JoAn Bassing

Paul Thompson

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GREENWOOD TWP- In a unique twist for a township election, two candidates are running for the treasurer seat in Greenwood Township, but depending on the voters’ decision on the Option B ballot measure, the winner may not be assuming office.
Option B, as it is known in state statute, allows townships to hire their clerk and treasurer, rather than electing those officials.
The elected clerk, whose term expires in March 2026, would serve through the end of that term, and then the board would hire a clerk to fill that position.
If Option B does not pass, the winner of the treasurer’s election will serve a two-year term. Option B was on the ballot twice, in 2020 and 2021, and failed both times by a two-to-one margin.
The candidates for the treasurer’s position include:
JoAnn Bassing
Bassing has served as an elected township clerk as well as an appointed deputy treasurer. She was initially appointed to the clerk position after current clerk, Debby Spicer, quit midway during her term after a disagreement with the board over clerk office hours and wages. Bassing then ran for and won election as clerk in 2022, but lost to Spicer, who decided to run again, in 2024.
Bassing opposes Option B, but said she is worried it will pass this time because of the current disagreements between the clerk and treasurer and the board. “If a person is hired by the board, then they are beholden to the board,” said Bassing. “The board could have more control.”
Bassing said hiring a clerk and treasurer will end up costing township taxpayers more money, and that if the board decides to combine the two positions, they will have to hire an outside auditing firm, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Bassing explained that some of the board’s issues with the current treasurer stem from not understanding how the township’s finances are recorded.
“Schedule 1 is basically where your assets are,” Bassing said. “It is only accurate at one point in the month, and you run it at the very end of the month.”
“I am running to keep the position locally elected,” she said.
Bassing blamed the board for not making sure the clerk and treasurer’s financials matched starting almost a year ago.
“They just didn’t approve the treasurer’s report,” she said. “If it didn’t match every month, how is it going to match at the end of the year?”
JoAnn is married to John Bassing, who is currently serving as a supervisor. The couple are both retired dentists and ran their own firm. They have two grown daughters and one grandchild.
Paul Thompson
Paul Thompson said his primary goal in running is for Option B to pass.
“But I also believe I could do an excellent job in the treasurer position,” he said. “In case Option B does not pass, we would have someone capable in the position.”
Thompson is now retired from his position at Pillsbury, where he was an electron microscopist, managing analytical labs, and then managing research and development.
“I was a Mr. Fix-It,” he said. “That’s what I enjoyed. My interest is in making things work well.” After 25 years at Pillsbury, he joined a consulting group, doing product development for food companies. He is now fully retired and living full time on Vermilion.
“We’ve had our place on Vermilion since 2002,” he said. “I took a year off after leaving Pillsbury and remodeled the house we had bought.” He and his wife lived between their home in Golden Valley and their Vermilion home before moving full-time to the lake. His wife, Jere, worked for the Federal Reserve Bank doing market research, and is now retired. The couple has two sons, one grandson, and a second grandson coming soon.
Thompson said he and his wife love to travel, and that he is a backcountry motorcyclist, a hobby he took up in his 60s. “I’ve done the majority of the routes in the U.S.,” he said. “Most are week-long trips in the woods. I am a big outdoors person. I downhill ski, hunt, and fish. I worked hard so I could retire early.”
Thompson should be familiar to Greenwood pickleball enthusiasts, and is the president of the Lake Vermilion Pickleball Association, the group that raised funds to build the four new courts at the town hall. He only started playing pickleball at Greenwood Town Hall and likes the culture of the game with its open play philosophy. “It’s not that way for tennis,” he said.
Thompson has also taken on the president’s role for the Greenwood Recreation Board.
Thompson said he would like to see the town board focus on the community, as well as strengthening the fire department. “We need to work together for the betterment of Greenwood,” he said. He said the clerk and treasurer jobs are service functions, not political. “It was time to get involved and not just complain,” he said.