By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief

HAMLIN TOWNSHIP — Hamlin Township voters will decide races for treasurer and trustee in two recall elections Tuesday, Nov. 3, along with filling the township clerk position.

All three offices are for partial terms ending Dec. 1, 2028.

Though the State of Michigan uses the term “recall election,” the process functions more like a special election rather than a traditional recall in which voters are asked whether an elected official should be removed from office.

Under Michigan law, the incumbent targeted by the recall has the right to remain a candidate for the office. Unless the incumbent declines, the incumbent becomes the nominee of his or her political party. Other candidates may qualify to challenge the incumbent, and the candidate receiving the most votes is elected to serve the remainder of the term.

In the treasurer race, incumbent Republican Susan Ptaszenski will face Tim Walden, who is running with no party affiliation.

The trustee race includes incumbent Republican Johnaine Gurzynski and challengers Pat Barcelli and Cynthia Tanner, both running with no party affiliation.

Republican Sheila Genter is the only candidate listed on the ballot for township clerk. The clerk race is not connected to the recall effort. The position is currently vacant.

The recall elections involving Ptaszenski and Gurzynski follow efforts that began earlier this year when Hamlin Township resident Greg Collins filed recall petitions against the two officials.

The original petitions were considered by the Mason County Election Commission during March 31 clarity hearings. The commission unanimously rejected the original petition language against Ptaszenski and rejected the original Gurzynski petition in a 2-1 vote.

The election commission’s role in a clarity hearing is not to determine whether the allegations are justified but rather whether the petition language is factual and sufficiently clear for the official and voters to understand the conduct alleged.

Collins filed revised recall language in May.

The revised petition against Ptaszenski cited a November 2025 township audit conducted by Lake Michigan CPA. The petition alleged that Ptaszenski’s bank register for the township general fund money market account for February 2025 showed a balance of $184,514.21 while the bank reconciliation showed a balance of $245,498.13, a difference of $60,983.92.

The revised petition against Gurzynski alleged that during the Jan. 15 Hamlin Township Board of Trustees meeting she disclosed deliberations from a closed session involving township attorney Jacob Witte regarding a consent judgment involving Six and Stones LLC.

The revised petitions ultimately advanced through the recall process and sufficient valid signatures were submitted to place the two offices before voters Nov. 3. Mason County Clerk Cheryl Kelly issued the official election calls in August.

Ptaszenski and Gurzynski may continue performing the duties of their respective offices until the results of the Nov. 3 elections are certified.

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