Jensen bests Graff

By Patricia Bogumil

Editor

Nearly 100 absentee ballots were still waiting to be returned after polls closed April 2, leaving many supporters of candidates James Graff and Daniel Jensen with their fingers crossed, waiting to see if Jensen’s 26-vote preliminary lead in the Waterford Union High School race would hold or change.

It held; in fact, it increased by one.

The official results for all votes cast – both in-person and absentee – for the April 2 WUHS election show Jensen (1,525) besting Graff (1,498), a difference of 27 votes.

Incumbent Nancy Klemko officially remains the top vote-getter, with 1,606 votes. Deanna Stever finished fourth, with 1,382 votes.

Jensen said he looks forward to working in positive cooperation with the rest of the WUHS board and, in a post-election statement, thanked voters for their continued support.

“Congratulations to Nancy Klemko for winning re-election,” Jensen said.

“Also, a special recognition of thanks to Jim Graff for his many years of public service to the Waterford community and the great schools he has helped to form.”

Graff has until Friday, April 12, to decide whether or not to file a formal petition seeking a vote recount – an option Graff said he is considering to set the record straight.

“The vote was very close,” he explained, “and there were some things done that were irregular, and they need to be investigated.”

Graff pointed to a double-sided pamphlet distributed on mailbox hooks around Tichigan days before the election that specifically criticized him for signing the petition to recall Gov. Scott Walker and urged voters to “Replace Graff.”

The pamphlet is signed as “Paid for by Concerned Taxpayers.” Under state law, such political material must contain a disclaimer giving the name of the person responsible for the material.

“If there were any campaign violations, I think people should know about that,” Graff said.

The pamphlet notes that Graff has served on local school boards for 33 years (and Klemko for 21 years), and turns their board experience into a negative by saying: “It is time for change.”

Graff said he is proud of the hard work he put in for those many years.

“I’m not ashamed of anything I’ve done,” he said. “I challenge anybody to give as much community service as I have.”

If Graff decides to formally petition for a recount, he will not have to pay for it since he lost to Jensen by less than the 0.5 percent range set in state statutes. Instead, the cost will be paid out of the budgets of the various municipalities involved.

• In other election results, a spokesman for a group of self-described “old-timers” who meet regularly at McDonalds made a special request for publication of the Waterford Village Board trustee vote count in the Waterford Post. All three trustee positions were unopposed April 2.

The official vote tally as of April 8 is: incumbent Tom Christensen, 608; Tamara Pollnow, 566; and Joseph Scheele, 529.