Nov. 30, 2023 Correction: Jennifer Symanns represents Ward 2, not Ward 1.

by P.D. Lesko

Brian Jones-Chance, a former Ypsilanti City Council member, sits on the Ypsilanti Planning Commission. Jones-Chance stands to make over $100,000 as the broker of record on the Ypsilanti City Council’s controversial vote to approve the $3.7 million purchase of a building and land located at 599 S. Mansfield.

The Ypsilanti City Council members’ votes to purchase the building owned by A.J. Furrha to replace the present Department of Public Services building is what triggered a recall effort against the city’s Mayor Nicole Brown and Council Members Jennifer Symanns, Ward 2, and Desirae Simmons, Ward 3. The recall effort launched on Nov. 21 faces a tight deadline for the collection of more than 2,800 valid signatures from registered voters in Ypsilanti.

Ypsilanti City Attorney John Barr and Brian Jones-Chance both say Jones-Chance was approached by city staff to broker the 599 S. Mansfield real estate deal. Neither man said exactly when Jones-Chance was hired. The Ann Arbor Independent filed a Freedom of Information Act request to determine exactly who among the Ypsilanti City staff approached Jones-Chance, when he was hired and under exactly what terms.

March and April 2023 Planning Commission minutes show Jones-Chance voted to approve the installation of two 1,000 gallon above ground fuel tanks on the 599 S. Mansfield property. The owner-applicant for the modifications to the S. Mansfield property was A.J. Furrha, the owner of Sakstrup towing. Ostensibly, the fuel tank installation, repair bays and other improvements were a part of a larger project to turn the building on the 4.8 acre property into a 14,000 square foot vehicle repair center. That plan went out the window when Ypsilanti Council members voted to give Furrha $3.7 million for a building and property valued by the City’s Assessor at $1.6 million.

Between 2017 and Mar. 2022, A.J. Furrha faced a $100,000,000 wrongful death lawsuit against his company Sakstrup towing. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in 2021 that the suit against Furrha could proceed. Washtenaw Trial Court records show that on Mar. 13, 2022 Judge Timothy Connors signed an order “[g]ranting motion to approve confidential settlement, allocation and distribution of proceeds of wrongful death action as to defendant sakstrup towing, inc.” 

Here’s how a recall petition drive works.

There must be a clear and factual reason stated to recall elected officials

In Michigan, every elected official with the exception of judges, are subject to recall. Thanks to former Gov. Rick Snyder and the Republican-controlled Michigan legislature seated during Snyder’s tenure, in 2012 recall law in the state was changed to make it more difficult for citizens to succeed in recalling elected officials. For example, Michigan Election Law states, “Signatures on a recall petition dated more than 60 days before the filing of the petition are invalid.” Prior to 2012, Michigan citizens had 90 days to collect signatures for a recall effort.

The residents behind the Ypsilanti recall cite as justification City Council’s vote to purchase the 599 S. Mansfield building and land.

At a Nov. 7 Council meeting, council members went into a closed session and voted to spend $3.7 million to purchase the building and land at 599 S. Mansfield. Elected officials who vote in a closed session to purchase real estate are in violation of the Michigan Open Meetings Act.

Council met on Nov. 9 and voted on the purchase again, this time in an open meeting. Multiple Ypsilanti residents took the opportunity of public comment time to speak against the purchase. The result of the Nov. 9 vote saw the motion to spend $3.7 million on the building defeated. The City’s DPS Dir. Bonnie Wessler then resigned. Shortly thereafter, council voted to approve spending $3.7 million on real estate worth $1.6 million.

The recall petition language must be approved by the County Election Commission

For local elected officials, recall petition language must be approved by the County Election Commission: the County Clerk, County Treasurer and Chief Probate Judge. In Washtenaw County, the Election Commission is comprised of County Clerk Lawrence Kestenbaum, County Treasurer Catherine McClary and Trial Court Judge Darlene O’Brien. An individual who submits recall language must be registered to vote in the electoral district represented by the officer. (A separate submission must be made for each officer whose recall is sought.)

The Election Commission members don’t determine whether the reasons for the recall are good, only that the language of the recall petition is clear and factually accurate. There must be a separate petition for each elected official targeted for recall. In the case of the Ypsilanti City Council recall drive, three petitions must be circulated. According to Michigan law: “Signers of recall petitions must be registered to vote in the electoral district of the official whose recall is sought.”

Another change former Gov. Snyder signed into law in 2012 limited recall elections to May and November of each year.

Recall petition circulators must collect a legally required number of signatures

According to Michigan law, the number of signatures needed to trigger a recall election is 25 percent of the votes cast in the officer’s district for all candidates for the office of Governor in the last gubernatorial election. The last gubernatorial election in Michigan was 2022.

According to the County Clerk’s 2022 election results, to recall Council member Jennifer Symanns in Ward 2 the number of votes for all candidates for governor cast in 2022 totaled 2,120. As such, it will be necessary to collect a minimum of 530 valid signatures from registered voters in her ward. In Ward 3, those hoping to recall Desirae Simmons will have to collect 25 percent of the 2,412 votes cast in her ward in the 2022 gubernatorial election (603 valid signatures minimum).

Mayor Nicole Brown’s recall poses a bigger challenge. In just 60 days, recall signature collectors must obtain 25 percent of 7,167 signatures cast by Ypsilanti voters in the 2022 gubernatorial election. This means signature collectors must obtain a minimum of 1,792 valid signatures of people registered to vote in the City of Ypsilanti.

Should the petition organizers collect the required number of valid signatures from registered voters, thanks once again to former Gov. Snyder, the recalled officials will not face a simple up or down vote. According to the 2012 changes to the recall law signed by Snyder, “Michigan Election Law provides for a single recall election to fill the partial (remaining) term of office for the official subject to the recall, with the incumbent automatically made a candidate in the election unless he/she withdraws within 10 days after the filing of the recall petition. There is one election and the candidate who receives the highest vote total becomes the elected candidate.”

Who can run to fill the remainder of the recalled officials’ terms?

Because Ypsilanti elections for local office are partisan, Michigan law requires the recalled officials’ county political party to nominate candidates should the recalled officials withdraw from the election.

A candidate without political party affiliation who wants to seek a partisan office in a recall election can gain access to the recall election ballot by filing a qualifying petition. The petition must be filed with the appropriate filing official by 5:00 p.m. on the tenth day after the call for the recall election. The petition must contain at least 10 percent of the number of signatures required under MCL 168.544f. In Ypsilanti, with a population of 20,000 residents, an individual would need to collect between 20 and 50 signatures on a nominating petition to run.