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Lincoln Park, Michigan — ballot edition
Wayne County · ZIP 48146 · Last updated: November 4, 2026, 6:34 a.m. EST
Complete researched edition for the November 3, 2026 general election: U.S. House District 13, Michigan Senate District 1, Michigan House District 2, 25th District Court, WCCCD District 8, City of Lincoln Park Mayor, Clerk, Treasurer and City Council, Lincoln Park Public Schools board, and the city's Headlee Override proposal.
Official source: Michigan Voter Information Center — your exact sample ballot
Evening update, November 3, 2026: corrected and deepened candidate boxes across all six published Michigan editions under the site's sourcing rule — every point checked against campaign sites and platforms, Ballotpedia, the Detroit Free Press and League of Women Voters guides, candidate forums, and news coverage, never a single guide alone. Abdul El-Sayed's U.S. Senate box carries his full platform, including banning Super PACs and corporate outside spending; the previously blank minor-party boxes in the Senate, Secretary of State, and Attorney General races now carry the positions those candidates actually stated, and candidates with no published positions anywhere we could check still read 'No fight stated.' Election results remain awaiting certification; official results are expected around November 23.
Your ballot at a glance — Lincoln Park, MI
| Race / Proposal | Who is on it |
|---|
| U.S. Senator | El-Sayed (D), Rogers (R), Marsh (Green), Christensen (Libertarian), Long (U.S. Taxpayers), Kristy (Natural Law) |
| U.S. Representative — District 13 | McKinney (D), Nykoriak (R), Dardzinski (U.S. Taxpayers), Light (Green), Coleman (Working Class) |
| Governor / Lt. Governor | Benson/Brinks (D), James/DeBoyer (R), Hudson/Parmenter (Libertarian), Campbell/Clay (Green), Brandenburg/Cowper (U.S. Taxpayers) |
| Secretary of State | Gilchrist (D), Forlini (R), Sloan (Libertarian), Borregard (Green), Aughney (U.S. Taxpayers) |
| Attorney General | Savit (D), Lloyd (R), Dye (Libertarian), Polonowski (Green), Ludtke (U.S. Taxpayers), Dern (Natural Law) |
| State Senator — District 1 | Onwenu (D), O'Connell (R) |
| State Representative — District 2 | Whaley (D), Kokinda (R) |
| State Board of Education | Pritchett & Tilley (D), Collins & Moeggenberg (R), plus minor-party names — see the race |
| University of Michigan Board of Regents | Brown & Makled (D), Epstein & Schostak (R), plus minor-party names — see the race |
| Michigan State University Board of Trustees | Scott & Tebay Zemke (D), Maday & Victory (R), plus minor-party names — see the race |
| Wayne State University Board of Governors | Akeel & Mack (D), Anuzis & Murphy (R), plus minor-party names — see the race |
| Michigan Supreme Court | Cavanagh & Hood (D-nominated incumbents), Warren & Morse-Bills (R-nominated), Howe & White (U.S. Taxpayers) |
| Court of Appeals — District 1 | Bazzi, Letica, Murray — all listed as incumbents |
| Court of Appeals — District 1, partial term ending 01/01/2031 | Lievense — incumbent, only candidate listed |
| Wayne County Circuit Court — 3rd Circuit | 16 incumbent candidates for 16 positions, plus a separate non-incumbent contest — check your sample ballot for that contest's names |
| Wayne County Circuit Court — 3rd Circuit, non-incumbent position | Hawkins — only candidate listed for the non-incumbent seat |
| Wayne County Circuit Court — 3rd Circuit, partial term ending 01/01/2031 | Sabree — incumbent, only candidate listed |
| Wayne County Probate Court | Colegrove, Fanning, Moss — 3 candidates for 3 seats, plus a write-in campaign off the ballot |
| Judge of District Court — 25th District | Loeckner, Medina — open seat, no incumbent running |
| Wayne County Community College District — Trustee, District 8 | Steeby — only candidate listed |
| Wayne County Executive | Warren Evans (D, incumbent), Michael Evans (R), Olumba (Independent) |
| Mayor of Lincoln Park | Tobin — incumbent, only candidate listed |
| Clerk — City of Lincoln Park | Kehrer — incumbent, only candidate listed |
| Treasurer — City of Lincoln Park | Lulko — incumbent, only candidate listed |
| City Council — City of Lincoln Park | Behr (incumbent), Craven, Duprey (incumbent), Garza, Nichols (incumbent), Ross (incumbent), Salcido (incumbent), Szor (incumbent), Trueblood — 9 candidates for 6 seats |
| Lincoln Park Public Schools — Board Member | DeFiore, Gilbert, Sciantarelli — all incumbents, unopposed |
