NEW BOUNDARIES, NEW DIMENSIONS
Dozens of candidates file for seats, have until Friday to withdraw
Political candidates have filed for Senate and House seats in districts that more than ever extend into Wayne County and other neighboring counties, creating more diverse districts.
The filing deadline passed at 4 p.m. Tuesday for state, congressional and county seats for this year’s primary and election, what are known nationally as the congressional mid-terms. Candidates have until 4 p.m. Friday to withdraw.
This year’s election will be the first execution of the newly drawn district borders by the state and county boundary commissions and features numerous multi-county districts.
Political consultant Adrian Hemond said the State Boundary Commission for the first time in decades was not bound by what was known as the “Apol standards,” which demanded state boundaries follow county lines.
“They broke county lines all over the place,” Hemond said. “County breaks are the new thing.”
The new boundaries and the continuing impact of term limits created many open seats and opportunities for candidates in the state House of Representatives. In Macomb County’s 14 state House seats, only four current state lawmakers are running. Statewide, of the 110 House seats, at least 68 will have a newcomer.
“There are a lot of open seats because of term limits and the way the lines got redrawn,” said Hemond, CEO of Grassroots Midwest in Lansing.
Perhaps the most hotly contested state race in the county this year will feature two term-limited state representatives, Republican Pamela Hornberger of Chesterfield Township and Democrat Kevin Hertel of St. Clair Shores, likely squaring off in November for Senate’s 12th District seat, which is a shoreline district going from New Baltimore south to Grosse Pointe in Wayne County. That’s on the presumption Hornberger defeats her primary opponent, Michael Williams.
A wild race to watch will be two current office-holding Democrats seeking to challenge GOP state Sen. Mike MacDonald of Macomb Township in November for the 11th District seat, if he survives his primary challenge.
Democratic county Commissioner Veronica Klinefelt of Eastpointe is relinquishing her county post to run and Eastpointe Mayor Monique Owens can retain her current seat while she runs. The Democratic candidates realize the nominee from their party will have a good chance to knock off MacDonald as the seat leans about 55% to 57% Democratic, according to Hemond.
That race also features the infamous Melissa Carone of Macomb Township, who testified in December 2020 with attorney Rudy Giuliani in front of a state House committee about election-fraud claims. Carone’s testimony was reported nationally and parodied on an episode of “Saturday Night Live.”
“I think it’s hilarious,” Hemond said. “I don’t think Republicans think it’s hilarious because they’re
going to have to deal with her for an election cycle.”
Carone initially filed for the 60th District House seat, where she may have had a better chance, but was disqualified by county Clerk Anthony Forlini because she had outstanding fines related to campaign filings.
The 11th District, like the shoreline 12th, is a long north-south district from Macomb Township and across Eight Mile Road into Detroit.
Of the seven state Senate districts in Macomb County, four extend into Wayne County, and one, the 24th District, reaches into Oakland and Lapeer counties and a small section of Genesee County. In addition, the 12th District that includes Wayne and Macomb counties also comprises a small part of St. Clair County.
In the state House, the county breaks are less extreme because each of the 110 House districts is much smaller than each of the 28 Senate districts, providing more flexibility for line drawers, Hemond said.
Five of 14 Macomb County House districts extend into Wayne County, although one of the blended districts, the 10th, includes only a tiny portion of Macomb.
In addition, the 66th District in northwest Macomb County goes far into Oakland County. The 65th District in northeast Macomb extends into St. Clair and Lapeer counties.
The Third Senate district that includes part of Macomb but has no county candidates. It includes the far southwest side of Warren and tiny part of Sterling Heights, and extends into Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park. That race, which includes only Democrats, features state Sen. Stephanie Chang of Detroit is being challenged by Alberta Tinsley Taliba of Detroit, a former state representative and former Detroit councilwoman. That race also includes two other candidates, Toinu Reeves of Detroit and John Ulaj of Hamtramck.
The other Senate district that extends into Wayne County, the 10th, features Democratic state Sen. Paul Wojno of Warren challenged in the primary by Georgia Mae Lemmons of Detroit, for the right to face the winner of the GOP primary between Joe Hunt of Warren, who has run for county executive and was former county Clerk Karen Spranger’s campaign manager, and Paul M. Smith, a former Sterling Heights councilman whose run for the state House against Nate Shannon was not backed by the GOP because of his extremist views.
