MONROE, MI – Incumbent Mark Brant is set to serve part of his fourth four-year term as Monroe County Commissioner from federal prison after being federally convicted when his tenants allegedly grew marijuana on his rental properties and sold it “across state lines,” reported VICE.
Vice said Brant was first elected to the position in 2012, but has been investigated since 2020—the start of his third term, noting a state senator and two other county officials were aware of the Brant investigation, but kept the news under wraps as did Brant.
Once the investigation was released to the public, Brant resigned Oct.1, according to VICE.
However, since the election was about a month away at that point, it was already too late for somebody else to challenge for the position, because the deadline to remove Brant’s name from the ballot as well as add any new candidate names had passed, said VICE.
When resigning from office Brant stated he did not want his “personal circumstances to interfere with the smooth operation of the county I so dearly love,” indicating he would decline to take his oath and allow the election of someone else.
Yet when he saw the election results, Brant decided to take office, citing his overwhelming win and that voters truly wanted him, according to VICE. The election results of this majority Republican county indicated a 90 percent victory for Brant, with no opposition candidate from any party.
VICE reported Brant has already paid more than $800,000 in fines and surrendered money to federal investigators and is now set to serve the remainder of his 18-month sentence in a federal prison nicknamed “Club Fed” in West Virginia.
