Whitehall voters elected a new mayor Tuesday night, as council member Tom Ziemer received 573 votes to incumbent Steven Salter's 396, taking 59.1% of the vote.
Salter had been in the office of mayor since becoming the city's first elected mayor in 2021. Previously, the mayor had been chosen by the city council from among its ranks, but Whitehall voters approved a city charter change in 2019 to make it a directly elected position.
Ziemer will vacate his city council seat to move into the mayor's chair, creating a fourth open seat on the council in addition to the three that were contested in Tuesday's election. The two incumbents - Scott Brown and Jeff Holmstrom - each retained their seats, being named on 431 and 341 ballots respectively, but the most votes went to newcomer Bryan Mahan, a retired Whitehall High School teacher and coach. Mahan received 506 votes and will take over the seat vacated by Steve Sikkenga, who chose not to seek another term.
The city council will appoint someone to the seat Ziemer is vacating. According to the city charter, a replacement must be appointed within 30 days or the issue would be decided in a special election. The appointee will take over Ziemer's term, which ends in 2028 after the council approved an election cycle change that will add a year to the terms of councilpersons elected in 2023 and this year.
Roger Squiers finished fourth in the council election with 312 votes, and Billie Conrad got 309 votes. Also running were Mark Nienhouse (283 votes), John Robillard (182) and Daniel Hardy (125).
Also in Whitehall, the school district's "Safe. Warm. Dry." millage request narrowly received approval. A total of 1,667 voters, or 50.5%, approved the measure, with 1,625 voting against it. The millage's approval enables the district to issue $30 million in bonds that will go to several projects within Whitehall schools, including a renovated secure entry at the high school, heating and cooling upgrades in all buildings and other facility upgrades.
Voters throughout much of the White Lake area easily granted approval to a renewal of the White Lake Ambulance Authority millage, with 1,402 voters, 74.5% of those who cast ballots, voting yes. The approval retains the WLAA's current maximum rate of 1.9 mills, though the WLAA has said it will collect 1.7 mills, with the 1.9 in place to guard against Headlee Amendment rollbacks that do not permit property taxes to rise at a rate higher than inflation.
