GLADSTONE — While June is not typically thought of as the time for elections in Michigan, a special election for the Delta Conservation District taking place this month has garnered a significant amount of attention.
There are two open seats on the ballot, both of which are for four-year terms. Incumbents Dave Nelson and James Yoder will face challengers Joseph Kaplan and Nate Brockman.
The special election will take place Wednesday, June 21. Any resident age 18 or older is eligible to vote during the election between 4 and 8 p.m. at the Pioneer Trail Park Pavilion on that day. Residents can also request an absentee ballot by visiting the conservation district office, located in Pioneer Trail Park, now until the day of the election.
The special election is being called due to an issue certifying the 2022 annual election.
Prior to the start of the pandemic in 2020, the conservation district held its annual elections during a dinner meeting in August. Due to pandemic restrictions, the election and annual meeting were held during an open house at the Pioneer Trail Park Pavilion in 2020, to allow for appropriate social distancing.
According to Delta Conservation District CEO Rory Mattson, prior to the spike in interest for the upcoming special election, no one had ever requested an absentee ballot and the dinner meetings never resumed after the pandemic. That, combined with a slate of only incumbent candidates, resulted in only nine people voting in 2022.
By law, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) must certify the election and notify the conservation district of the certification within 90 days. Representatives from MDARD were present during the 2022 election, but the department never contacted the district.
The issue came to a head after a Freedom of Information Act Request was filed for information about the annual meeting and election. Mattson contacted MDARD with questions about fulfilling the request — as records of the elections are sealed for a period of time — which alerted the department that the election had not been properly certified.
As a result, MDARD recommended the conservation district hold a special election, as permitted under state law. The state also determined that the candidates elected during the 2022 election are legally seated until the special election can be held, as they were incumbents not removed by an election or were appointed by the other legally-seated members.
While the special election corrects the certification error, much of the buzz around the election is related to actions involving the Delta County Board of Commissioners.
Last last year, the district entered into a 10-year contract with the county for parks management, an agreement that was controversial largely due to its length. In January, Mattson submitted a letter to the county commission terminating the agreement, effective May 15. Following the letter, concerns were raised that the conservation district had breeched the contract by terminating the agreement in January and not during June, the month explicitly stated in the contract as the only month the agreement can be terminated by either party.
Despite pushback from residents, the county commission declined to have the issue reviewed by an attorney. Instead, the county and conservation district entered into a new agreement for parks management through the end of the year.
Mattson indicated during an interview with the Daily Press that he intends to resign from the conservation district after the agreement with the county for parks management ends Dec. 31.
“There’s no way I’m hanging in there now. I’m hanging in there — I’m a guy of my word,” said Mattson, who said he originally intended to retire Sept. 30 but due to conservation district board changes and the parks agreement was staying with the district through the end of the year.
The increased interest in the makeup of the conservation district board may also be tangentially related to a string of controversies that have plagued the county commissioners since the new commission took office in January. County Commissioner Bob Petersen, who is one of three commissioners facing a potential recall spurred in part by the termination of the county’s former administrator, served as chair of the conservation district prior to his election to the county board.
The Delta Conservation District is one of 75 conservation districts in the state that manage natural resource services. The districts are legally considered local units of government that utilize state, federal and private sector resources.
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