Two of three incumbents return to LMC board

The Herald-Palladium published this article on Thursday, Nov. 5, about the election results for the LMC Board of Trustees. Read the full article on their website.

One newcomer will join two incumbents on Lake Michigan College’s Board of Trustees.

After a bevy of absentee ballots pushed the official count to Wednesday, the top three vote-getters among the six candidates were newcomer Vicki Burghdoff, along with incumbents Debra Johnson and Mary Jo Tomasini.

Each seat carries a six-year term. Between the vote totals in Berrien and Van Buren counties, Tomasini collected the most, with 32,224. She was followed by Johnson, 29,504, and Burghdoff, 24,214. Trailing behind were Paul Bergan, 22,223, James McGee, 18,234, and Phil Oretsky, 11,377.

Johnson and Tomasini retained their seats of the community college’s board, while Paul Bergan – who has served on LMC’s board for 24 years – will not return.

Burghdoff, 65, has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a masters in counseling and personnel. The Coloma resident previously served on the workforce development board for Berrien, Branch and Calhoun counties.

With a background as an employment counselor, Burghdoff has said she intends to focus on affordable training programs that can lead to employment for the region.

Johnson, 62, has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from DePaul University and a masters in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. In addition to serving on LMC’s board, the St. Joseph resident is also on the advisory council for the Area Agency on Aging.

Tomasini, 55, has an associate degree from LMC and is the owner at Competitive Edge. The Stevensville resident has already spent 12 years on LMC’s board and can now add another six.