| State Proposal 2026-1 — Constitutional convention | State proposal |
| State Proposal 2026-2 — Money out of politics | State proposal |
| Wayne County Proposal A — Detroit Zoo millage RENEWAL | Wayne County proposal |
| Wayne County Proposal B — History museums millage — NEW tax | Wayne County proposal |
| City of Lincoln Park Proposal — Headlee Override | City of Lincoln Park proposal |
Races
Federal
U.S. Senator
6-year term · Vote for 1
Open seat — Senator Gary Peters (D) is not running again. This race can help decide control of the U.S. Senate. If you skip it: the seat is filled by everyone else's votes; with an open seat and a tight race, skipping lets the margin be decided without you.
El-Sayed changes who pays and who is covered — government guarantee, taxes at the top, and Super PAC and corporate money banned from politics. Rogers keeps the current system and changes prices and rules inside it — tax cuts, deregulation, price transparency.
Abdul El-Sayed
Democratic
Fighting to change
- Health care, completely: Medicare for All — everyone covered, including vision, dental, and hearing, with no premiums, no copays, no deductibles
- Medical debt: abolish it for every American — wipe it out, not just cap it
- Drug prices: expand Medicare's power to negotiate prices for every prescription drug, negotiated earlier; public manufacturing of essential medicines such as insulin; ban the pharmacy-benefit-manager middlemen
- Money in politics — Super PACs and corporate outside spending: overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision; ban outside spending through corporate 501(c)(4)s, Super PACs, and 527 groups; public election funding and campaign spending caps
- Money in politics — his own campaign: he says he is the only candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan who has never taken a dime of corporate money, and never will
- Taxes at the very top: a billionaire tax on wealth over $1 billion; tax capital gains and inheritances over $1 million the same as ordinary income and close the stepped-up-basis loophole; raise the rate on earnings over $1 million; close the Social Security payroll-tax cap — paired with a cost-of-living exemption up to $50,000
- Housing: a building boom — massive investment in new homes and streamlined building rules; ban large corporations that speculate on housing from owning homes at all; ban algorithmic rent price-fixing software; a federal renter bill of rights
- Everyday costs capped to income: a federal water guarantee — at least 50 gallons of clean water per person per day, water bills capped at 2% of household income, and ironclad shutoff protections
- Workers and trade: pass the PRO Act so workers can unionize; unions at the table on trade; targeted tariffs to protect Michigan manufacturing as it grows
- Immigration: abolish ICE and replace it with a new enforcement structure; repurpose ICE funds to immigration courts to clear a pathway to citizenship for people stuck in limbo
- Environment: shut down the Line 5 pipeline; a pathway to 100% renewable energy built on union jobs; codify the EPA's Endangerment Finding so no administration can strip climate authority by executive order
- Foreign policy: end blank-check U.S. military funding to foreign militaries — including Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia — and spend the money at home; an immediate arms embargo on Israel; support Ukraine against Russia's invasion
- How Washington works: abolish the filibuster; Supreme Court reform — end lifetime appointments, impose term limits, the same number of appointments per presidential term; end partisan gerrymandering with a federal nonpartisan districting committee
- Abortion: codify the rights once protected by Roe v. Wade into federal law
Fighting to keep
- Nothing about the current health-care system — his fight is to replace how it is paid for; in the meantime he opposes privatizing Medicare and opposes cutting Medicaid or ACA subsidies
- His record as Wayne County's health director: he erased medical debt for more than 300,000 Michiganders, and he helped design the drug-price negotiation policy passed in the Inflation Reduction Act
- Michigan's constitutional abortion right is a state provision — this federal seat does not remove it either way
- Honest limit: one senator cannot pass any of this alone — Medicare for All needs a majority in Congress and, by his own acknowledgement, control of Congress and the White House too
Mike Rogers
Republican
Fighting to change
- Manufacturing: bring manufacturing jobs back to Michigan
