By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
LINCOLN PARK – Voters finalized the choices for city government in Tuesday’s primary election, eliminating two prospective candidates for the mayor’s office and city council.
Mayor Frank Vaslo, with 846 votes (45.5 percent) and Patricia Diaz Krause (718 votes, 38.6 percent) will face off in the Nov. 8 general election for the two-year term. Challenger Chris Dardzinski garnered 15.5 percent of the ballots, 288 votes.
Vaslo, 52, was first elected mayor in 2007 after serving on council from 2003 to 2007. A city resident for 25 years, Vaslo serves on the Downtown Development Authority, Community Improvement Commission and represents Lincoln Park on the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. Krause, 63, is a lifelong resident with a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University. She is a retired Ford Motor Co. communications specialist making her first bid for public office.
Polling results remain unofficial until formally approved by state elections officials. Tuesday’s primary attracted 7.5 percent of the city’s registered voters.
A dozen candidates will seek the city’s six council seats, each serving two-year terms of office. Tuesday’s primary featured 13 names vying for 12 general election ballot spaces.
Less than 100 votes separated Larry Kelsey (472) from Rosolino LoDuca (376), who rounded out the dozen names moving on to November. Overall, it was a tight contest among council candidates, with incumbent Thomas Murphy garnering the most votes, 1,055 (11 percent), narrowly topping Mario DiSanto’s 1,026 votes and Mark Kandes’ 1,025.
They will be joined by fellow council members Suzanne Moreno (898), Joseph Kaiser Jr. (804) and Donald Majors (591) on the November ballot. Newcomers Tracy Bush (642), Elizabeth A. Wright (620), Deborah Henderson (595), Paula Hall (565) and Thomas Parkinson (520) round out the general election field.
November decisions include the position of City Clerk. Incumbent Donna Breeding and challenger Richard Kudrak will move on to the general election. Treasurer Patricia Lulko is running unopposed.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected])