Politics are especially strange in the county that experienced 15 months of turmoil from a political gadfly who won office, then was ousted from it by a judge.

Seven months have passed since Karen Spranger was removed from office for lying about her residency on election paperwork in Macomb County. While her tumultuous time as clerk/register of deeds is in the rearview mirror, the campaign to fill the last two years of her term is speeding ahead.

After a primary that had a smorgasbord of candidates — 11 Republicans and six Democrats — the general election is becoming, well, just as quirky.

Fred Miller, the Democrat who lost to Spranger two years ago, is facing Republican Lisa Sinclair, who has never held office and has a checkered voting and legal past, including bankruptcy and run-ins with police.

Adding intrigue to the race are two write-in candidates — former county commissioner James Perna, who was the runner-up to Sinclair in the August primary, and Harrison Cloke, a former supporter of Sinclair, who mutually parted ways with her and says he is running as an independent.

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Last week, County Executive Mark Hackel, a Democrat who supported the effort to oust Spranger, told a group of senior citizens he was speaking to — when asked a question — that he is voting for Sinclair, whom he has never spoken with.

Macomb County's rough-and-tumble politics continue to be anything but boring.

Miller, a former state representative and county commissioner, won the Democratic nod by 2,087 votes out of 75,446 cast over state Sen. Steve Bieda in a grueling Democratic primary that was fraught with political friction and a flurry of campaign literature and campaign finance complaints.

In November 2016, the election in which President Donald Trump took the county, Miller lost to Spranger by a slim margin of 635 votes out of 376,153 cast. Miller, 45, of Mount Clemens, who is married with children, is deputy treasurer for community outreach in the Oakland County Treasurer’s Office.

"I think the lesson of 2016 that we learned is that there are forces out there beyond your control," Miller said. "I think the chaos that the clerk's office has been through since the last election definitely raised the profile of the race. We are working hard and not taking anything for granted."

Apparently, neither is the Macomb County Democratic Committee, which has distributed information about Sinclair's past including that she only voted in five of 18 elections since 2010; a drunken driving arrest after she hit another vehicle in 2003 and had a blood alcohol level of 0.186; and being found guilty of attempted disorderly-drunk in 2011 after using profane language with police while she appeared to be intoxicated.

Sinclair admits she has made mistakes, accepted responsibility and is responsive with people who are questioning her.

"Yes, I did that. I was a younger version of myself and I turned my life around and I'm proud of the person I am today," the Harrison Township resident said. "Yes, I'm disappointed I didn't put voting as a priority. ... I'm focused on my life, today, being the best person I can possibly be and proving that every day. None of the things in my past will affect my ability to be the next clerk."

Sinclair, 42, won the Republican primary over Perna by 2,513 votes, garnering nearly 18 percent of the 65,762 votes cast. Sinclair, who is divorced with no children, is a registered nurse in the emergency department at Sinai-Grace Hospital at the Detroit Medical Center.

She said she worked as a legislative aide in the Michigan Legislature years ago and ran for city clerk in Lansing in 2001, losing by one vote in the general election. She came back to Macomb County about seven years ago after a "horrible divorce."

Sinclair's past isn't preventing Hackel from voting for her. Hackel, who endorsed Bieda in the primary, said Sinclair may "not be the right candidate, but Fred is the wrong candidate."

"You can't have somebody running elections who tried to rig the election," said Hackel, who has long claimed that Miller had an agreement with former Clerk Carmella Sabaugh, who pulled out of running for re-election at the last minute and endorsed Miller.

Miller responded by saying, "I think that's an outrageous statement."

He said he is working hard and focused on reaching as many voters as possible before the election. If elected, he said he "will be able to work with anybody whether they are Republican, Democrat, supporter or non-supporter. Anyone who wants to put the business of the people first, I'll be able to work with them."

Miller said he would bring the clerk's office to senior citizens, where they live and socialize, through a mobile service and have forms with large print. He would restore evening hours and have documents by demand, such as looking at the possibility of a drive-through window at the Talmer Building in Mt. Clemens, an idea discussed years ago.

Miller said he wants to reinstate the fraud alert system for the register of deeds, which would alert property owners of a change in status on their deed through an electronic alert. He said he's going to refuse a county car and wants to restore the office to being an innovator.

If elected, Sinclair said she wants the clerk's office to have good customer service — "fair and efficient service with a smile." She said she's tough enough to get the job done, dealing with emergencies regularly as a nurse, and wants to bring "a healing calm and quality back to the office."

She wants to focus on e-filing and has a proposal to collect outstanding campaign finance fees and use the money to pay for first-time marriage licenses, which are $20.

Sinclair is using social media to spread her message, saying she doesn't have the budget for signs. She called comparisons of her to Spranger "ridiculous" adding "there's no comparison."

Sinclair said she hasn't pursued any endorsements, and she took down photos of herself with Republican officials after the negative information about her came out.

While Sinclair's and Miller's names will be on the ballot, two other candidates are hoping voters will write in their names.

Perna, 78, a retired credit union banker from Clinton Township, said he was surprised he lost to Sinclair in the GOP primary. He said he decided to file as a write-in after Sinclair's background came to light.

"I felt there's gotta be another choice," Perna said, adding that if elected he would evaluate the office and ways to improve services.

Cloke, 56, of Warren also filed as a write-in. He supported Sinclair, but the two parted ways, in part, after Cloke used foul language that Sinclair said she didn't want in her campaign.

Cloke, a lab courier, said he is making his first attempt at public office because he, too, believes voters needs another choice.

He announced his candidacy on a webcast he does on his Facebook page called "Thursday Morning Toaster Oven!" If elected, Cloke said he would restore and maintain labor relations between the managers and employees in the clerk's office.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.