Voters in Plymouth Township will choose the names to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot during the primary election set for Aug. 4 from a field including only one Democrat.
Popular incumbent Township Supervisor Kurt Heise will serve another four-year term as he is unopposed for the office on the primary ballot. Also unopposed on the ballot is incumbent Treasurer Mark Clinton, who like Heise, has served in his respective office for four years.
Township Clerk Jerry Vorva, however, who has also served one term, will be challenged by another Republican candidate, long-time resident and former Deputy Clerk Sandy Groth who abruptly resigned her position last year.
Whichever of them is successful Aug. 4 will face Democrat Nancy Conzelman, who was defeated by Vorva in her campaign for reelection as clerk in 2016. Her tenure was filled with controversy and after her exit an unusual number of records and files were reported missing. Officials from the federal Drug Forfeiture Funding program at the time informed the police chief that the office had to expel Plymouth Township from that program due to the failure of both the clerk's and then-treasurer's office to provide sufficient records and financial documents. After her loss to Vorva in the August 2016 primary election, Conzelman campaigned as a write-in candidate in November and was reported to have received only about 130 votes.
Conzelman's name will appear on the primary ballot as she is unopposed as a Democrat. Conzelman had also filed a petition to seek a term as a trustee but withdrew that petition by the filing deadline.
Seven candidates have filed nominating petitions for the five available trustee terms. Incumbents Gary Heitman and Jack Dempsey have opted not to seek reelection.
Incumbents on the ballot will be Chuck Curmi and Bob Doroshewitz, both long-time members of the board. Also seeking trustee posts are Audrey Monaghan, and former state representative and one-term township trustee John Stewart, who ran unsuccessfully as an independent for the 7th Senate District in 2010.
Others seeking trustee seats are Don Schnettler, Dan Callahan and Becky Krupa, all Republicans.
Krupa was associated with the political action group “Say No to PARC” and then “Say No To All Taxes,” registered with the state election commission as Defeat PARC Millage. The group was allegedly formed to block a township public safety millage and defeat the PARC ballot proposal. The ballot proposal, defeated in November 2018, to fund the Plymouth Arts and Recreation Complex, was one of the most contentious issues facing voters in both the city and township, including accusations of vandalism by each side.