- Taxes: cut taxes for working families
- Training: a shop class in every high school; expand skilled-trades training and apprenticeships; let 529 savings be used for vocational training
- Health-care prices, inside the current system: force hospitals and insurers to post real prices; penalize excessive insurance denials and delays; expand bulk drug purchasing
- Housing costs: make new construction in new residential zones tax-free; let 529 savings cover a first-home down payment; help with the first year of property taxes; build on vacant lots through land banks, like in Detroit
- Border and guns: stronger border security; protect gun rights
Fighting to keep
- The current health insurance system — he works inside it; explicitly not Medicare for All; he has said Medicare is too entrenched to remake
- Corporate money in politics — he opposes bans like Proposal 2's at the state level
- Michigan's state constitutional abortion right — he does not propose changing it from the Senate
Douglas P. Marsh
Green
Fighting to change
- Health care: single-payer universal health care — affordable care for every person, free or for a nominal fee at the point of service
- Housing: reform housing policy so home ownership is attainable for people, not private-equity firms — bar private-equity ownership of residential property and regulate short-term rentals
- A Universal Basic Income: $1,000 a month for every U.S. citizen over 18, and $1,500 a month for descendants of chattel slavery
- Foreign policy: end illegal wars and military operations, end material support to states engaged in apartheid and genocide, and press for U.S.-brokered permanent ceasefires in Gaza and Ukraine
- Water and environment: justice for Flint, accountability for PFAS contamination of Michigan's water, and stop Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline and the Line 5 tunnel
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Lydia Christensen
Libertarian
Fighting to change
- Health care: an opt-in "Medicaid for All" — keep your employer or union plan if you want it, or enroll in a public plan with income-based premiums (free for lower-income families), no deductibles and no surprise bills
- Taxes and trade: end the federal income tax on earnings under $150,000 as a step toward eliminating the income tax, and remove tariffs
- Civil liberties: repeal the Patriot Act and FISA Section 702; remove automated license-plate-reader surveillance networks; a Digital Bill of Rights treating your identifying information as your own property; end warrantless searches in the 100-mile border zone; end qualified immunity
- Immigration: abolish ICE and replace it with a new enforcement system
- Environment: decommission the Line 5 pipeline; protect the Great Lakes and clean water
- Rights: codify abortion rights up to fetal viability; pass the Equality Act for LGBTQIA+ civil rights; defend Second Amendment rights — she does not support gun control
- War powers: war only as a last resort — restore Congress's war powers and oppose open-ended military commitments
- Money in politics — her own campaign: no PACs and no corporate money; she says she answers to no donor and no machine
Fighting to keep
- Social Security — she supports protecting it
Timothy Long
U.S. Taxpayers
Fighting to change
- Foreign aid: stop giving money to other countries while the United States is in debt
- The two-party system itself — he says it is broken
Fighting to keep
- The right to life — he states he supports it
Walter P. Kristy
Natural Law
Fighting to change
- Environment: a self-described "strong protectionist" — executives whose businesses break pollution laws "belong in jail"; help food producers move to organic, regenerative agriculture; fund pollution cleanup
- Data centers: postpone allowing more data centers until all residents have reasonable access to electricity and potable water, with local approval
Fighting to keep
- The Bill of Rights — he says he will do whatever he can to protect the fundamental civil liberties in it, including an individual right to own a weapon for self-defense
- Reproductive choice — he describes himself as pro-choice: he cannot imagine telling another person what to do about their pregnancy
Federal
U.S. Representative — District 13
2-year term · Vote for 1
Open seat in practice: incumbent Shri Thanedar (D) lost the August 2026 Democratic primary to Donavan McKinney, 51.9% to 48.1%. District 13 covers part of Detroit and several Downriver and western Wayne County communities.
