LANSING – State Representative Sheldon Neeley (D-Flint) was pleased that a fix was made to allow candidates for the mayor of Flint to appear on the ballot later this year after they missed the filing deadline due to a clerk’s error. Rep. Neeley had previously made attempts to remove provisions in Senate Bill 329 that inhibited the election office of Flint that were not part of the original draft, sponsored by state Senator Jim Ananich (D-Flint).
“I greatly respect the democratic process that has served many generations in my community,” Neeley said. “However, it became apparent that no legislative intervention would satisfy all those interested entities and residents. Therefore, the best choice was to think about the mothers, grandmothers, fathers and grandfathers who expect to see names on the ballot when voting for their next mayor.”
With the error, the ballot to decide the mayor of Flint later this year at the polls would have been blank, with candidates forced to run write-in campaigns, including current Mayor Dayne Walling.
“Our children, our community and we ourselves need to understand that a write-in choice merely compounded a mistake and penalized the citizens of Flint,” Neeley said. “I look forward to a smooth campaign season in the city of Flint, where our candidates will rest easy knowing their names will appear on the ballot as they should.”