Local candidate election results

By Jim Newell
Review Editor
 ORION TWP. — The Nov. 8, 2022 general election saw high voter turnout in Orion Township and with that new members were elected to the Lake Orion Village Council and the Lake Orion Community Schools Board of Education.
Orion voters also renewed the Orion Township Parks & Recreation Millage Renewal request for five years, and elected Orion Township Treasurer Donni Steele to represent them in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Village of Lake Orion
Village Council
Voters in Lake Orion chose two new candidates to represent them on the village council, ousting two long standing village council members in the process.
Political newcomer Nancy Moshier garnered the most votes, receiving nearly 100 more votes than her nearest challenger.
Moshier, a newcomer to Lake Orion politics, said she was excited to be elected and appreciated that village residents listened to her platform and believed in her message.
“I have to say that I was very moved by the fact that so many people voted for me, honestly,” Moshier said. “I’m very grateful. People were very positive and I felt really thankful that so many people supported me.”
Moshier, who is married to current Councilmember Michael Lamb, said she went door-to-door to reach constituents and believes that helped her election bid.
“So many people were receptive when I was going around knocking on doors,” Moshier said. “This is the first time I’ve done this and so many people were so open and honest with me. They all had their opinions and they were all very open for change. I think that’s what people want.”
One of Moshier’s main focuses is setting up a five-year plan to address the village’s infrastructure needs “because there hasn’t been one.” She has also questioned whether some of the DDA’s tax captures should be returned to the village to help pay for infrastructure needs, like fixing roads, water main replacement and new sewer pumps.
Voters also re-elected incumbent Teresa Rutt, the second highest vote-getter. Carl A. Cyrowski, a previous council member and past president, came in third.
Moshier, Rutt and Cyrowski will serve four-year terms on the council.
The most recent council president, Ken Van Portfliet, squeaked by write-in candidate Riva Beatty.
Van Portfliet will serve a two-year term on the council. Van Portfliet finished fourth in the 2020 election and was re-elected for a two-year term through this election. His term ends in November 2024.
Incumbents Douglas Hobbs and Bradley E. Mathisen lost their re-election bids. Both had served more than 10 years on the council and on village committees.
· Carl A. Cyrowski received 502 votes (14.45 percent)
· Douglas Hobbs received 422 votes (12.14 percent)
· Bradley E. Mathisen received 420 votes (12.09 percent)
· Nancy Moshier received 639 votes (18.39 percent)
· Teresa Rutt received 544 votes (15.65 percent)
· Ken Van Portfliet received 496 votes (14.27 percent)
· Riva Beatty (Write-in candidate), did not receive enough votes but exact count was not released.
· There were 452 (13.01 percent) unassigned write-in votes and 3,475 total votes cast in the village council race.

Lake Orion Community Schools Board of Education
There were three seats up for election, those held by incumbents Steven Drakos and Jake Singer. Current board President Jim Weidman, the board’s longest serving member, chose not to seek re-election.
There were three newcomers challenging for a four-year seat on the board: Heather Sinawi, Amie Gamache and Thomas Daniels.
Sinawi, a frequent attendee at school board meetings, ran a full-fledged grass roots campaign, attending many community functions to reach the electorate.
Sinawi earned the most votes in the race, with Drakos earning the second most votes and Singer being re-elected with the third highest total.
· Thomas F. Daniels received 6,012 votes (15.63 percent).
· Steven A. Drakos received 7,790 votes (20.25 percent).
· Amie Gamache received 7,154 votes (18.59 percent).
· Heather Sinawi received 9,619 votes (25 percent).
· Jake Singer received 7,731 votes (20.09 percent).
· There were 169 unassigned write-in votes cast and 38,475 total votes cast in the school board race.

County Commissioner
6th District
Incumbent Republican Michael J. Gingell received 19,801 votes (57.94 percent), defeating Democrat Sarah B. Pounds, 14,332 votes (41.94 percent). There were 41 unassigned write-ins cast and 34,174 total votes cast.
The Oakland County 6th District includes all of Orion Township.

State Representative,
54th District,
House of Representatives
Republican Donni Steele of Orion Township defeated Bloomfield Hills Democrat Shadia Martini 22,959 votes (51.1 percent) to 21,913 votes (48.77 percent).
There were 56 unassigned write-ins and 44,928 total votes cast in the race.
Steele will now serve a two-year term in the state house.
The 54th District includes all of Orion Township and parts of Auburn Hills, Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills and the southwest portion of Oakland Township.

Senator, 24th District,
MI State Senate
Republican Ruth Johnson defeated Democrat Theresa J. Fougnie by 87,165 to 45,315 votes across the entire district.
In Oakland County, there were 32,596 votes cast for Johnson and 19,212 votes for Fougnie. There were 58 Unassigned write-ins and a total of 51,866 votes cast in the 24th District in Oakland County.
The 24th District includes Oakland, Genesee, Lapeer and Macomb counties.