Mike Summersgill at the 4th of July 5K.
Fresh off his defeat to Democrat Frank McGehee, Republican candidate for Maplewood Township Committee Mike Summersgill has announced his intention to run again in 2017.
“While I’d rather be doing the job, instead of running for it, I look forward to running again next year,” said Summersgill in a Facebook post thanking his supporters.
Summersgill ran an energetic campaign for Maplewood Township Committee in 2016. Although he eschewed the traditional lawn sign campaign for “virtual lawn signs” that raised money for local charities, Summersgill canvassed every district in town and held events like Candidate in a Car Drinking Coffee — despite the long odds for a Republican to get elected in a town that has not voted a GOPer into local office in more than 20 years.
In the meantime, Summersgill pledged to work with McGehee and the current Township Committee. Besides helping to implement the new Senior Advisory Committee, Summersgill said he would be throwing his “name in the ring” to chair the committee.
Other members of the TC include Mayor Vic DeLuca, Deputy Mayor Nancy Adams, India Larrier, Greg Lembrich and Ian Grodman (who is filling out Marlon K. Brownlee’s term until McGehee is sworn in on January 1, 2017). All are Democrats. DeLuca and Larrier’s seats will be up for re-election in 2017.
Read Summersgill’s full post here:
I ran for Township Committee in order to start righting the balance of what I have received from this community vs what I have contributed. Unfortunately my plan backfired. Through the process of this campaign I have received so much more from the community and ended up losing (literally) my outlet to contribute. I still believe I have a skill set needed on our Township Committee and they have a standing offer of assistance.
I am so grateful for all the new people I have met and my deeper understanding of our community. I appreciate all of the support of my family, friends, neighbors, businesses and partners in our community. I’m disappointed I wasn’t able to deliver a win for them but I’m proud of the lasting impact of this year’s campaign.
I congratulate Frank McGehee and wish him the best. I hope to work with him on pedestrian safety, like at Tuscan and Valley, and on implementing the Senior Service Advisory committee. In fact, I’ll be throwing my name in the ring to chair that committee.
The best part of running for Township Committee is there is an election every year. While I’d rather be doing the job, instead of running for it, I look forward to running again next year. I’ll continue to champion the issues that were raised this year and welcome any other ideas.
