Town supervisor who resigned after arrest in sting using teen decoy is reelected in MI
A Michigan township supervisor arrested in September and accused of having sexually explicit conversations with a person posing as a teenager has won back his seat, election results show.
Democratic candidate Kenneth Russell Fletcher unofficially won back his seat as Delta Charter Township Supervisor with 12,114 votes, or 88% of all votes, on Nov. 5, defeating two write-in candidates, according to Eaton County election results.
Fletcher resigned from his position as supervisor Sept. 3, the day he was charged with accosting a child for immoral purposes and using a computer to commit a crime, according to court records and a copy of his resignation letter shared by WLNS.
Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd said Fletcher engaged in sexual conversations over a dating app and through text messages with an investigator posing as a 15-year-old boy as part of a sting operation, the Lansing State Journal reported.
According to police, some of the conversations happened on the LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr, WKAR reported.
Fletcher pleaded not guilty to the charges, court records show.
Michael Nichols, an attorney at the firm representing Fletcher, told McClatchy News on Nov. 6 that Fletcher “wholeheartedly contests that he was chasing around men under 16 for immoral acts.”
Nichols told McClatchy News that Fletcher resigned in September because he “thought it was best for him and best for the community,” adding that “politics has been the furthest thing from his mind since the charges were announced.”
“As of today, he’s maybe thinking about what’s the right thing to do,” Nichols said, adding that Fletcher was “pleasantly surprised” by the number of votes he received.
Per Michigan election law, Fletcher had to be included on the ballot because by the time he resigned, it was too late for him to withdraw, Nichols said.
“Each township officer shall hold office until a successor is elected and qualified,” the law reads.
A vacancy will be declared if Fletcher does not take steps outlined in the election statute to accept the position by the end of the day on Jan. 1, 2025.
McClatchy News reached out to Delta Charter Township officials Nov. 6 but did not immediately hear back.
Delta Charter Township is about a 7-mile drive west from Lansing.
This story was originally published November 6, 2024 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Town supervisor who resigned after arrest in sting using teen decoy is reelected in MI."
