A city panel on Monday overruled the objections filed against the nominating petitions submitted by two Macomb city council candidates.
As a result, Amanda Dean will remain on the ballot for the city council seat in the second ward, and Tammie Leigh Brown-Edwards will remain in the contest for an at-large seat.
The challenge in Ward 2
At-large council member Don Wynn filed objections against Dean’s petitions, saying she fell short of the required number of signatures.
Wynn said 2,184 residents voted in Macomb when the seat was last up for election in 2021. He said Dean needed to collect signatures of at least 5% of that total, or 109.
But Dean countered that she only needed to collect enough signatures to equal 5% of the votes cast in the second ward contest in 2021. Just 12 people voted in that race, so she said the seven signatures she submitted were more than enough.
The Macomb Municipal Officers Electoral Board agreed with Dean and dismissed Wynn’s objection. Per state statute, the board consists of Mayor Mike Inman, City Clerk Renee Lotz, and at-large city council member Dennis Moon, the council’s senior member.
Inman and Lotz voted to overrule the objection; Moon was absent.
Dean will face incumbent John Vigezzi in the April 1 consolidated election for a four-year term.
‘Trial by fire’
This is Dean’s first run for the city council.
After the electoral board hearing, Dean told TSPR that the math was in her favor. She called the hearing a “trial by fire” and felt she benefited from the experience.
“It forced me to be put in a really uncomfortable situation in front of a lot of people,” she said. “It’s important for us to do things that are uncomfortable.”
Dean said she will use the campaign to learn what residents of the second ward want from the city. She also wants to learn how to run for office so she can share what she learns with others.
The challenge in the at-large contest
The objection to Brown-Edwards’ petitions was similar to the complaint filed in the second ward contest.
Vigezzi filed the objection, saying Brown-Edwards collected just 31 signatures. He said she needed at least 109 signatures based on the turnout in 2021, when the seat was last up for election.
But Brown-Edwards contended 401 votes were cast in the election for that at-large seat, so she needed just 21 signatures to qualify.
The board agreed with the lower figure and voted 2-0 to overrule the objection.
Brown-Edwards will face Jennifer Hemingway in the contest for the at-large seat being vacated by Moon.
Brown-Edwards previously served one term as an at-large city council member. She lost her reelection bid to Wynn in 2023 in a contest that featured three candidates.
In that election cycle, Brown-Edwards filed an objection to opponent A.J. Bauser’s nominating petitions, and former McDonough County Voice Editor Michelle Langhout objected to Wynn’s petitions. But both complaints were tossed because the objectors failed to fill out their paperwork properly.
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