Viar Accuses Recall Petition Circulators of Fraud

Shelby Township Trustee Paul Viar said Tuesday at the township’s Board of Trustees meeting that as long as he’s on the board, he will continue to fight wasteful spending and fraud.

"You may rest assured that no recall effort or threats will stop me from speaking the truth about employee benefits or anything else,” Viar said. 

About 7,300 signatures of Shelby Township residents who want Viar to be recalled were turned in to the Macomb County Elections Commission on May 26.

Viar also said that two of the signature gatherers were retired police officers, whom he said were disgruntled with previous Police and Fire Pension Board negotiations that he had facilitated.

Viar also claimed that several circulators who were hired to go door-to-door and collect the signatures were not from Shelby Township, and that one person was on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry.

“This is just one of many alarming facts in a very disturbing recall effort by a small group seeking power,” he said.

Viar read from a letter from a Shelby Township resident stating she had not signed the recall petition, even though her name was printed on the petition.

He had asked that the Shelby Township attorney look into allegations of forgery and fraud.

Clerk Terri Kowal, who is tasked with verifying the signatures, said that in her counting she would not have accepted the signature because it was printed and did not match the resident's signature.

After the signatures are verified, they will go back to the Macomb County Elections Commission for tallying.

If more than 6,318 valid signatures are counted, voters will be asked whether or not to recall the three-term treasurer in the November general election.

The Macomb County Elections Commission said 774 sheets full of signatures were turned in, but the department has not yet counted the number of valid signatures.

Viar, along with Shelby Township Supervisor Rick Stathakis, was targeted for voting on the rezoning of two pieces of property—one on 24 Mile and Schoenherr roads and the other on 22 Mile and Van Dyke Avenue.  Petitioner Tom Delise claimed the two favored builders’ interests rather than residents'.