Still time to file to run for village council, school board

By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
jnewell@mihomepaper.com
ORION TWP. — The races are set for the Orion Township Board of Trustees, and the seven-member board will have at least three new members after the Nov. 5 General Election.
Incumbent Trustee Michael J. Flood, Jr. is the only current trustee seeking reelection. Trustee Brian Birney did not seek reelection. Trustee Matt Pfeiffer is running for treasurer and Trustee Julia Dalrymple is running for clerk, according to the Oakland County Elections Division official candidate list for the Aug. 6 Primary Election.
With five candidates running, all as Republicans, for the four open trustee positions on the township board, voters will cast ballots for the candidates in the Aug. 6 Primary Election.
The four candidates who receive the most votes will move on to the Nov. 5 General Election where they will likely run unopposed, unless someone runs as a write-in or independent candidate. No Democrats filed to run in the election by the April 23 deadline.
There are also seats up for election for representative in Congress, state representative, county commissioner and Orion Township Public Library Board of Trustees in August.
Candidates for the Lake Orion Village Council and the Lake Orion Community Schools Board of Education are nonpartisan and will appear on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot.
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, beginning on Nov. 20, 2024.
Supervisor Chris Barnett is running unopposed for a fourth term.
In what will likely be one of the most contested races in the Primary Election, Clerk Penny Shults is running for treasurer against Trustee Matt Pfeiffer. Both are sitting board members, long time Orion residents and are well recognized throughout the community.
Incumbent Treasurer Kim Urbanowski is not on the ballot. Urbanowski filed for reelection, withdrew her application and refiled. Her second application was disqualified by the Oakland County Elections Division, so she will not be returning to the board.
Trustee Julia Dalrymple is running for clerk and will face fellow Republican Braden Giacobazzi in the Aug. 6 Primary. The winner will advance to the General Election in November where they will run unopposed unless there is a write-in candidate.
In the race for trustee, five candidates have filed for the four open seats on the township board. Incumbent Michael J. Flood, John Carson, Carrie Hilgendorf, Garrett Hoffman and Jack Lovat have all filed to run on the Republican ballot for a four-year term on the board.
The top four will move onto the General Election, but since there are no Democrats running for the board those four candidates will likely run unopposed in November unless there are write-in candidates.
Representative in Congress
9th District
Incumbent Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Bruce Twp.) is running unopposed in the Primary but will face Democratic challenger Clinton St. Mosley from Lake Orion in the General Election for a two-year term in Congress.

State Representative
54th House District
In a rematch of the 2022 election, incumbent state Rep. Donni Steele (R-Orion Twp.) will face Bloomfield Hills Democrat Shadia Martini in November. Both are running unopposed in their respective partisan primary races in August.
The position is for a two-year term.
House District 54 includes Orion Township, the City of Bloomfield Hills and parts of Auburn Hills, Oakland Township and Bloomfield Township.
County Commissioner
6th District
Incumbent Commissioner Michael J. Gingell (R-Orion Twp.) was the only candidate to file to run in the 6th District on the Republican ticket. He will face Democrat Christina Joy Root from Lake Orion in the General Election. Both are running unopposed in the Primary Election. The position is for a two-year term.
The Oakland County 6th District includes Orion Township, the Village of Lake Orion and portions of Oakland Township and the City of Rochester Hills.
Orion Township Public Library Board of Trustees
The nonpartisan library board has six members with all six seats up for election in the Aug. 6 Primary Election. Terms are for four years.
Nathan Butki, Theresa Fougnie and James Phillips will appear on the ballot. James J. Abramczyk, Mary Pergeau, Bert M. Quinn and Mary Anne Thorndycraft also filed to run but were disqualified by the Oakland County Elections Division due to a paperwork error.
Anyone who wants to run for the Orion Township Public Library Board will now have to run as a write-in candidate. Thorndycraft, Pergeau, Abramczyk, Phillips, Quinn and Butki are the incumbent board members.
The Lake Orion Review will have more on the library board race in an upcoming issue.
November – General Election
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 by 4 p.m. on July 23.
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.