ALLEGAN, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, May 16, 2024) – As of right now, Jim Storey will not be on the August 6th Primary Election ballot.
The Allegan County Elections Commission, in a Thursday morning meeting at the 48th Circuit Court Chambers of Probate Judge Mike Buck, chairman of the three-member panel, unanimously voted that Storey, the chairman of the county board of commissioners, cannot rescind an April 26 letter asking that his name be taken off of the District 1 GOP primary ballot. The Holland Republican claimed that he was pressured to do this by Clerk Bob Genetski, saying that the Michigan Secretary of State’s office wanted Storey’s name off of the ballot due to delinquent election filings stemming from a failed 2015 state House primary bid.
Storey has since stated that he has cleared up this matter with the Secretary of State’s office, and during a May 8th election commission meeting, Buck told Genetski and County Treasurer Sally Brooks, the other two members of his panel, that they needed more time to further review information and seek additional legal guidance. After apparently getting such information and legal guidance, Buck cited a 2021 case out of Oakland County, along with a legal opinion from state Attorney General Dana Nessel, which under Michigan’s constitution has the force of law, in saying that his commission had no authority to rule favorably in Storey’s request.
Genetski and Brooks filed suit against the Allegan County Board last year, claiming that a planned move of their offices out of the county courthouse to the Dumont Lake County Services Center was a violation of state law mandating their offices remain in the city limits of the county seat. That litigation is still pending.
Storey told reporters after Thursday’s meeting that he will seek other means to garner votes on the August 6th Primary election other than through litigation. As of right now, Craig Van Beek of Dorr is the only GOP candidate for his party’s nomination in the county board’s first district ballot, and no Democrat has filed to run in the primary.
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