A candidate for Isabella County Commission who filed as a challenger to incumbent Tobin Hope will not appear on the ballot after officials determined he registered in the wrong district.
Republican Sarvjit Chowdhary verified with the Isabella County Clerk’s office that he resides in District 7 when he filed, but that information was challenged, said Isabella County Clerk Minde Lux.
It turned out that the State of Michigan had incorrect information and Chowdhary actually lives in District 4.
“I called a member of the Election Commission over to assist me with mapping it out. We realized the State of Michigan had all of Stoneridge Drive located in District 7 when they all actually should be in District 4,” Lux said.
The information was corrected by the state, and Lux called the candidate to determine if he wished to file as a candidate in the correct district.
“He never responded to me to run in District 4 so now he is not a candidate for any of the openings,” she said.
With Chowhardy out of contention, that leaves just one incumbent commissioner facing a challenger in November; Democrat James S. Moreno will face Republican challenger Steven M. Stressman.
Additionally, longtime Commissioner David Ling, who serves as vice chairperson currently, is not seeking reelection in District 6.
Democrat Steve Swaney and Republican Erin Zimmer will go head-to-head for Ling’s empty seat in November as well.
County Commissioners George A. Green, Frank Engler, Jerry Jaloszynski and Jim Horton will not face party-affiliated challengers in their respective county districts based on the April filing deadline to appear on the ballot.