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PAC loses the night in Caledonia Township

CALEDONIA TOWNSHIP — Tuesday’s primary election has reshaped the Caledonia Township Board of Trustees, though a group hoping to replace the entire board and take the township in a new direction lost the night.

With no Democrats on the ballot, winners of Tuesday’s Republican primary will automatically win in November unless challenged by a write-in candidate.

The race was one of the most contentious in the area, with disputes over property, the township budget and operations, and clashing personalities raising tensions.

“It’s time to start healing our township and getting along for the betterment of the community,” said Cindy Smith, who on Tuesday beat incumbent Clerk Kerry Scott, but was not endorsed by the reform group. “There was a lot of ugliness that came out and citizens got emotionally involved, and it’s time for us all to just start getting along and just start working toward a common goal.”

In addition to Smith, incumbent township Supervisor Cyndi Apsey and incumbent Treasurer Sarah Roe also won. Anthony Sobeck and Tomas Tice will join the board as new trustees (no incumbent trustees were on the ballot).

All five candidates endorsed by the political action committee Caledonia 2020 were defeated, including Scott, Kathy Vichunas for supervisor, Susan Hogan for treasurer, and Adam Tompson and Randy Werth for the two open trustee posts.

Apsey said it felt good to be reelected as supervisor and she was proud not just of herself, but of the other successful candidates.

Apsey said she was also proud of the voter turnout for the election.

“We chose to run a positive campaign while promoting what we have done and what we can do,” she said Wednesday. “I feel the voters of our community made a strong statement. I plan to continue to promote community awareness and community involvement in the township’s business and growth. Together, we can do so much more.”

Roe said she was excited for the community and feels like positive things are going to continue to happen. Roe said she was looking forward to building a greater sense of community, which has strengthened over the last couple of years.

“I just think we need to focus on the community and not on one person or what somebody did or didn’t do or the name-calling or the things that were going on, but just let that all rest and move forward,” she said.

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