Politics & Government

City Commission Hopefuls Pull Petitions for Nov. 5 Ballot

With three Royal Oak City Commission seats up for grabs and the mayor's post up for re-election, five hopefuls have pulled petitions for the November election.

The deadline to file petitions to run for city commissioner and mayor is still weeks away, but so far five candidates have pulled nominating petitions from the Royal Oak City Clerk.

Mayor Jim Ellison kicked off his re-election campaign in March. He first entered public office in 1991 as a city commissioner and was first elected mayor in 2003.  As of Wednesday, Ellison is the only candidate who has pulled petitions to run for mayor. 

There are three open seats on the City Commission. Commissioner David Poulton has pulled petitions; as of Wednesday, Patricia Capello and Jim Rasor have not pulled petitions to run for re-election. Prospective candidates circulating petitions, include:

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  • Sharlan Douglas
  • Diane K. Hargan
  • Jeremy Mahrle
  • David Poulton (Incumbent)

If you want to run

To be a candidate for Royal Oak City Commission, the hopeful must be at least 25 years old, a registered voter of Royal Oak and a resident at least two years prior to the date of election.

Petitions for each prospective candidate must be signed by at least 500 registered voters of the City of Royal Oak. Petitions have to be filed with the City Clerk on or before 4 p.m on Aug. 13.

Find out what's happening in Royal Oakwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The mayor is paid $40 per meeting, up to a maximum of $2,000 per year. Commissioners are paid $20 per meeting, up to a maximum of  $1,200 per year.

Candidates pay a $35 filing fee to the City Clerk.


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