KALAMAZOO TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The former treasurer for Kalamazoo Township changed her mind, asking to have her name removed from the special election to fill the office she just left.
On Monday, Sherine Miller sent a letter to the Kalamazoo Township Clerk requesting her name be struck from the August 4 ballot, according to Township Supervisor David Combs.
Miller, who resigned as treasurer on March 16, filed to run to fill the position for the remainder of the on-going term. That action violated the severance agreement she signed with the Township, according to Combs.
State election law set a deadline for candidates to withdraw from a race at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 24, said Combs. Miller missed that deadline, instead she held a press conference outside the township hall on Friday, saying she was committed to running and did not know of any clause in her severance agreement that would keep her off the ballot.
WATCH: Sherine Miller's Friday press conference
Three days later, Miller's stance changed. In the letter, she admitted to not have knowledge of the part of the agreement that she would not run for the treasurer position.
Since the the deadline for a candidate to withdraw passed, her request to be removed from the ballot can't be carried out, according to Combs.
Monday night, the Kalamazoo Township Board of Trustees authorized township staff to take any needed legal action to keep Miller's name off the ballot, to enforce the breach of contract, and seek damages as laid out in the severance agreement.
FOX 17 reached out to Miller to confirm the content of the letter. We have not received a response from her.
A messy dispute
In January, the Board of Trustees voted to censure Miller, limited her access to financial systems, and restricted the amount of time she could spend in the office, after a report commissioned by the board found she was incapable of completing the duties of the elected position, putting the township's finances at risk.
In a statement, the board said it would have completely stripped Miller of all duties, but had to allow her to fulfill parts of the job mandated in state law.
Then in February, the trustees formally requested Governor Whitmer remove Miller from office.
In March, Miller and the Township reached a deal where she left office and received $110,000 as severance. In an interview with FOX 17, Miller denied any wrongdoing while in office, saying the Township's report got the facts wrong.
WATCH: FOX 17 sits down with former treasurer after she take severance deal
Trustee Clara Robinson was appointed to fill the position until a replacement is elected in November's election.
Then in April, Miller confirmed she would run for the position.
She and Robinson were the only two candidates to file for the special election, both as Democrats. If the Township's legal efforts fail to remove Miller from the ballot, the two candidates would face each other in the August primary.
