Washington Twp. supervisor loses primary to township trustee

A northern Macomb County township supervisor at the center of a controversial millage proposal last fall to purchase an athletic complex has been bounced from office, losing Wednesday's primary to a township trustee.

With 100% of precincts reporting, Washington Township Supervisor Dan O'Leary lost to Township Trustee Sebastian "Sam" Previti in Tuesday's primary. Previti, who won with 58.6% of the vote compared to O'Leary's 41.4, faces no Democratic challenger in November.

O'Leary faced criticism both last year and again this spring after he proposed a millage to buy an $11 million athletic complex to be used by Washington Township residents. The millage proposal failed soundly.

On Wednesday, O'Leary, who also was an informant in an FBI investigation involving bribes to public officials, said he was proud of the work his team accomplished during this 12 years as supervisor.

"While I would have liked to complete one more term to finish the projects that are dear to me and critical to our town, I am still proud of where we have come as a community these last twelve years," said O'Leary.

Previti, a financial controller and owner of a small business, has been a township trustee since 2016. He thanked his family and volunteers early Wednesday morning.

"You dedicated so much of your time, energy, and resources to my campaign and I cannot thank you enough," said Previti in a statement on Facebook. 

mfeighan@detroitnews.com