Democrat makes November ballot By Erin McClary MACOMB TOWNSHIP — Official primary election numbers have confirmed a rare and hard-to-come-by success for Robert D. Figlioli, as his door-to-door campaigning earned him more than enough write-in votes to be the sole Democratic candidate running for Macomb Township’s Board of Trustees this November. Figlioli said he’s just surprised that enough people spelled his name correctly. But Macomb Township Clerk Michael Koehs said that’s not all he should be surprised about. “They not only spelled it correctly,” he said. “All but one even included his middle initial.” What Figlioli pulled off was nothing short of remarkable in a community the size of Macomb Township, Koehs said, as the write-in process for a near 80,000-person town requires a candidate to jump some pretty high hurdles. In order to make the cut, a write-in must meet the greatest of three conditions. One of those conditions, stating that a write-in candidate must get at least 10 votes, is a standard minimum. The other two conditional amounts are different in each election. One states that a candidate would have to meet a percentage of the population in votes based on the last census, which turns out to be just more than 70 in Macomb Township, Koehs said. The other states that the write-in candidate has to get at least 5 percent of the highest number of votes received by a candidate already on the ballot, who in this year’s primary election for Macomb Township trustee was Nancy Nevers with 2,089 votes. The highest of those three conditions — which, in a tiny community could very well be the standard minimum of 10 votes — must be met in order for a write-in candidate to make it through to the next round. Turns out, 5 percent of Nevers’ 2,089 votes was 105 — the conditional high Figlioli had to beat — but he ended up walking with 171, a number Koehs said shocked election officials the night of Aug. 6. “It’s nice to see that a process designed so long ago was put into place and actually worked,” said Koehs. “And it’s nice to know that a write-in candidate in a township as big as Macomb Township has a chance.” Figlioli, 48, has lived in the township for 11 years and claims that it’s time to see a Democrat on the Board of Trustees. After noticing there weren’t any candidates running for the Democratic Party in this year’s primary for trustee, he decided to do something about it. That’s when he started knocking on doors. “There’s a lot of Democrats in the township, so there’s got to be some Democratic value in this township,” he said. “There should be at least one Democrat on that board.” If Figlioli takes just enough votes in November, one of the four incumbents — all of which made it past the primary — will have to step down. In that case, Figlioli promises to do whatever he can to tackle the foreclosure problem throughout the township, work for independent law enforcement, promote alternative educational services through the Recreation Center and do what it takes to bring more jobs into the community. “I feel every township should have their own police force,” he said. “It would bring more jobs, and response time should be a lot quicker than it is.” Right now, Figlioli is a Precinct 17 delegate, is serving his second term as vice president of UAW Local 7 and makes a living as a millwright for Chrysler LLC. He grew up in Roseville, graduated from Roseville High School with the Class of 1979, and has a degree in labor law studies from Wayne State University. He summed up his campaign in three words, “education, jobs, economy,” and promises to lead people in the best direction to ensure a successful livelihood. “There’s a lot of open land in Macomb Township to bring people here,” he said. “There’s a lot of people out there that want to start a business.” Figlioli is currently a member of the Michigan Democratic Party and the Macomb County Democratic Party. He is the father of two sons and one daughter, and has been married to his wife, Lori, for 24 years. You can reach Staff Writer Erin McClary at emcclary@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1118. |
