Six candidates for 13th District House seat offer views
Voters will choose from six candidates in Tuesday’s primary election to fill the 13th District State House seat left vacant when Lori Stone was elected mayor of Warren in November.
Among the candidates are a husband and wife who manage a Warren church and food pantry; a Macomb County Commissioner; a former state representative; an engineer; and a police officer.
The district as it is currently drawn includes parts of Macomb and Wayne counties, specifically Warren and Detroit. A special general election will be held on April 16, 2024.
A federal court decision ordering the redrawing of seven state house districts and six state senate districts could change the makeup of the 13th District, even though it is not one of the districts ordered to be redrawn. However, the two districts surrounding it are. House District 12 currently represented by Kimberly Edwards (D-Eastpointe) and House District 14, currently represented by Donvan McKinney (D-Detroit) are both slated to be redrawn, which many experts believe will alter the boundaries of neighboring districts.
Stone, a Democrat, has endorsed Macomb County Commissioner Mai Xiong, also a Democrat, for her former seat. Former state representative LaMar Lemmons III and church manager Suzanne Ostosh are also running on the Democratic side of the ballot.
Brandon Cumbee, who served as a police officer in Detroit and Warren, engineer Ronald Singer and pastor Curtiss Ostosh are Republican candidates.
Cumbee, a parent, local business owner and 40-year
Warren resident, has no political experience and said he is running because he knows how much decisions made at the state level can affect citizens’ daily lives.
“Even though I have not been directly involved with politics, I’ve been aware of how decisions made in Lansing can impact citizens,” said Cumbee. “There are a lot of issues that are just not being taken care of.”
Lemmons, a Detroit resident, said he is running because he has experience as a state representative as well as working in Lansing in other capacities. Lemmons served in the state house from 1999-2007 and worked as a researcher for then Sen. Curtis Hertel.
“I think we need someone who is experienced and where there will be no learning curve,” said Lemmons. “I’ve done the job already, I have bills in my name, and I’ve worked in environments where the Democrats were not in the majority so I know how to work in a bipartisan way.”
Lemmons said the lack of Black legislators since the most recent redrawing of the districts also motivated him to run.
“We have the least Black representation in the last 50 years,” Lemmons said. “The lines were drawn to benefit the Democrats, but it was done at the expense of Black representation.”
Curtiss and Suzanne Ostosh are running on opposite sides of the ballot, but both say their experience managing Harvest Time Christian Fellowship Church and food pantry in south Warren has made them aware of day-today issues facing the average citizen.
“We have seen firsthand homelessness, food insecurity, and the lack of affordable housing and how that has affected people on the lower end of the economic scale,” Curtiss Ostosh said. “My wife and I are both running because we thought we could be a voice to help people who don’t really have a voice.”
Suzanne Ostosh said she encounters people through the church on a daily basis that need help connecting to services such as food assistance, child care, computer and wi-fi access and transportation.
“I feel this is a big problem with our government because people don’t know what resources are available or how to connect with them,” she said. “We need to meet people where they are.”
Singer, a Warren engineer who lost the race for the 13th District House seat to Stone in 2022, said he will bring common sense to the state legislature.
“Too often we sent the wrong people to Lansing and to Washington,” Singer said. “People get elected who have no common sense or are easily influenced by lobbyists or special interest groups instead of focusing on the needs of the people.”
Singer said he will be a watchdog for taxpayers and ensure that tax dollars are spent wisely.
Xiong is a Warren resident serving her second term as Macomb County Commissioner. She lost the race for Warren City Clerk on Nov. 7 to incumbent Sonja Buffa.
Xiong is running on a platform of bipartisanship and says she understands the needs of families in her district. She said she would work to secure federal and state funding for her district.
“As a parent, I know the challenges families continue to face,” Xiong said. “I have a proven record in listening to my constituents, working across party lines, and delivering results.
“I look forward to winning this important election and maintaining the Democrats’ majority in the House.”