The Berrien County Election Commission has approved two recall petitions related to Buchanan’s city officials. One petition is focused on recalling Commissioner and current Mayor Sean Denison for his suspension of the former city manager. The other petition is focused on recalling Commissioner Dan Vigansky for making racially insensitive remarks.
Petition organizers now have a 180-day window within which to turn in enough voter signatures to trigger a special election.
Two other petitions against Vigansky were reviewed and rejected by the commission for reasons related to not stating a fact of conduct and grammar issues leading to a lack of clarity.
At the hearing, Commissioner Vigansky denied he is racist or that he made any racist remarks.
“I referred to the crowd as ‘you people’ in conversation, never one on one. I mean, look at me. I’ve got a broken nose, but I didn’t get that from getting smacked. This face is pretty because I do know how to talk to people. I make a joke of it because this is how trivial some of these words are. Nobody’s worried about actions anymore. They’re worried about words.”
Asked about the recall petition filed against Mayor Denison, Commissioner Vigansky said it’s not an effective way to govern.
“I’ve always disagreed with recalls for a number of reasons. People forget about the business at hand, and Sean is going to have a very difficult time moving forward. And I do feel for him, but I’m up for recall too.”
Election Commission members noted the estimated cost of a recall election for Buchanan is $40,000. Petition supporter Monroe Lemay said after five years of wrong decisions from the city commission in Buchanan, it will cost voters even more if they do nothing. Lemay went on to say she would recall the entire commission, but is starting with Denison.
