ALLEGAN, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Apr. 29, 2024) – An apparent snafu has surfaced involving the chairman of the Allegan County Board of Commissioners.
On Monday, District 1 Commissioner Jim Storey released a statement concerning a request by the Michigan Secretary of State’s office last Wednesday to have his name removed from the August 6th Republican Primary Election ballot. This was due to Storey’s unsuccessful 2015 campaign for a state House seat following the expulsion of Cindy Gamrat from the Lower Chamber earlier that year, with campaign reports from that effort apparently not filed with the Secretary of State’s office.
In the statement, the Holland Republican said, in response to the request from County Clerk Bob Genetski, “You stated you would keep my name on the list of filed candidates until 4 pm Friday, April 26, as the last time I can voluntarily remove my name from the ballot. Otherwise, you implied I would have to deal with media inquiries and explicitly stated that you would remove my name from the list of candidates to be placed on the August ballot. Under duress and unwarranted time restrictions (as I am not aware of any immediate need or requirement for you as the Clerk to withdraw my name from the ballot absent at least reasonable due process), I mistakenly submitted my withdrawal just before the deadline.”
He added that he did not receive any written notice beforehand from Genetski’s office, or from the Secretary of State’s office, of such violations.
Storey said that he did pay all outstanding fines for those reports in question, and citing state laws involving proper documentation for candidacy, along with the lack of “reasonable” due process on the matter, Storey has asked Genetski to retract his withdrawal from this upcoming primary election ballot, to place his name back on that ballot, and to request all documentation concerning his filing that may be “considered different from any past filing” the clerk may have reviewed.
As of 12 Noon on Monday, Storey’s name had remained crossed off in the candidate listing on the Allegan County website, with Craig Van Beek of Dorr the only listed Republican candidate for District 1. No Democrat has filed with the clerk’s office by last Tuesday’s deadline for any of the five Allegan County Board seats in the August primary election.
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