City of Saline voters returned incumbents Dean Girbach and Janet Dillon and newcomer Dawn Krause to office in Tuesday's election.
Girbach led all candidates with 2,586 votes. Dillon was second with 2,447 votes. Krause edged former Councillor Heidi McClelland, 2,277-2,265 for the final seat on council. Jenn Harmount finished with 1,643 votes and Brian Cassise had 989 votes.
All three winning candidates were endorsed by the Washtenaw County Democratic Party.
The race of the night came down to Heidi McClelland and Krause.
At around 9 p.m., with only in-person votes counted, McClelland was second among council members, with 637 votes. Krause was running a strong fourth at 515. But at this point in the night, with more conservative voters comprising a disproportionate share of in-person voting, Donald Trump was winning the local presidential vote. There were more than 4,000 absentee ballots, which predictably went "blue," still to be counted.
As the absentee ballots results rolled in, Krause made gains. Heading into the last count - the 3rd precinct absentee ballot count - McClelland held a 74-vote advantage. But the last count was Krause's best of the night. She bested McClelland by 86 votes to win the election by just 12 votes.
Krause thanked Saline voters for their support and noted the tight race between her and McClelland. She also took away hope from the discussions she had with candidates as they greeted voters out front of Liberty School Tuesday
"I was only in front of Heidi by 12 votes so I'm under no false pretenses that it was any sort of a runaway and I'd also like to thank Heidi for her graciousness, both during the campaign, and after the results were calculated," Krause said. "Yesterday at the polls it was an amazing time of togetherness while we all greeted the voters. It felt good to have some unity even though we were 'competitors.' It gave me hope that regardless of what is going on nationally, we can work together for our town and its residents!"
McClelland also remarked about the togetherness at the polls.
"The atmosphere today at the polls was amazing and I know that this city is in good hands," McClelland said. "The race was a very close one, but even in defeat, I look forward to helping in other areas and being of service where I can. There is work to be done, and I am confident our city will take it on with thoughtful consideration and care for one another."
McClelland's campaign was tied closely to the campaigns of Councillor Girbach and Mayor Marl.
Krause essentially takes the place of Christen Mitchell, who chose to run against Marl instead of seeking re-election to council.
Girbach, too, said he was looking forward to working with the new council.
"Looking forward to two more years of hard work, renewed cooperation and serving the most amazing community in the State of Michigan," Girbach said.
Saline City Council | View Precinct Detail | |||
Brian Cassise | 406 | 583 | 989 | 8.09% |
Janet Dillon | 568 | 1879 | 2447 | 20.01% |
Dean Benjamin Girbach | 649 | 1937 | 2586 | 21.15% |
Jenn Harmount | 422 | 1221 | 1643 | 13.44% |
Dawn Krause | 515 | 1762 | 2277 | 18.62% |
Heidi McClelland | 637 | 1628 | 2265 | 18.52% |
Rejected write-ins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% |
Unassigned write-ins | 15 | 5 | 20 | 0.16% |
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