Letter to the Editor submitted to the Grosse Pointe News prior to the outcome of the GPPSS BOE recount.
“If you can keep it.”
Founding father Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying that we Americans had formed a republic, “if you can keep it.” We find ourselves in contentious times in this republic and, unfortunately, our Grosse Pointe communities are no exception. We should be celebrating the fact that ten individuals raised their hands to serve in an era where many school districts have difficulty recruiting enough candidates to fill their boards. Rather, we find ourselves embroiled in more post-election divisiveness, this time with our Grosse Pointe Board of Education trustee election.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to empowering voters and defending democracy. That includes educating the public about elections and voter rights and advocating for, and respecting a thorough and fair process. We are now experiencing a recount of our board of education election, with only 14 votes separating the third and fourth place candidates, which translates to .02 percentage points. A recount is part of the process. In fact, in some jurisdictions, recounts are automatic when the margin separating candidates is this slim.
The LWVGP supports the Wayne County recount of the Grosse Pointe Board of Education election. The margins are razor thin, and unlike the recounts of Proposals 22-2 and 22-3, this recount may make a difference in the outcome. In the United States, we have become focused on “winners” and “losers”, as if elections are sport. However, the electorate is the ultimate winner in a thorough and fair process, and loser when that does not happen. On January 6, 2021, as a nation, we witnessed an unprecedented attack on our democratic institutions when a group of individuals decided not to respect the election process. Our nation continues to suffer the wounds from that dark day.
As of this writing, we do not know the outcome of this recount. However, no matter the result, the LWVGP supports the process and congratulates whoever comes out as the legitimate winner based on the manual recount. The system works. We trust that the GPPSS Board of Education can now move forward with this accurate count behind them.
Susan Acton
President LWVGP