The message from Oxford and Addison voters was clear in the Aug. 7 primary election ? no new taxes!
In Oxford Township, voters defeated a proposed 0.4518-mill property tax increase for the public library by a margin of 1,521 to 1,351.
Voters in both townships soundly rejected the proposed 10-year, 0.2-mill property tax to help fund the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA).
Oxford voters failed the measure 1,707 to 1,155, while Addison voters rejected the DIA tax by a margin of 655 to 409.
Oakland County as a whole did not follow the local trend as voters approved the new DIA tax 143,274 to 81,703. Similar proposals were approved in Wayne and Macomb counties as well.
Republican Mike Spisz, of Oxford, won his party’s nomination for the District 3 seat on the Oakland County Board of Commissioners. He defeated Oakland Twp. resident Lana Mangiapane 3,705 to 3,173.
Addison voters picked Spisz by a margin of 416 to 312, while Oxford voters gave him the nod with 1,218 votes to Mangiapane’s 602.
District 3 also includes Brandon and Oakland townships. Spisz will face no Democratic challenger in November.
In the Oxford Twp. trustee race, voters picked Republicans Jack Curtis (1,275), Patti Durr (1,043), Melvin ‘Buck? Cryderman (1,025) and Sue Bellairs (1,014).
They all beat out Republican Charles Kniffen, who received 1,011 votes ? only three votes less than Bellairs.
None of the trustees will face any Democratic challengers in November.
In the race for Addison Township treasurer, incumbent Republican Dan Alberty defeated challenger Lori Fisher by a margin of 535 to 314. Alberty will face no Democratic challenger in November.
Voter-turnout was less than expected in both townships.
In Oxford, a total of 2,996 of the 14,797 registered voters ? or 20.25 percent ? participated in the primary election.
In Addison, only 1,158 of the 4,974 registered voters ? or 23.28 percent ? cast a ballot in the primary election. Of those, 481 voted absentee. Prior to the election, both Oxford and Addison’s clerks had predicted a 30 percent turnout.
Both townships remained GOP strongholds.
Of those who went to the polls in Oxford, 2,131 voted Republican and 700 voted Democratic. Over in Addison, 923 voted Republican and 187 voted Democratic.
Oxford Village won’t have to worry about hiring a new clerk as its current one, Susan Nassar, came in third in the four-way race from Brandon Township clerk.