Taking the oath of office from St. Ignace Deputy Clerk Andrea Insley are city leaders elected Tuesday, November 3, (from left) councilman Don Gustafson, Mayor Paul Grondin, and councilmen Tom Della- Moretta and Jim Clapperton. The newly sworn in members joined councilmen Paul Fullerton, Willie LaLonde, and Merv Wyse in voting unanimously to name Mr. Gustafson Mayor Pro Tempore during the brief City Council meeting Monday, November 9. Mr. Gustafson has held the position for eight years. Strong support of the county's five-year health services millage translated into a 73.6% approval rating by voters during the Tuesday, November 3 election. Voter turnout county-wide, however, was sluggish with 21.6%, or 2,051 of 9,489 registered voters casting ballots. The millage was the only ballot question in all municipalities except the City of St. Ignace, where 29.5% of the registered voters turned out to elect three city council members, a mayor, and a charter amendment.

"We had a really good turnout," said City Clerk Renee Vonderwerth. "This has been a pretty busy one compared to a lot of the city elections. I think it attributes to what's on the ballot, too."

Incumbent councilmen Don Gustafson and Tom Della-Moretta retained their seats and Jim Clapperton will take a seat to replace Susan Tamlyn- Massaway, who did not run for reelection. Jane Weiss, Steve DuFresne, and Ken Perala lost their bids for a council seat.

Paul Grondin was re-elected as mayor over challenger Mary Nichols, 432 to 155, and a charter amendment to publish the audit summary in a newspaper was approved.

The election for the county-wide hospital millage is estimated to cost taxpayers about $12,000. Under a structure in place until last year, much of the election expense would have been charged to Mackinac Straits Hospital because it previously was operated as a multi-governmental hospital authority. But in 2008, voters approved the transfer of the medical services to a private, nonprofit corporation, Mackinac Straits Health System, meaning election costs are picked up by county taxpayers.

The previous five-year hospital millage expired this year.

The new millage begins in 2010 and will expire in 2014. Next year, the 1.2 mill levy for the health services is estimated to raise about $1,088,700.

It was passed, 1,504 to 539.

Voters in all municipalities passed the millage, although just narrowly in the county's most western townships of Newton and Portage, where residents are closer to medical services offered at Helen Newberry Joy Hospital and Healthcare Center in Newberry.

The east side of the county showed the strongest support of the levy, with Clark Township leading the way.

With no state or national seats on the ballot this November, clerks across the county reported a light turnout at the polls, although Kris Vallier from Moran Township said election workers were kept busy through the day.

"It's been steady, but it hasn't been overpowering," she said. "We're seeing more and more young people coming in."

Election board member Alice Zdebski of Newton Township thought the early morning snow in the western end of the county on election day would have kept some people from heading to the polls.

"We're actually getting more than we expected," she said. The St. Ignace News November 3, 2009 Election Results All results unofficial