The primary already decided the direction of this deep-blue seat: state Rep. Donavan McKinney, a democratic socialist, beat two-term incumbent Shri Thanedar 51.9% to 48.1% despite being heavily outspent. The general election tests whether the Republican, Green, U.S. Taxpayers or Working Class candidates can cut into that.
Donavan McKinney
Democratic
Fighting to change
- Lower the cost of living, starting with the bills he names most: car insurance and child care. He backs universal child care and fights “predatory corporations exploiting Detroiters through high utility bills and unaffordable insurance.”
- Medicare for All and expanded health coverage; sweeping criminal-justice reform.
- Get corporate money out of politics: he specifically backs banning monopoly utilities and government contractors from making political donations. His framing: “No longer can our party continue to serve two masters” — working people or “corporate oligarchs.”
- Abolish ICE; tighter limits on U.S. military aid to Israel and a stronger anti-war posture.
- Clean air and water and environmental justice for Detroit neighborhoods; revitalized public transit; stronger union and worker rights; public education funded for every child, not just wealthy zip codes.
- Record: state representative for Michigan's 11th House district; former SEIU member and organizer; member of the Democratic Socialists of America. He beat incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar in the August 4 primary, 51.9% to 48.1% (57,746 to 53,522 votes), despite Thanedar's large self-funded spending advantage. Endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, former Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Justice Democrats, the Working Families Party and SEIU Michigan.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
T. P. Nykoriak
Republican
Fighting to change
- Decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and create a process for retroactive relief for people convicted solely of nonviolent, low-level federal marijuana possession (campaign website, tp313.org).
- End qualified immunity for federal officers — including Border Patrol and ICE agents — who knowingly violate constitutional rights, with stronger independent review of alleged violations.
- Government accountability for foreign aid: comprehensive congressional oversight and investigations into U.S. assistance, saying he traveled to Ukraine in 2022 and 2023 and saw U.S.-supplied materials offered for sale in local flea markets; he wants stronger auditing, inspectors general and end-use monitoring.
- Protect Medicare and Medicaid for those who lawfully depend on them while cutting fraud, waste and abuse; lower prescription-drug costs through increased competition; VA reform — faster disability claims, more PTSD and brain-injury treatment, less veteran homelessness.
- His “fifteen commitments” also include: secure borders and enforcement of existing immigration laws, defending the Second Amendment, parents' rights in education, election integrity, domestic energy production and reducing the national debt.
- Record: Detroit-born; his campaign branding is “TP for 313,” and he says he stands with both Israel and Ukraine. In October 2026 he publicly complained that President Trump had neither endorsed nor recognized his candidacy, delivering a letter to the president's staff (PR Newswire, Oct. 27, 2026). Unopposed in the Republican primary. Endorsed by Robert Herjavec.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Chris Dardzinski
U.S. Taxpayers
Simone R. Coleman
Working Class
Fighting to change
- Runs on the Working Class Party's program: working people need a party of their own class — “every vote for a Working Class Party candidate is a way for working people to declare they want a party representing their own class” (the party's June 2026 convention statement).
- The party's stated issues for 2026: the wars, inflation, the lack of decent jobs for young people, and a worsening standard of living for everyone.
- Record: nominated at the Working Class Party's June 2026 convention to run for Congress in the 13th district (Detroit's east side, Hamtramck, Highland Park and Downriver suburbs). She published no separate personal platform.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
State
Governor / Lt. Governor
4-year term · Vote for 1 ticket
Open seat — Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) is term-limited. You vote for the pair together. Not decided by this race either way: the 6% sales tax, Michigan's constitutional abortion right, and Proposals 1 and 2. The governor signs or vetoes bills, runs state agencies, and proposes a budget — the Legislature still has to pass laws.
