Recall: Kalkaska For Peace seeks to unseat Sieting as village president

KALKASKA – Jeff Sieting hasn’t faced many challenges in keeping his seat as Kalkaska’s village president.

After defeating incumbent Virginia Thomas in 2011, Sieting was unopposed in winning two more two-year terms as the leader of the Kalkaska Village Council.

However, Sieting may now have to fight to keep his seat even before the November 2018 election. That comes after Kalkaska For Peace, an advocacy group that formed late this summer in protest to racist and anti-Islamic posts on Sifting’s personal Facebook page, recently filed language to have the three-term president recalled.

“I am the one who filed the petition,” said village resident Elizabeth Dunham, chairwoman of the group. “I don’t know if it will be approved. I’ve never done this before.”

Dunham said the group will probably form a separate committee to run the recall effort. But, in filing with the Kalkaska County Clerk’s office, the petition made four statements as potential reasons for recalling Sieting, including:

Led the council in approving deficit-based budgets three out of the last four years;

Led the council in approving a 300-percent increase in legal expenses;

Has not provided long-term financial planning; and

Making derogatory comments about the village.

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