A disgraced Michigan township supervisor has resigned after being arrested on suspicion of a child sex sting, shockingly winning enough votes to reclaim his old post in Tuesday's election.
Former Delta Township Supervisor Ken Fletcher regained his seat with nearly 89% of the votes cast. According to preliminary results —Local media reported that he defeated two authorized candidates who ran following his resignation on September 3, the same day he was arrested.
The Democratic lawmaker, who served as supervisor for more than a decade, was caught under sting by local, state and local law enforcement agencies in sexually explicit conversations with a police officer posing as a 15-year-old boy on the dating app Grindr. He is accused of having done so. Agency.
According to court documents, police said the conversation then moved from the app to a text message, where Fletcher expressed a desire to meet and talk to the decoy boy at the Lansing Mall, but never arranged a meeting. It is said that there was not. Obtained from WILX10 News.
Fletcher, whose name remained on the ballot under state election law, has until Jan. 1, 2025, to decide whether to accept or decline the position, according to local media.
Delta Township Clerk Mary Clark, who has been serving as interim supervisor since Fletcher resigned, said if Fletcher remains out of office, the township board will have 45 days to appoint a new supervisor. He said that there is a grace period. The Lansing State Journal reported.
“There are three options on his side, so it's very difficult for us to act or decide to act in a certain way before we know what's going on in that position. It's speculative,” Clark said.
Mr Fletcher's lawyer, Michael Nichols, said his client was “pleasantly surprised” by the election results, adding that he had not thought about politics since his arrest.
“The biggest question for Ken Fletcher is, is this the right thing to do, not just for me, but for the community, and am I still the best person for the job?” Nichols said. told WILX 10 News.
Fletcher was charged with accosting a child for immoral purposes and using a computer to commit a crime, the newspaper reported.
The disgraced supervisor is out on bond and has pleaded not guilty to two felonies, according to court records.