Benson keeps Michigan's current path and expands the help inside it — costs attacked directly, service by service. James changes the path — eliminate the income tax, cut spending and regulation, repeal the clean-energy mandate, expand school choice.
Jocelyn Benson / Winnie Brinks
Democratic
Fighting to change
- Drug prices: an independent Prescription Drug Affordability Board to push back on price gouging
- Caregiving costs: a $5,000 caregiver tax credit
- Hospital prices: upfront hospital pricing; more mobile health centers for rural and underserved areas; restore federal health-care cuts
- Teacher pay: a $60,000 minimum starting salary for teachers
- Early childhood: pre-K for all 3- and 4-year-olds; make childcare more affordable — expand Rx Kids and remove barriers for childcare providers
- Reading: reading by third grade, tracked statewide; school funding weighted to student need; more career and technical education
- Housing: a tax credit for first-time buyers (and, in her guide answers, second-time buyers and people moving up, to free up starter homes); faster construction approvals; support for starter homes
- Big buyers: bar private equity firms and institutional investors from buying a home in its first 100 days on the market; hold investors who drive up rents accountable
- Cash for mothers and infants: expand Rx Kids statewide (cash help first launched in Flint)
- Energy bills: stop “unfair” rate hikes; audit the power grid; increase outage credits; modernize the grid
- Pollution: increase penalties for corporations that pollute water, land, and air; enforceable guardrails for the Great Lakes
- Data centers: pause new development until rules on community input, energy costs, and natural resources are set — and make data-center companies pay for the added energy use in local communities
- Tax help, targeted: credits like the $5,000 caregiver credit and first-time buyer credits instead of an across-the-board cut
- Government services: overhaul the Department of Health and Human Services so residents can actually access Medicaid, food assistance, and other services; let local governments set a higher minimum wage than the state
- Voting: a state Voting Rights Act; no proof-of-citizenship requirement to register
- Immigration enforcement: state police should not participate in federal raids; oppose federal cuts to sanctuary cities; support families targeted by federal overreach
Fighting to keep
- The 100% clean electricity by 2040 law — keep the transition in place
- Abortion rights — she supported Proposal 3 (2022) and campaigns to actively protect the constitutional right
- Unions — defend the right to organize and collective bargaining
- No tax hike on the middle class — relief comes as targeted credits
- Public schools as the center — opposes policies that drain resources from neighborhood public schools; charter schools supported only at the same rigorous standards
- Gun laws tightened, not loosened: universal background checks, red flag laws, safe storage
John James / Jay DeBoyer
Republican
Fighting to change
- The state income tax — eliminate it. The 4.25% income tax (not the 6% sales tax): cut it by about a quarter in year one, then keep cutting until it is gone. Paid for, he says, by cutting waste, subsidies, and unnecessary spending — he has not laid out a full detailed plan for replacing all of that revenue. The income tax currently helps pay for schools, Medicaid, and prisons
- Spending and regulation: cut both; review 10 years of state spending; fully fund the Auditor General; refund people and businesses fined for COVID-related violations
- Clean-energy law: repeal the 100% renewable-by-2040 mandate — he calls it “insane”; cut emissions through innovation instead of mandates
- Health care: less government — prevention, nutrition and exercise, price transparency, telehealth, recruiting rural providers. In Congress he voted for the Republican budget law that cut Medicaid and against extending Affordable Care Act subsidies
- Schools — parents and choice: a Parents' Bill of Rights (see curriculum and lesson plans, opt a child out of controversial instruction); opt Michigan into the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit on day one — up to a $1,700 credit for donations to scholarship groups for private schooling, tutoring, and special-needs services; expand charters; phonics-based reading; limit classroom cellphones
