Politics

A recount confirms that Republican Margaret O’Brien narrowly beat Democrat Sean McCann in the race for the 20th District state Senate seat in Kalamazoo County. The recount completed Wednesday concludes that O’Brien got 61 more votes than McCann. He asked for the recount after the original count showed him losing by 59 votes in the Nov. 4 election. Both candidates …

An annual event that will observe its 30-year anniversary next year in St. Joseph County was promoted during Tuesday’s county commission meeting. Colon resident Nancy Percival addressed commissioners regarding the Community Action-sponsored Walk For Warmth. The fundraiser’s biggest annual event takes place Feb. 28 at the Three Rivers Community Center. Percival said funds raised through the one-mile walk provide assistance …

The formation of a task force, whose members would attempt to raise public support for a millage request to improve county roads, was proposed last week. During their quarterly St. Joseph County Township Supervisors meeting, members talked at length about the two-question ballot measure road commission officials posed to county voters in August. The requests sought a 1-mill renewal and …

St. Joseph County’s township supervisors were given a detailed summary of the county’s delinquent-tax fund during their quarterly gathering last week at White Pigeon’s township office. County administrator Pat Yoder was a guest at Thursday’s township supervisors meeting. The delinquent-tax account is one of a few matters he was asked to speak about. He said the county over the past …

More than two weeks after the elections, the Democratic candidate for the 20th District State Senate seat State Representative Sean McCann of Kalamazoo says he will request a recount. The results of the election showed McCann losing to Republican State Representative Margaret O’Brien of Portage by a small margin. The Kalamazoo County Board of Canvassers says their count showed O’Brien won …

The state Legislature will remain firmly in Republican control for the next two years. The GOP has a 63 to 47 seat advantage in the House and retains its super majority in the Senate. Republicans will be selecting a new House Speaker in the coming weeks, with the first discussions on that set for Thursday in Lansing. State Representatives Al Pscholka of …

Aaron Miller will potentially be the youngest member of Michigan’s House of Representatives, as the Sherman Township Republican captured the 59th District seat in Tuesday’s general election. Miller, 27, was elected to a two-year term after beating Democrat Mike Moroz of Dowagiac. Earning more than 65 percent of the votes in St. Joseph County, Miller held a 2-to-1 margin over …

Incumbents on area school boards fared well in Tuesday’s general election. In Three Rivers, Pete Bennett was re-elected to a four-year term. In addition, leading vote-getter Diana DeGraff and Scott Karle  were victorious in the four-person race. They, too, will serve four-year terms. In White Pigeon, top vote-getter Dan Cropsey and fellow incumbent Joe Taylor won in their bid for …

Support for State Sen. John Proos was evident not long after polls closed Tuesday, when preliminary figures came in greatly one-sided in favor of the Republican incumbent. Proos, 44, defeated Democrat Bette Pierman to retain his spot in the 21st State Senate District for a second four-year term. Proos, a resident of St. Joseph in Berrien County, previously served six …

Incumbents Rick Shaffer and Don Eaton will return for two more years to the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Shaffer defeated Tim Carls with 61 percent of the vote total for the District 3 seat to the five-member commission, while Eaton claimed 56 percent of the vote in his victory over Jennifer Jones to represent the county’s District 2. …