Bloomfield Township Board Looks to the Future

With no opponents at any position on the ballot, there was little drama as results for the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees vote started to come in Tuesday night at Township Hall.

But Township Supervisor Leo Savoie did have high praise for the six other Republican members of the board that easily won re-elction.

"The group is absolutely tremendous and we're very fortunate to be in a position to know where we'll be tomorrow," Savoie said, speaking about more than just the morning after the election.

Since taking over for the retiring Dave Payne in September 2011, Savoie has led the board through a number of commercial development decisions that resulted in a revamped Maple Theater, plans for a Trader Joe's and multiple restaurants.

Through last September, the number of new construction permits issued by the township (23) already surpassed all of 2011, he said.

"I'm pleasantly optimistic about the direction we're going."

Savoie (98.58) received the lowest percentage of votes among Clerk Jan Roncelli (98.73) and Treasurer Dan Devine (98.70), according to unofficial election results. The supervisor's position also received the highest number of write-in ballots (265).

Each of the four trustee candidates finished with roughly 25 percent of the vote, with Trustee Neal Barnett amassing the most (16,224) and David Buckley a close second (16,222). The clerk's office reported 452 write-in votes.

Barnett also said he looked forward to working with the same group on the board.

"It's a very good board that works very well together and respects each other, and always does what we think is best for the township," he said. "We know each other very well."

Barnett said his goals were to maintain fiscal stability and continue the positive momentum for new businesses, which he believes impacts the residents' quality of life.

"The development has been great and shows that people have places to go out and enjoy themselves without having to leave for somewhere else," he said.