- Housing: faster permits, land-use rules that let people build near jobs, return control to locals, lower the cost of doing business
- Energy bills: cap regulated residential bill growth at inflation; tie utility profits to performance; increase outage compensation. Data-center pauses decided locally, not statewide
- Voting: amend the state constitution to require proof of citizenship and voter ID at the polls; audit the voter rolls to remove non-citizens
- Guns: loosen — Second Amendment “shall not be infringed”; national concealed-carry reciprocity; incentives for parents to buy a gun safe
- Government rules: expand public-records access; ban fundraising by state officials while the Legislature is in session; legislative approval to extend emergency orders beyond 14 days
Fighting to keep
- Right-to-work — he supports it and voted against restoring collective bargaining rights for federal workers (while also praising UAW members and joining a nurses' picket line)
- Michigan's constitutional abortion right, as voters decided it — he is personally pro-life (“100% pro-life,” 2018; by 2023 he supported exceptions for rape or incest), but in 2024 he said voters had “already decided” the issue by passing Proposal 3, and his change pitch is taxes, jobs, and spending — not undoing Proposal 3
- Police backing as-is and stronger: every officer gets training, equipment, legal protections, and respect; “lock up violent criminals”
- The 6% sales tax is not part of this race either way
Anthony Hudson / Beau Parmenter
Libertarian
Fighting to change
- Taxes: eliminate the property tax and the state income tax, cut the gas tax, and make paid time off and sick time tax-exempt
- Schools: consolidate Michigan's 537 school districts into 83 county districts; schools focused on proper curriculum rather than indoctrination; protect girls' sports and private spaces
- Energy and land: a two-year statewide moratorium on data centers and solar farms; repeal PA 233 to restore local control over energy projects; remove Michigan from the Flock Camera Surveillance Program by executive order; oppose renewable-energy and electric-vehicle mandates and restore natural gas
- Immigration: remove sanctuary cities, deport undocumented immigrants, and stop taxpayer-funded benefits for undocumented immigrants
- Government: a part-time legislature with part-time pay; eliminate MDOT and distribute road funding equally to county road commissions; prioritize human workers over automation in vehicle manufacturing
- Health: no health mandates, including vaccines — transparency and informed consent, with decisions between patients and doctors
- Guns: protect the Second Amendment and repeal red-flag laws
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
The Michigan Libertarian Party had publicly disavowed its own gubernatorial nominee, in reporting cited by a voter guide.
Douglas Campbell / Bobbie Clay
Green
Fighting to change
- Health care: a not-for-profit state health system
- Income: a universal basic income, with direct public hiring
- Schools: eliminate charter schools and fund schools through a statewide budget, replacing local property-tax funding
- Corporate power: dismantle corporate control of politics — he says "corporate America owns" the two major parties — and return to a free market and a free country
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Donna Brandenburg / Robert Cowper II
U.S. Taxpayers
Fighting to change
- Constitutional / limited-government platform to the right of the Republican ticket
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
State
Secretary of State
4-year term · Vote for 1
The job: runs elections and the voter roll, and runs the branch offices for driver's licences, IDs, and vehicle titles. This office does not write election law — the Legislature and the constitution set the rules; the Secretary of State administers them. Open seat: Benson is term-limited out of this office.
Gilchrist keeps the current office's direction and adds a campaign-finance cleanup push. Forlini changes the management and election administration. Neither one changes election law — that is not this office's power.
