2016 Primary Election and Oakland County Local Initiatives Results (updated)
(Crystal A. Proxmire, March 8, 2016)
Pontiac, MI – This is where the Oakland County 115 News Hub (aka oc115) will post results of the ballot proposals through the county and the results of the Presidential Primaries taking place in Michigan on Tuesday, March 8.
This page is being updated as information comes in.
Voters in Birmingham declined amending the City Charter to require the number of lanes on Maple Road to not fall below four.  The citizen-initiative got 2,820 votes in favor of it (38.81%), but there were 4,447 votes against it (61.19%).
“It’s always nice to see such a strong turnout at the polls, with just over 7,000 votes cast.  Voters overwhelmingly declined the citizen initiated proposal to amend the City Charter regarding the reconfiguration of Maple Road,” said Birmingham City Manager Joe Valentine.  “Whether you support the current trial of adding a center turn lane or the prior four lane configuration, amending the City Charter is not something that should be taken lightly or implemented without extensive review and study.
“In the end, it appears voters recognized the significance of the citizen lead change to the charter and voted ‘no’ as a result.    The final decision on the lane configuration for Maple Road has yet to be made and the current trial will conclude in another month with a final report being presented to the City Commission for their consideration.  At that time, they will consider the criteria established for the test along with public input and make a determination on the lane configuration that will be implemented when the road is resurfaced later this summer. ”
More info about the initiative is as http://oaklandcounty115.com/2016/01/09/march-8-ballot-charter-amendment-about-maple-road-in-birmingham/.
With all 21 precincts reporting, voters in Pontiac have approved their charter language change with 7,045 voting yes (71.36%) and 2,827 voting no (28.64%). The change updates the election commission to include the city treasurer as a member.  Read more about at http://oaklandcounty115.com/2016/01/09/march-8-ballot-pontiac-charter-change-and-school-millage/.
Voters in the Pontiac School District came out in support of both millage proposals.  For renewing the current operating millage, 9,570 people voted yes (62.92%) and 5,640 people voted no (37.08%).  For the sinking fund tax levy to be used for building repairs, 8,966 voted yes (58.82%) and 6,277 voted no (37.08%) For information on the proposals see http://oaklandcounty115.com/2016/01/09/march-8-ballot-pontiac-charter-change-and-school-millage/.
Voters in the Waterford School District also passed their bonding proposal.  13,394 voted yes (63.85%) and 7,584 (36.15%) voted no. For more information on Waterford see http://oaklandcounty115.com/2016/01/09/march-8-ballot-waterford-schools-bond/.
For the Democratic Presidential Primary, Bernie Sanders got 49.9% of the statewide votes. Hillary Clinton got 48.2%  For the Republicans, Donald Trump won in Michigan with 36.5 % of the votes.
Note: Thanks to Iason Zarkadakis and Christopher Gorski of Detroit GT for the “I Voted” sticker picture.