Despite the upheavals seen within the county offices in Cassopolis over the last several years, Cass County’s core leadership remained stable following Tuesday’s elections.

Five of the seven seats of the Cass County Board of Commissioners were contested that day, with the incumbent officers fending off their challenger by fairly sizable margins, according to unofficial results from the county clerk office. The winners earned the right to serve on the board for two-year terms of office.

District 3 Commissioner Skip Dyes and District 4 Commissioner Roseann Marchetti both ran uncontested for their seats.

This was the first time that the seven current members of the board sought reelection since it was downsized to seven members in 2012. Since then, the board has overseen several changes within the county leadership, including the resignation of former Administrator Louis Csokasy in July of 2013 and the hiring of his replacement, Roger Fraser, in December.

“This has been a turbulent couple of years, so it’s not surprising that we didn’t make better headway,” said Commissioner Bernie Williamson, who won her bid for reelection in district six. “My sense is that things are improving, that things are stabilizing.”

With another two-years of service to the county, the vice chair of the board said she is looking forward to tackling some of the county’s longstanding projects, like increasing economic development, addressing environmental concerns like fracking, and plotting the direction of the historic courthouse restoration.

“I’m glad everyone on the board will continue to stay on, to continue the progress we’ve made the last couple of years,” she said.

Below are the unofficial results for the races:

District 1 Winner: Robert Wagel (R)

Wagel, the current chair of the board, successfully fended off Democrat James Jerue in the first district race, by a vote of 1,206 to 778.

The Republican won all four voting precincts in his district, which includes Silver Creek and Wayne Townships, as well as part of LaGrange Township and a portion of the City of Dowagiac.

Wagel previously defeated Jerue in 2012 to retain his seat, by a vote of 1,758 to 1,254.

 

District 2 Winner: Dixie Ann File (R)

File beat Democrat Judy Helpingstine to retain her seat on the board, by a vote of 1,315 to 658.

File carried all four of the district’s voting precincts in her victory. The district includes Marcellus, Newberg, Penn and Volinia Townships.

 

District 5 Winner: Robert Ziliak (R)

Incumbent Commissioner Ziliak trounced Democrat Paullean D Washington to retain the district five seat, by a vote of 1,253 to 597.

The district includes Milton Township and part of Howard Township.

 

District 6 Winner: Bernie Williamson (R)

Incumbent Williamson defeated Democrat challenger Asali Kelly by a vote of 1,088 to 702.

Williamson, the current vice chair of the board, carried all three voting precincts in the district, which includes portions of Howard, Jefferson and LaGrange Townships.

 

District 7 Winner: E. Clark Cobb

Rounding out the commissioner races was incumbent Democrat E. Clark Cobb’s victory over challenger Wendy Alexander Glaser, who ran without party affiliation, by a vote of 851 to 353.

Cobb, the sole Democrat of the county board, won all four of his voting precincts. District seven includes the City of Dowagiac and Pokagon Township.