Garlin Gilchrist II
Democratic
Fighting to change
- Federal interference: block it — Michigan's elections belong to Michiganders; fight attempts by the Trump administration to interfere with our elections, and ensure every vote is counted and certified without political interference
- Voter data privacy: safeguard the sensitive voter and driver data the office holds from federal data demands and Big Tech — he says he will fight demands not grounded in law in court alongside the Attorney General
- Campaign finance: real-time reporting before Election Day that shows who is spending money in our elections; real authority for the office to hold violators accountable quickly; stronger disclosure so voters can see who funds political messages; limits on leadership PACs — his "Stand TALL" agenda: Transparency, Accountability, Limits, and a Level Playing Field
- Services: bring the whole office into the 21st century — more online services and digital driver's licenses, alongside in-person service
- Clerks and disinformation: give local clerks the training and security they need, and meet disinformation head-on with clear, trusted information on how, when, and where to vote
Fighting to keep
- The secure foundations already in place — paper ballots, post-election audits, and the current verification safeguards: he says noncitizen voting is vanishingly rare and the existing checks work, that anyone who votes illegally should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and he opposes new documentation requirements that would burden eligible voters, such as married women who changed their names
Anthony Forlini
Republican
Fighting to change
- Citizenship verification: government database verification of citizenship before registration — as Macomb County Clerk he cross-checked jury pools against the voter file and found non-citizens in both (239 non-citizens in a four-month jury pool, 14 of them registered to vote; 198 more in early 2026, 11 registered, seven still on the voter file, referred to the Bureau of Elections on April 28, 2026); he calls fixing it a tier-one priority and publishes a public tracking page
- Election integrity that builds confidence: tabulators secure, verifiable, and properly controlled; training and support for election workers; voter rolls kept clean
- Transparency residents can see: clear public explanations of election processes, and record requests made straightforward and timely — answering questions with facts to reduce speculation
- Accountability and the rule of law: refer credible violations appropriately and work with law enforcement and prosecutors when warranted; publish clear standards and performance expectations, measure performance, report progress, and fix what is not working
- A high-performing office that respects citizens' time — run on his county-clerk management model
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
He did not return the Detroit Free Press voter-guide questionnaire, so his published issue answers in that guide are blank — a fact about the guide, not a position.
Christine Sloan
Libertarian
Fighting to change
- Election-security fears: address people's fears faster — work with local law enforcement and other officials to respond to concerns quickly (League of Women Voters candidate forum, September 2026)
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Eric Borregard
Green
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- The current election system as it stands — he says election-security worries are being overblown (same forum)
Scott E. Aughney
U.S. Taxpayers
Fighting to change
- Branch offices: re-open some of the Secretary of State offices that have closed, and make sure walk-in appointments are always honored (same forum)
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
State
Attorney General
4-year term · Vote for 1
The job: Michigan's chief law-enforcement officer and top lawyer — enforces consumer-protection law and can sue companies, utilities, and polluters in the state's name. The AG does not create crimes or repeal laws; the AG chooses what to prioritise, what to sue over, and what to defend in court. That discretion is the real difference in this race. Open seat: incumbent Dana Nessel is term-limited.
Both would keep defending the constitution and fighting consumer fraud. The change is emphasis: Savit points the office at corporations — wage theft, price-gouging, pricing algorithms — and supports red-flag laws. Lloyd points it at violent crime and trafficking first, and would repeal red-flag laws.
Eli Savit
Democratic
Fighting to change
- New consumer-protection rules in his first 100 days — aimed at algorithmic price-gouging, surveillance pricing, and AI deceptive marketing
- Enforcement priorities, in his order: 1) safeguard constitutional and voting rights, including reproductive freedom; 2) fight corporate misdeeds — wage theft, price-gouging, fraud; 3) protect the environment, public health, and the Great Lakes
- Gun laws: supports red-flag laws (ERPOs) — laws that “prevent tragedies… prevent death in the first place”
Fighting to keep
- Reproductive freedom as a constitutional right — he would defend it in court
- The AG office's consumer and environmental enforcement — aimed harder at pricing practices and corporate conduct
Doug Lloyd
Republican
Fighting to change
- Enforcement priorities, in his order: 1) public safety — violent crime, organised crime, human trafficking; 2) protect consumers from fraud and unlawful conduct; 3) defend the state's legal interests
- The office's posture: the AG should be “Michigan's lawyer… not a partisan political figure,” enforcing the law “without regard to partisan politics,” with more support for local prosecutors and law enforcement
- Gun laws: repeal red-flag laws (he says they strip a constitutional right without adequate notice/hearing); support “constitutional carry” — no concealed-carry permit requirement
Fighting to keep
- Michigan's constitutional abortion right — he says yes, he would enforce and defend it: “The Michigan Constitution is the law… My personal views would not determine which constitutional provisions the office enforces.”
