Royal Oak Mayor Fournier survives challenge by Miller

Royal Oak Mayor Michael Fournier survived a challenge by former city commissioner Stephen Miller in Tuesday's election results, with Fournier receiving 7,371 votes and Miller getting 5,583. In Royal Oak, as in most Detroit suburbs, the mayor is a part-timer who chairs city meetings and cuts ribbons for business openings while the day-to-day operations of City Hall are overseen by a city manager. 

In other races for the City Commission, there were six candidates vying for three seats. A slate of challengers supported by a group called Take Back Royal Oak sought to oust the mayor-led majority on the City Commission that orchestrated controversial construction that's reinventing Royal Oak's skyline.

Topping the field was incumbent commissioner Patricia Paruch, a former Royal Oak mayor and a supporter of the downtown construction, who was re-elected with 6,820 votes or 18.77%.

Second was another incumbent, Commissioner Kyle DuBuc, who generally supported the mayor-led majority, and was re-elected with 6,385 votes or 17.58%. 

But also re-elected was an outspoken challengers to the Fournier-led majority, incumbent Randy LeVasseur, who received 5,894 votes or 16.22%.

Those who lost their bids for commission seats were newcomer Pamela Lindell, who had 5,793 votes or 15.95%; former commissioner Tom Hallock, who received 5,723 votes for 15.75%; and newcomer Belem Morales, who was listed with the mayor and other incumbents as endorsed by the city's club of Democrats, and was defeated with 5,667 or 15.6%.

Hot races across Oakland County

Across Oakland County, city elections once were reliably dull: non-partisan snoozers with mayors often running unopposed.

Not so this year. Elections in many towns are downright heated, well-financed and layered with lawsuits and partisan endorsements. 

The hot spots include Royal Oak, Birmingham, Troy and Ferndale, where slates of challengers are going after incumbents with a range of concerns,topped by anti-development sentiment and worries about ethics in city hall. In Royal Oak, turnout was especially strong after a new state law enabled "no-reason" absentee voting, playing a role in bringing to City Hall more than 6,000 absentee ballots -- double the usual 3,000 received in prior elections, City Clerk Melanie Halas said.

In Birmingham: Eight candidates were running for four seats on the City Commission, including two incumbents.

Voters were given a dramatic choice -- re-elected incumbents or replace them with a slate of ardent opponents of the city’s recently defeated bond measure, strongly favored by the mayor and other incumbents, that would've replaced and aging downtown parking deck but also allowed controversial private development on city property.

One challenger went a step further. He took on incumbent mayor Patty Bordman as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit that contested the mayor's effort to stifle his and others' dissent at two city meetings in July. That plaintiff was thoroughly vindicated in a settlement with the city, mediated by U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts, which guaranteed the right of residents to speak at city commission meetings.

Birmingham's initial returns were hard to judge Tuesday night because of a storm of write-ins -- 2,135 votes, amounting to 13.69% of the vote. They may ultimately be assigned in overnight tabulation to incumbent, Pierre Boutros. Boutros was not listed on ballots at the request of Oakland County Election Director Joseph Rozell, after county and state election officials found that Boutros had repeatedly violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act by failing to submit timely reports.

One challenger to the incumbents' majority and as vocal opponent of the parking-bond measure was Brad Host, who was elected with the city's highest margin of 2,739 votes, or 17.56%. 

 Another challenger to the incumbents was Therese Longe, who also was decisively elected with 2,668 votes or 17.1%. 

It appeared that the federal lawsuit's lead plaintiff, Clinton Baller, was elected in his first run for public office, receiving 2,147 votes for 13.76%.

Although early returns were unclear, it seemed that Patty Bordman, a commissioner serving this year as mayor in Birmingham's annual rotation for that part-time post, was in jeopardy of losing her post, having tallied 1,665 votes, or 10.67%. Another incumbent, Carroll DeWeese, who supported the parking-deck bond measure but who sided with residents against Bordman's efforts to stile dissent, was still lower in the ranking, with 1,585 votes, or 10.16%.

Also running was newcomer Jake German, who likely was defeated with 1,350 votes, or 8.65%. And newcomer Matt Wilde also seemed to have lost, with 1,311 votes, or 8.4%.

In Troy: Because of term limits, longtime Troy Mayor Dane Slater could not run again, so two council members sought to replace him. Their contest came in the wake of Troy's highly publicized firing in 2018 of its former city manager, now is serving prison time for bribery.

Campaign debate has included whether the city needs tighter ethics guidelines under which the staff and council members operate, and whether the city should allow dense private development on about 100 acres of public land surrounding City Hall.

Seeking the mayor's post, Mayor Pro Tem Ethan Baker was elected mayor after receiving 10,246 votes (67.43%). Baker defeated longtime councilman Dave Henderson, who received 4,905 votes or 32.28%). 

Also running in Troy were six candidates seeking three council seats. Incumbent Edna Abrahim, long seen as sounding early warnings about the city's errant former city manager, was decisively re-elected with 9,513 votes or 23.65%.

Close behind, however, was newcomer Theresa Brooks, a grand-daughter of former Wayne County Sheriff William Lucas, elected with 9,314 or 23.16%.

Also elected was Ann Erickson Gault, who polled 8,005 votes or 19.9%.

Defeated in their bids for council seats were Daniel Agauas, who received 5,788 votes for 14.39%; Sunil Sivaraman with 4,127 votes or 10.26%; and Olimpiu Ollie Apahidean, who received 3,401 votes for 8.46%.

In Ferndale: Two self-styled radicals sounded an alarm similar to that of the Republicans in Royal Oak -- too much downtown development, too fast -- with the catch-phrase: "For Ferndale, Not Developers."

The Ferndale challengers, both of whom say they're "Democratic Socialists," challenged incumbents who’ve overseen downtown construction of condo towers, parking decks and apartments, claiming that tax breaks and other arrangements with developers were excessive.

In the race for mayor, Democratic Socialist challenger Brian Stawowy was soundly defeated with 1,463 votes or 33.48%. Elected was former Ferndale mayor pro tem Melanie Piana, who received 2,877 or a dominating 65.84%.

Another Democratic Socialist, Nada Daher, also was defeated in her run for the city council, receiving 1,464 votes or 18.45%. Daher was among five political newcomers seeking two seats on the city council.

Elected were Kat Bruner James with 2,344 votes for 29.53%; and Raylon Leaks-May, who received 1,986 votes or 25.05%. 

Ferndale's current mayor Dan Martin, appointed to fill out former mayor David Coulter's term, accepted a temporary appointment while promising not to run for the post. Coulter was appointed Aug. 16 to be Oakland County executive, the first Democrat ever to serve in that office.

In Clawson: Resident Reese Scripture has challenged Mayor Deborah Wooley after Scripture filed a non-monetary lawsuit with the city this year. The aim of the lawsuit was to force more transparency on Clawson's elected officials who, according to the lawsuit, hired and fired key staff and made other decisions in secret, violating the Michigan Open Meetings Act and the city’s own charter.

Scripture was elected with 1,345 votes or 61.3%. Wooley received 844 votes, or 38.5%.

Contact blaitner@freepress.com