When voters in the City of Fennville get their ballots for the November election, they won’t see any candidates listed for four open seats on the city commission. That’s not how it began, and voters will have write-in candidates to choose from.
Petitions to be on the Nov. 7 ballot were due July 25. Potential candidates for the city commission in Fennville needed to collect 15 signatures. The city clerk received documents from four people — Incumbents Mayor Dan Rastall, Commissioners John Jamros and Shawn Machan, and newcomer Sarah Sliter.
Current Commissioner Jim Hayden is not running for re-election.
By Thursday, though, the field of four candidates dropped temporarily to zero.
Rejected petitions
Two petitions were rejected immediately.
Machan’s petition was short one signature because one of the signers was not a resident, according to city officials. The affidavit of identity was also missing.
Sliter’s petition was dated incorrectly.
Two others went to the Allegan County Clerk’s office for a decision. Deputy Clerk-Elections Coordinator Jennifer Tien explained the rejection of those petitions in a letter dated Thursday, July 27, saying the petitions by Jamos and Rastall “lacked required information” as listed in state law.
Jamros lacked details on the name of the office he was seeking and how his name would appear on the ballot. Two check boxes were also left blank. Jamros was on the ballot in 2019 when he won election to the commission.
Rastall lacked the date of notarization and a check box was not completed. Rastall was appointed to the commission in 2021 to fill the seat that opened after the resignation of Erik Almquist. Rastall previously served on the commission for 13 years including eight as mayor from 2007-2015.
“Based on these deficiencies, the affected candidates do not qualify to have their names appear on the November ballot,” Tien wrote.
Write-in candidates
The lack of printed names on the November ballot does not mean city voters will not have choices to fill the four open seats.
Residents can run as write-in candidates.
Shawn Machan and Sliter have already declared themselves as write-ins, according to Allegan County records.
In order to be a write-in candidate, the individual must file a Declaration of Intent by 4 p.m. on the second Friday preceding the election – Oct. 27. The form includes a candidate’s name, address and birthday and must be notarized.
Write-ins are nothing new to city voters.
In 2021, only one name – current Commissioner Brenda Langston – was on the ballot for three open seats. Tori Lyn Machan and Dennis Martin filed as write-in candidates. Both were elected for the four-year terms.
Tori Machan resigned earlier this month and was recently replaced by Seth Boeve, who will serve until the 2025 election.
In 2019, then Commissioner Scott Hageman, who was appointed in 2018, did not file a petition with the proper number of signatures by the deadline to be on the ballot. Hageman filed a write-in petition for the election but did not win a seat.
Also that year, Morgan Bolles filed a petition to be write-in candidate but did not win a seat. He was later appointed to fill the seat left open when Danielle Brien resigned.