Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By PAMELA JANSSON
GOGEBIC RANGE — Canvassing of the Nov. 5 election results has been completed in both Gogebic and Iron counties with the latter county reporting only one nominal change.
In Gogebic County, Clerk Ramona Collins noted a few major issues on Tuesday.
According to her, there were 473 unresolved write-in votes for county mine inspector but no official winner. Nobody declared candidacy for that race.
Collins added, however, that Dan Wood of North Ironwood was elected to the position of county drain commissioner. In the final count after canvassing, Wood received 106 votes. There also were 324 unresolved write-in votes.
Wood, a Republican, also was elected to the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners. As reported in the Nov. 7 Globe, Wood beat incumbent Democrat Jim Byrns 547-479, and there were an additional five unresolved write-in votes.
Collins said she is not sure whether Wood will be allowed to hold dual roles as county commissioner and drain commissioner.
“I believe the board will have to decide if he can have both roles,” she said.
The Gogebic County canvassing also included a breakdown of votes from Gogebic and Ontonagon counties in relation to two uncontested open seats on the Board of Education for the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District.
In that race, Dayle Jackson received 4,095 votes in Gogebic County and 1,687 votes in Ontonagon County, for a total of 5,782 votes.
In the same race, Samantha Schutz received 3,817 votes in Gogebic County and 1,855 votes in Ontonagon County, for a total of 5,672 votes.
As of Jan. 1, 2025, newly elected Erin Berg will take over the job of clerk/register of deeds now held by Collins, who did not opt to run for re-election.
After certifying the Jan. 5 election on Tuesday, Collins said she now expects to take some vacation time before the year ends.
In Iron County, newly elected Clerk Christan Brandt said a Tuesday canvass resulted with all numbers “balanced” except for a change in the total of one town’s count of the presidential election.
Brandt said Pence corrected its total of the number of votes Donald Trump received from 78 to 73. She said that, in turn, changed the county’s total votes for Trump from 2,562 to 2,557.
