Karen Bond
MUNDY TOWNSHIP, Michigan -- Former supervisor Karen Bond filed a claim for unemployment compensation, even though elected officials are not eligible for such benefits.
Bond cited 'involuntary retirement' as a reason for applying, according to Clerk Tonya Ketzler, who brought the matter forth at the board's Dec. 8 meeting.
The township refuted Bond's eligibility claim.
"I sent a rejection letter along with the vote totals for when she lost in August and in November and a copy of the unemployment rules that stated specifically that elected officials aren't eligible for unemployment," Ketzler said.
Michigan's Employment Security Act prohibits elected officials from receiving unemployment compensation.
Bond, a Democrat, was defeated in the August primary election by David Guigear, the current supervisor who also is a Democrat. She ran as a write-in candidate in the November election.
Bond told the Grand Blanc News that she knows elected officials are not eligible for unemployment compensation. She said she filed "just to see if it would go through. If you don't try what you're going to get is a 'no.'"
Bond said she had not received a reply from the state Unemployment Insurance Agency as of Monday.