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We hope you enjoy this abbreviated version of the

Frankenmuth News

Serving Frankenmuth Since 1906

Vol. 117 No. 4 - In our 117th year!

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

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Krafft, Bierlein earn primary wins, prepare for November

Frankenmuth City, Township, Blumfield voters use nearly 1,500 AV ballots

  Following nearly two years of no elections in the area, the Tuesday, August 2 Primary Election went quite well for the three area clerks.

  Frankenmuth City Clerk Phil Kerns, Frankenmuth Township Clerk Luci Valone and Blumfield Township Clerk Lisa Roethlisberger were pleased with their voter turnout, the record number of absentee ballots processed and the Election Day staff.

  Both Frankenmuth City and Township reported voter turnout around 45 percent.

  On the Democratic Party side, all five candidates ran unopposed, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer will be challenged at the November 8 General Election by Republican Tudor Dixon, who won in a five-candidate primary race, setting up a rare female confrontation for the state’s top governmental position.

  Locally, Frankenmuth’s Dennis Krafft defeated fellow GOP incumbent Carol Ewing for the Saginaw County Board of Commission’s District 7. Last year’s redistricting placed the two in a race as District 7 now has 16,835 constituents spread across Frankenmuth City and Township, Birch Run Village and Township and Taymouth Township.

  Here, Krafft won 1,595-218 and he will square off against Democratic challenger Nancy Wilson Baird in November.

  “I am truly humbled and blown away by the size of the win. It invigorates me to provide the best darn service ever to my constituents with special thanks for their enduring support,” Krafft said from his campaign headquarters, the Krafft homestead on Curtis Road.

  Krafft was first elected in 2006.

  In the other race with local ties, Matthew Bierlein of Vassar defeated incumbent Rodney Wakeman for the Republican Party’s Representative in the State Legislature, 97^th District. City and Township voters chose Bierlein over Wakeman, 1,280-505. In the jurisdiction, Bierlein garnered over 59 percent of the vote.

  “I am grateful and I feel honored to be trusted by the communities that make up the 97^th District. From day one of this campaign, the support they have shown has been truly overwhelming,” Bierlein said. “I cannot thank them enough.”

  Bierlein will face off against Democratic nominee Paul M. Whitney, also of Vassar.

  Bierlein also thanked his family for their support and Wakeman and the other challenger, Dean Riley.

  “I want to thank Representative Wakeman and Mr. Riley for both running clean campaigns. At the end of the day, we are all working towards the same goal, serving the people of this district, and we did so with class. I hope we can all come together now to concentrate on the November election and ensure a conservative majority in the house,” Bierlein stated.

  Saginaw County wide, both proposals were defeated. Here, the Saginaw County MSU Extension and 4-H New Millage won by 147 votes, 1,213-1066 while the Saginaw Intermediate School District’s Special Education Proposal lost by just 10 votes, 1,139-1,149.

  For the city, well over 900 absentee ballots were returned from a total of 1,047 ballots issued. For the township, Valone sent out 318 AV ballots and processed 265 ballots.

  In Blumfield Township, Roethlisberger said she and her election crew processed a record number of absentee ballots and did not receive any same day voter registrations.

  “Things went quite smoothly today and we were steady most of the time,” Roethlisberger said.

   Blumfield Township has a population of just over 2,000 residents, with 1,609 registered voters. She issued 274 absentee ballots and 256 were turned back in.

  For governor, Dixon won the Republican side with 161 votes while Whitmer collected 98 votes. For the 97^th state representative, Bierlein totaled 363 votes to Wakeman’s 100 and Riley’s 12 and will square off against Whitney.

  For the circuit court, 10^th Circuit, Dicken outlasted Concannon, 159-129. Both proposals were rejected by Blumfield voters. The MSU Extension and 4-H new millage lost by a narrow margin, 279-276 while the SISD special education question was defeated, 148-121.

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