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March 2, 2006Recall petitions force electionsElmwood Twp. and Northport officials targetedLELAND - Residents in two Leelanau County communities will vote in May whether to recall a township supervisor and an entire village council.Recall petitions in Elmwood Township and the village of Northport each surpassed the number of signatures needed to force a recall vote. County Clerk Michelle Crocker verified petition signatures and recall questions will appear on the May 2 ballot that also will include school elections. In Elmwood Township, a petition filed by former township trustee John Stanek seeking to recall Supervisor Derith Smith needed 511 signatures from registered voters, and the county clerk certified 645 signatures. Stanek, ousted by voters in 2004, filed the petition against Smith in November. It alleges Smith's actions as supervisor "have been detrimental to the taxpayers legally and financially" and cites numerous examples including "wrongfully terminating" the township marina's former harbormaster and deputy harbormaster. In the village of Northport, opponents of a proposed municipal sewer needed 75 signatures on each petition to trigger recall elections for village president Michael Rogers Sr. and trustees William Brendel, Richard Burmeister, Steven Mattson, Fredrick Thomas, Stephen Wetherbee and Barbara VonVoigtlander. Certified signature totals were 102 for Rogers, 99 for Brendel, 95 for Burmeister, 103 for Mattson, 99 for Thomas, 94 for Weatherbee and 99 for VonVoigtlander. John Kutilek, who's also a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit aimed at stopping the sewer project, filed the Northport petitions in November. All seven list identical reasons involving the proposed sewer, including failure to bring the matter to a public vote and lack of direct testing to prove an environmental need for the sewer. Kutilek said he and fellow recall proponents plan to schedule public meetings in March and April aimed at explaining their opposition to the sewer project. "I think we'll be targeting the undecided and people who want to find out more," he said. See related Elmwood Township stories:
See related Northport stories:
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