanson voters approved the Alanson Library millage with 794 voting yes and 522 voting no. This is the first millage for the Alanson Library, which previously got its funding from penal fines and state aid. The .35 mill is over four years and is expected to raise about $51,000 in its first year.

More:Alanson library welcomes Mike Frampus as new director

More:Recreational marijuana to appear on Petoskey's November ballot

Petoskey’s recreational marijuana proposal failed with 1,650 voting against and 1,343 voting in favor. The proposal was placed on the ballot by city council in August after a petition was presented by Prosperity Petoskey to allow licensing for recreational marijuana retail businesses.

In 2020, Petoskey residents voted to allow up to three medical facilities within the city. Currently, none of the businesses who received licenses have opened their doors. There is a Lume Cannabis in Petoskey and another in Bear Creek, both of which are on tribal land.

All results are unofficial until certified.

— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @Tess_Petoskey.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey's rec marijuana proposal fails, other election results for Emmet County