By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
jnewell@mihomepaper.com
ORION TWP. — Residents in the Village of Lake Orion and Orion Township still have time to file nominating petitions if they would like to run for public office in the primary and general elections.
There are seats up for election on the Orion Township Board of Trustees, the Lake Orion Village Council, the Lake Orion Community Schools Board of Education and the Lake Orion Public Library Board of Trustees.
Some positions are partisan while others are nonpartisan. See each section below for specific filing instructions. Partisan candidates will appear on the Aug. 6 Primary Election ballot and the Nov. 5 General Election ballot. Nonpartisan candidates will appear on the general election ballot only.
Orion Township Board of Trustees
All seven seats on the Orion Township Board of Trustees are up for election, which includes supervisor, clerk, treasurer and four trustee seats. Terms are for four years.
Supervisor Chris Barnett will seek a fourth term. Treasurer Kim Urbanowski and Trustee Matt Pfeiffer have also filed petitions to seek reelection for their respective positions, according to the Oakland County Elections Division Unofficial Candidate List.
Trustee Julia Dalrymple has filed to run for clerk, while current Clerk Penny Shults will challenge for the treasurer’s position.
The township board election is a partisan election so candidates will be placed on the Aug. 6 Primary Election and the Nov. 5 General Election ballots.
A candidate must be at least 18 years of age, a resident of the township for at least 30 days and a qualified elector of the township by the filing deadline. To appear on the ballot, partisan candidates must file nominating petitions containing a sufficient number of signatures and an affidavit of identity with the township clerk’s office by 4 p.m. April 23.
Candidates can pay a $100 fee in lieu of file nominating petitions.
Any candidate who wishes to withdraw their name from the ballot must do so by 4 p.m. April 26.
Forms are available at the Orion Township Clerk’s Office, 2323 Joslyn Rd.
Lake Orion Village Council
There are four seats up for election on the seven-member Lake Orion Village Council. The top three vote-getters will serve four-year terms on the council while the fourth highest vote-getter will serve a two-year term.
The seats up for election are currently held by council members Jerry Narsh, Ken Van Portfliet, Michael Lamb and Stan Ford.
The Lake Orion Village Council is nonpartisan so candidates will be placed on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot.
Candidates can pick up filing packets at Orion Township Hall, 2323 Joslyn Rd., from the clerk’s office and must file an affidavit of identity and nominating petitions.
Lake Orion Community Schools Board of Education
There are four school board seats up for election in Nov. 5 General Election. The seats up for election are currently held by school board President Daniel Bressett, Secretary Susan Flaherty and trustees Birgit McQuiston and Scott Taylor.
School board candidates must pick up and file their petitions with the Oakland County Clerk’s Office Election Division, not the Orion Township clerk.
The school board is nonpartisan and candidates will appear on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot.
Candidates will have to file an Affidavit of Identity and can file nominating petitions with a minimum of 40 signatures (maximum of 100) from qualified and registered electors living in the Lake Orion school district. Candidates may pay a $100 non-refundable filing fee in lieu of petition signatures.
Candidates must file no later than 4 p.m. on July 23 and must be a citizen of the United States and a qualified and registered elector of the school district the candidate seeks to represent by the filing deadline.
A candidate who wishes to seek election to the office of local school district board member with write-in votes must file a Declaration of Intent with the appropriate filing official no later than 4 p.m. on Oct. 25, 2024.
For more information, visit the Oakland County Elections Division website at oakgov.com/government/clerk-register-of-deeds/elections-voting.
Orion Township Public Library Board of Trustees
The library board has six members with nonpartisan six seats up for election in the Nov. 5 General Election. Terms are for four years.
As of Monday, no candidates have filed petitions for the library board.
A candidate must be a registered and qualified elector of Orion Township by the filing deadline.
Petitions are available at the Orion Township Clerk’s Office, 2323 Joslyn Rd., and must be returned to the clerk’s office by 4 p.m. April 23.
Candidates will need to file an affidavit of identity and petition forms containing at least 40 but not more than 100 valid signatures of registered voters. A $100 nonrefundable fee may be filed in lieu of a petition.
Other offices:
Incumbent state Rep. Donnie Steele (R-Orion Twp.) has filed petitions for reelection in the Michigan State Legislature, District 54. Bloomfield Hills Democrat Shadia Martini has also filed to run.
In the Oakland County Board of Commissioners District 6 race, Lake Orion resident Christina Joy Root has filed to run on the Democratic ticket.
Incumbent Commissioner Michael Gingell (R-Orion Twp.) had not filed for reelection as of Tuesday.
Anyone who wants information on running for Oakland County offices or state representative can visit the Oakland County Election Division website at www.oakgov.com under the Clerk/Register of Deeds tab.