Commissioners' chairman ousted; veteran Gould falls to MacKay

11/8/2006

ADRIAN - Larry Gould, chairman of the Lenawee County Board of Commissioners, was defeated yesterday by a challenger who is younger than the incumbent's tenure in office.

Meanwhile, the countywide advisory smoking ban appeared headed for approval.

Mr. Gould (R., Morenci), a commissioner since the mid-1970s, met his match in Jason MacKay, 28, a Democrat who lives in Madison Township.

"It was a little bit of a shock," Mr. MacKay said last night. "I thank Mr. Gould for his over 30 years of service. I recognize it's remarkable."

Mr. Gould could not be reached for comment.

Mr. MacKay attributed his victory in District 4 to "tons of teamwork [and] lots of support from the community."

He said residents told him they were concerned about the use of eminent domain in the airport district, about jobs, and about support for law enforcement.

Commissioners placed the smoking advisory question on the ballot after the county health department asked them to enact a smoke-free workplace regulation.

Final results were not in. But the proposed regulation would prohibit smoking in all public buildings and workplaces, but not in bars, restaurants, and specialty tobacco shops.

The ultimate authority is the board of commissioners, said Michael Kight, county health officer.

Voter approval would "be a sign for them to proceed, for them to adopt some language that prohibits smoking in indoor work sites," Mr. Kight said.

Five of nine Lenawee County commissioners faced opponents, including Mr. Gould. In District 3, incumbent Robert D. Hall (R., Hudson) defeated Randy W. Burrow (D., Morenci). In District 8, Vice Chairman Ralph Tillotson (R., Adrian) defeated Larry Hall (D., Britton).

Results were incomplete in the District 2 race between incumbent H. Edwin Branch (R., Onsted) and John R. Clark (D., Manitou Beach) and in the District 9 race between James VanDoren (R., Tipton) and Allison MacArthur-Ruesink (D., Adrian).

Re-elected without opposition were David Stimpson (R., Tecumseh) in District 1; KZ Bolton (D., Adrian) in District 5, Dick Bailey (R., Adrian) in District 6, and John Tuckerman (R., Blissfield) in District 7.