2002 Flint mayoral special election

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2002 Flint mayoral special election
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←  2002 (recall) August 6, 2002 2003  →
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Candidate James W. Rutherford A.J. Pointer
(write-in)
Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan
Popular vote11,2394,712
Percentage70.42%29.52%
Mayor before election

Darnell Earley (temporary)
Nonpartisan

Elected mayor

James W. Rutherford
Nonpartisan

The 2002 Flint mayoral special election took place on August 6, 2002. On March 5, 2002, voters recalled Mayor Woodrow Stanley, and city administrator Darnell Earley became temporary mayor. A special election was originally scheduled for May 7, 2002, but the state legislature cancelled the election to allow Governor John Engler to appoint a financial review team to evaluate the city's finances. The election was ultimately rescheduled for August 6, 2002. [1] On May 22, 2002, Engler declared a financial emergency in the city, [2] and appointed Ed Kurtz, the President of Baker College, as emergency financial manager on July 8. [3] As a result, following the state takeover, the winner of the special election would have fewer powers. [4]

Contents

While several candidates planned on running, former Mayor James W. Rutherford ended up being the only candidate to appear on the ballot. [4] After the Reverend A.J. Pointer failed to qualify from the ballot, he announced that he would run as a write-in candidate. [5] Though Pointer attracted a significant level of support for a write-in candidate, [6] Rutherford ultimately won handily, receiving 70 percent of the vote to Pointer's 30 percent, becoming the oldest person to be elected as Mayor. [7]

Candidates

Results

2002 Flint mayoral special election results [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan James W. Rutherford 11,239 70.42%
Nonpartisan A.J. Pointer (write-in)4,71229.52%
Write-in 100.06%
Total votes15,961 100.00%

References

  1. ↑ Machniak, Christofer (May 2, 2002). "New election date will set petition clock running". The Flint Journal . Flint, Michigan. p. 3A. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  2. ↑ Machniak, Christofer (May 23, 2002). "Engler backs Flint takeover: Reforms fail to halt takeover". The Flint Journal . Flint, Michigan. p. 1A. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  3. ↑ Machniak, Christofer (May 2, 2002). "Engler approves takeover". The Flint Journal . Flint, Michigan. p. 1A. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Machniak, Christofer (May 31, 2002). "Rutherford - the once and future mayor". The Flint Journal . Flint, Michigan. p. 1A. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Machniak, Christofer (June 19, 2002). "Pastor to challenge Rutherford as write-in candidate for mayor". The Flint Journal . Flint, Michigan. p. 4A. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  6. ↑ Machniak, Christofer (July 28, 2002). "Mayoral write-in puts faith in voters". The Flint Journal . Flint, Michigan. p. 3A. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  7. ↑ Machniak, Christofer (August 14, 2002). "Rutherford is proud to be Flint's oldest mayor". The Flint Journal . Flint, Michigan. p. 2A. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Primary Election - Genesee County, Michigan - Tuesday, August 06, 2002". August 7, 2002. Archived from the original on February 25, 2004. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
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