Another House race to watch will feature current state Sen. Doug Wozniak going against Terence Mekoski, both of Shelby Township, and Macomb Township Trustee Frank Cusumano in the GOP primary for the 59th District House seat that includes portions of Shelby and Macomb Townships. Wozniak drew some attention because he withdrew his candidacy for the 24th state Senate seat that already featured a powerful Democrat, former Secretary of State Ruth Johnson.
Wozniak last November won the final 14 months of his current 36th District Senate seat that was vacated by Peter Lucido when he won the Macomb County prosecutor post in 2020.
Meanwhile, Mekoski, a federal investigator, is in the rare position of running for two seats simultaneously. He is the GOP candidate for the 36th District House seat in the May 3 election that includes James Diez running as the Democratic nominee. The winner will serve eight months to complete Wozniak’s former term.
For the 59th state House seat, Mekoski, Wozniak and Cusumano are vying in the GOP August primary to face Diez in the general election. Diez faces no primary opposition.
The 11th District state House race will be highly competitive and diverse as it features 13 candidates — 11 Democrats and two Republicans — of which seven live in St. Clair Shores and three each reside in Harper Woods and Detroit. One of the candidates, Democrat Patrick Biange, has posted Facebook videos of himself singing off-key.
The filings for the county’s primary congressional seat, the 10th District, did not feature any last-minute surprises as the field of two Republicans and five Democrats appears set, notwithstanding a withdrawal by Friday. The Republicans are John James and Tony Marcinkewciz, and Democrats Carl Marlinga, Henry Yanez, Angela Rogensues, Rhonda Powell and Huwaida Arraf.
The Ninth District congressional seat, which also includes a significant portion of Macomb County, features U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain of Bruce Township facing a GOP primary challenge from Michelle R.E. Donovan for the right to face lone Democratic candidate Brian Jaye of Rochester. It includes most of Macomb Township and further north and east in the county, most of northern Oakland County, all of St. Clair County and several counties in the Thumb.
County races
In the county commission races, 11 of the 13 commissioners are seeking re-election, albeit in the newly-aligned districts.
In the 13th District, where Klinefelt would have run, three Democrats and two Republicans are running. The Democratic field features Eastpointe City Councilwoman Sarah Ann Lucido, former county board employee Courtney Flynn of St. Clair Shores and Robert D. Roscoe of Eastpointe.
The GOP candidates are Michael Babat of Eastpointe and Randall J. Shafer of St. Clair Shores, who has previously run for county executive.
Democratic Commissioner Julie Matuzak of Clinton Township, who filed to run in the Seventh District, withdrew Wednesday, leaving a trio of Republicans and one Democrat in the race. Democrats had complained that the new boundaries favored Republicans.
With Matuzak’s withdrawal, Clinton Township Trustee Tammy Patton is the lone Democrat. Patton will face the winner of the GOP primary among former commissioner James Perna; Cheryl Cannon, the wife of Clinton Township Supervisor Bob Cannon; and Leo J. Melise, a retired Clinton Township police officer.
The county board races also will feature two former board members ousted by voters seeking a return to office by taking on the commissioners who defeated them.
Andrey Duzyj is challenging Commissioner Michelle Nard in the 13th District Democratic primary in Warren that also includes Kaja S. Ahmed and Terry L. Wisniewski. They will vie to face the lone GOP candidate Bill Clift.
Nard narrowly defeated Duzyj and also prevailed over Wisniewski in the August 2020 primary.
Democrat Robert Mijac is seeking a rematch with Republican Don VanSyckel, who defeated him by a 54%-46% margin in November 2020 for the Sterling Heights seat. Both of them will have to survive primaries as Mijac will face Pashko Ujkic and VanSyckel will face Gary Lusk and Jackie Ryan.
Two commissioners whose districts were drastically altered by the county reapportionment commission face primary and general-election challenges if they survive their primaries.
Commissioner Mai Xiong of Warren will face former Warren city councilwoman Donna Kaczor Caumartin in August and if she survives that will face the winner of the Republican race between former Warren city councilman and president Cecil St. Pierre and Clifford Frost.
Democrat Mark Hackel, the county’s first and only executive, will be challenged in November by former Republican county commissioner Nicholyn Branderburg for a shortened two-year term.
Forlini, who oversees elections in the county, commended all of the candidates for taking a risk and participating in the political process.
“People get ridiculed for their political views …. and take personal hits (while running for office), but I give them credit for stepping up and participating in the process.”
All candidates have until 4 p.m. Friday to withdraw their names or otherwise will appear on the August ballot.