|
|
Bruce Deur
MAPLE VALLEY TOWNSHIP — When Bruce Deur moved to Maple Valley Township a few years ago, he wanted to get involved in his new community.
He now somewhat unexpectedly finds himself the new township supervisor.
The Maple Valley Township Board voted 4-0 at Monday’s meeting to appoint Deur interim supervisor, to serve as such until the November 2026 election.
The appointment comes after Dan Boes abruptly resigned as supervisor during the township board’s April 14 meeting and walked out after the Daily News had asked him questions about why he had posted the township’s zoning administrator job.
Boes just recently appointed Deur to the township’s Planning Commission with Deur having participated in his first meeting in March. Now Deur will lead the township board starting in June.
“It was a rather sudden thing to have happened, but I felt I could serve the community in some small way by filling the position until the election,” Deur told the Daily News.
“I’ve served on several boards, including the Michigan Horse Council, and was a Republican delegate to the State Convention a few years ago as well,” he added. “My grandmother was a township assessor, and my great-grandfather was a supervisor for Casnovia Township for many years.”
Bruce and Heather Deur moved to Coral in 2019, primarily because the previous township they lived in was “very restrictive and did not allow the freedom we desired to enjoy our property,” he said. Bruce owns Tailwinds Electric, a small electrical contracting business in Coral, and he took over as pastor of Cowboy Church/Dandelion Chapel in Coral last autumn.
Heather has worked for Head Start for more than 10 years and currently works in Lakeview as a center director.
The Deurs live on 33 acres near Cowden Lake where they also have a small horse farm. Bruce and Heather are parents to seven children and have several grandchildren.
Bruce grew up in the Fremont and Newaygo area; his paternal grandparents were dairy farmers in Fremont, so he is familiar with farming communities.
“I hope to be able to use this interim position to help work towards bridging some gaps and moving forward with the initiatives the township has already started,” he said. “There are some excellent opportunities for Maple Valley, and with some work, we should be able to make them a reality.”
‘WE’RE THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE’
The township board at a special meeting on April 26 had voted 4-0 to post the interim supervisor position so interested candidates could submit their information, and to also hold a special election for supervisor with the goal of letting the residents decide. However, after that meeting, township officials learned that the Republican and Democrat parties for Montcalm County would actually each nominate a candidate to go on the ballot.
“When you study the laws that cover this item … that law gives two options,” Trustee Tim Thornhill explained at Monday’s meeting. “Option one would be that this board could appoint an interim supervisor. Option two would be that the county committee of each party (Republicans and Democrats), the clerk would call a special election and the county committees … would appoint your candidate and give you an option to vote. It kind of strips you of your liberty, politically, on this.
“I found that to be eye-opening,” he said. “So that leaves us with decisions to make. We went the full monty to try to give you (residents) liberty in this matter, although it doesn’t appear that that’s available within the law.”
Thornhill then asked residents present in the audience for their “consent” for the board to appoint an interim supervisor, to which Clerk Andi Knapp pointed out, “Well, technically it’s our decision. We’re elected, we’re the voice of the people. They elected us to be their voices for this. The law especially states that it must be filled by us.”
“I would think that the board knows this township a lot better than the (Republican and Democrat) party committees,” Thornhill told the audience. “Y’all are probably a lot better in letting us appoint you an interim supervisor. Having the board appoint a person is probably the lesser of two evils, and also because of the money (for a special election).”
Three people applied for the interim supervisor position: Deur, Penny Bassett (who previously served on the township’s Planning Commission) and Julie Graham (who is the current deputy clerk).
“All three applicants are good applicants and they’re all involved in the township already,” Thornhill noted. “All three are qualified. Let’s deliberate, let’s talk about it.”
However, Knapp said she was ready to make a motion to appoint someone.
“Get ‘er done,” Trustee Lee Frandsen agreed.
Knapp made a motion to appoint Deur, which Thornhill supported.
“From the things I know and the things I’ve heard about you, I feel like you’re about as middle of the road politically with this board as anyone I can think of, which is the reason I supported the motion,” Thornhill told Deur, who was in the audience.
The board then voted to appoint Deur without any further discussion.
“Motion carried. Congratulations,” Thornhill told Deur.
“Congratulations, Bruce. I hope it all works well for you,” Bassett added from the audience.
Anyone who wants to run for the supervisor has until April 2026 to file as a candidate; they will then proceed to the August 2026 primary election (if they run as a Republican or Democrat) and then the November 2026 general election.
Also at Monday’s meeting, Treasurer Meg Booth said she would wait on sharing more details about her township purchasing policy proposal until they have a full five-member board again in June.
The township board is next scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. on June 9 at the Coral Community Center.
