Two new members to replace Narsh, Van Portfliet

By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
jnewell@mihomepaper.com
LAKE ORION — In one of the more contested local elections, voters in Lake Orion returned two incumbents to the village council, while two newcomers will be sworn in as well during the next village council meeting.
Stan Ford and Michael Lamb retained their seats on the council after winning their reelection bids. Ford will serve a four-year term while Lamb, who was fourth in the voting, will serve a two-year term.
George Dandalides and Alex Comparoni are new to the council, and will replace former Council President Jerry Narsh and Councilmember Ken Van Portfliet, neither of whom sought reelection.
Lake Orion elections are structured so that the four candidates on the seven-member council are up for election every two years. Lamb’s seat will be up for election again in November 2026, as will the seats currently occupied by Teresa Rutt, Carl Cyrowski and Nancy Moshier.
Both Lamb and Comparoni campaigned outside of Precinct 2 at Lake Orion Village Hall on election day, saying they were happy to speak to residents as they headed into the polls, hear their concerns and stump for their candidacies.
“This is a perfect election day. Everybody’s come (to the polls) really good. Everybody’s upbeat and come ready to vote. No one seems angry,” Comparoni said. “I’m here to make a difference for the seniors, so they can stay here (in Lake Orion). It’s nice to see a lot of young people voting today. My grandson just turned 18 and he was here.”
“Most of them were open to solicitation,” said Lamb, who told voters that he was “the candidate for solid fiscal policy.”
Both Lamb and Comparoni said they support responsible spending and keeping taxes and water rates low in the village, a major complaint they heard from voters as they headed to the polls.
“There’s so many angry people about the water bills,” Lamb said. “I tell them I voted against it.”
“It’s everybody. It’s affected every household,” Comparoni said.
“If dogs voted we’d have about 40 more votes,” Lamb said.
Precinct 2 Chairperson Rick Bouch has been working at the polls on election day for 16 years now said he saw a lot of interest from voters during this election.
“I think voters were more excited this election, and you see that from the turnout. Great turnout and a lot of enthusiasm,” Bouch said. “It’s important to people because they want their vote to count because this is an important election.”
Bouch said the poll workers have noticed a lot of voters in the 18-30 age group showing up in person for the Nov. 5 election. When a first-time voters signs in, one of the poll workers will make an announcement that the person is a first-time voter and then everyone cheers for them. Precinct 2 had about 10-15 first time voters throughout the day.
Poll worker Kristi Pavelich said that she believes that voter turnout was high this election because there are so many important issues and candidates up for election. One man, who had just gotten out of the hospital over the weekend, showed up to vote and needed help walking into the precinct.
“It was that important to him,” Pavelich said.