LEONI TWP., MI - A short-lived plan to funnel a portion of medical marijuana business application fees into the pockets of Leoni Township elected officials has resulted in the recall of two of the three people at the center of the controversial plan.

Tempers ran hot late Tuesday after results from the Nov. 6 election revealed voters recalled Clerk Michele Manke and Treasurer Lori Stack. Supervisor Howard Linnabary retained his seat.

Democrats Manke and Stack were ousted by Republican newcomers Mark Carpenter and Patrick Clemente.

At 12:27 a.m. Wednesday, Blackman-Leoni Township public safety officers were called to the Leoni Township Hall, 913 Fifth St., for a reported assault, Jackson County Undersheriff Chris Kuhl said.

Officers arriving at the scene discovered the individuals involved in the fight were all current and former Leoni Township officials. They subsequently contacted the Jackson County Sheriff's Office for assistance, Kuhl said.

Witnesses told police the victim was using his cellphone to record people taking items from the building when the suspect assaulted him, slapping the phone out of his hand, Kuhl said.

Deputies began investigating the incident and ordered everyone to leave. There were no injuries and no immediate arrests, Kuhl said.

A report of the incident will be sent to the Jackson County Prosecutors Office for review and possible charges, Kuhl said. He would not release the names of those involved.

Animosity began earlier this year, when citizens learned elected officials were earning money for every medical marijuana application they processed.

Linnabary, Manke and Stack earned a combined $19,800 to process 18 applications before the board changed how it distributed application fee money. The board voted to change the policy in February, following outrage from residents.

Per state law, application money can only be spent on marijuana-related administrative and enforcement costs.

Leoni Township has approved 84 licenses across 53 facilities, Marihuana Compliance Officer Sgt. Steve Stowe said last month.

Stowe was hired by the board to take over all medical marijuana-related administration work. For more on how Leoni Township has handled medical marijuana, click here.

Officials on either side of the dispute told MLive/Jackson Citizen Patriot late Tuesday it would be a challenge working together. The next township board meeting is Nov. 13.

"I don't like, frankly, the call that I stole money and that if I'd have stayed in there, I'd have made $49 billion," Linnabary said. "I don't want anything to do with anybody that does believe it. It's called stupidity."

Linnabary said he's willing to work with anybody, but won't take the blame if Carpenter and Clemente can't do the job.

"I'll tell you what, if the other two people come in here, if they can't do their job, do you think I'm going to back them up?" Linnabary said. "No, I'll say, 'Public, you're the one who put them in here.'"

Carpenter and Clemente said they were disappointed Linnabary retained his seat. Linnabary's behavior during the recall was "disgusting," Carpenter added. The group filing the recall supported Carpenter, Clemente and Gough to win the seats.

"He's really compromised the supervisor position of our township," Carpenter said. "It's going to be really hard to work with somebody that doesn't go about it in a professional manner."

Despite animosity, Clemente hopes he can find a way to connect with Linnabary, for the good of the township. Clemente is a former marine and Linnabary is a Vietnam Army veteran - something Clemente hopes they can bond over.

"I think it's incumbent upon all of us to try and bridge those gaps to try to heal some of those wounds," Clemente said.

Manke and Stack combined for 20 years of experience in their respective roles with the township. Linnabary was first elected supervisor in 2016.

For a look at the vote totals in Leoni Township from the Tuesday, Nov. 6 election, click here.

Recreational marijuana was passed by Michigan voters Tuesday.

Leoni Township voters were on board with the proposal, with 54.8 percent of voters favoring legalization.

Reporter Nathan Clark contributed to this story.