MASON — Three of the city’s former mayors and two of its present council members made the cut for the November City Council race that will happen under the threat of a potential data center.
There were 10 City Council candidates on the Aug. 4 ballot and eight advanced to November. The two lowest vote-getters – Councilman John Vercher, who has spoken in favor of a proposed data center in nearby Vevay Township, and candidate Russell Pokrzewinski – were knocked out of contention, with less than 5% each of the votes cast, according to unofficial election results.
The top eight vote getters were former Mayor Leon Clark, scoring 20% of the votes; former Mayor Robin Naeyaert, 19%, former Mayor Mike Waltz, 18%; Councilman Jerry Schaffer, 16%; Councilman Jon Droscha, 6%; Rex Hauser, 6%; Kelly Hannon, 5%; and Shawn Sodman, 5%.
Four seats are on the ballot, three four-year terms and a partial term that would expire in 2028.
Ten candidates ran, many largely because a developer wants to build a data center on about 400 acres northeast of the Columbia and College roads intersection in Vevay Township, just west of the city.
City Manager Deborah Stuart has said the developer is promising an investment of more than $1 billion and a cash infusion that could more than double Mason’s present-day tax stream of $5.2 million a year. The expected new taxes are between $8.4 million and $12.6 million. The developer has not been identified publicly.
The controversy prompted recall initiatives against Mayor Russell Whipple and Councilwoman Elaine Ferris.
Byrum quashed the recall drive against Whipple because of an issue with petition language. Susan Elliott of No Data Centers in Mason said the group’s plan is now to get the mayor’s possible recall on the May ballot. Ferris’ potential recall will be on the November ballot.
Terms for Whipple and Ferris now are slated to expire at the end of 2028.
Vevay Township’s board has rejected the idea of negotiating a Public Act 425 agreement for a conditional land use transfer, potentially with economic benefits like tax revenues generated by the project for both communities. Mason officials are now expecting the property owner and data center developer to seek annexation from the State Boundary Commission, which would move the land from the township to the city.
Contact editor Susan Vela at svela@lsj.com or 248-873-7044. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Mason voters pare City Council race tied to data center to 8 candidates
Reporting by Susan Vela, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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By Susan Vela, Lansing State Journal | USA TODAY Network