- The AG office's consumer-protection and serious-crime work — continued, with a different emphasis (safety first)
Jason Dye
Libertarian
Fighting to change
- Health-care enforcement: use every lawful power of the office to expose health-care fraud, corporate deception, monopoly conduct, abusive hospital practices, and unlawful insurance denials
- Corruption and rights: expose public corruption, and defend constitutional rights — free speech, gun rights, and protection from warrantless surveillance
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Jeff Polonowski
Green
Fighting to change
- Workers and consumers: protect workers' rights and add consumer protections, such as limits on home foreclosures
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
John Ludtke
U.S. Taxpayers
Doug Dern
Natural Law
Fighting to change
- Ballot access: keep the ballot open to candidates outside the two major parties
- Science-based government: promote science-based solutions to government problems
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
State
State Senator — District 1
4-year term · Vote for 1
Open seat — Senator Erika Geiss (D) is term-limited and did not run again. District 1 covers southwest Detroit, River Rouge, Ecorse, and Lincoln Park. The Michigan Senate has 38 members serving 4-year terms; with the House it writes Michigan's laws, subject to the governor's veto. The job pays $71,685 a year plus a $10,800 expense allowance.
Open seat: Sen. Erika Geiss (D) is term-limited. Onwenu — a Detroit economic-opportunity official, attorney and Sierra Club organizer from ZIP code 48217 — runs on cutting housing, utility, health-care and auto-insurance costs; O'Connell, an Ecorse insurance worker and repeat candidate, published no platform beyond a congressional term-limits pledge.
Justin Onwenu
Democratic
Fighting to change
- Housing costs: "Lowering housing costs by lowering property taxes, streamlining development to build more affordable housing, expanding downpayment assistance programs, and investing in local home repair and beautification efforts" (campaign priorities page).
- Utility bills: "Lowering utility bills by expanding home energy efficiency and weatherization efforts, stopping extreme water and electricity rate hikes, and passing Michigan's first statewide water affordability program" (campaign). For Lincoln Park specifically, he cited aging infrastructure and major water loss keeping bills high, and backed multi-year rate setting, lead service line replacement, and energy-burden review in rate cases (Planet Detroit voter guide survey).
- Health-care costs: make Michigan "a leader in authorizing safe importation of lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada," create a prescription drug affordability board, cap insulin and other essential drug costs, forgive medical debt, and ban hospital junk fees (campaign).
- Auto insurance: limit "the use of non driving factors used by insurance companies to charge Detroit and Downriver more," and create a statewide Good Driver Savings Program requiring automatic discounts, premium credits, or dividends for drivers with clean records (campaign).
- Workers' rights: "Empowering workers by protecting collective-bargaining rights, repealing the ban on project labor agreements, cracking down on wage theft, and raising the minimum wage" (campaign).
- Public schools: "Strengthening public schools by rebuilding school infrastructure, ensuring equitable funding, raising teacher and staff pay, and expanding skilled trades programs" (campaign).
- Environmental justice: require cumulative health impact assessments for new or expanded permits in overburdened communities, stronger air monitoring, lead service line replacement, and polluter fines funding Supplemental Environmental Projects (lead remediation, air filtration, cleanups, public-health investments) — plus a Michigan Environmental Justice Act that "strengthens protections for overburdened communities, holds polluters accountable, and reduces pollution that harms our health" (Planet Detroit survey; campaign).
- Clean energy: maintain Michigan's law requiring utilities to reach 100% clean energy by 2040 — "Maintain the current law and timeline" (Planet Detroit survey).
- Data centers: a "commonsense statewide standard that ensures local communities are protected, our water is safeguarded, labor is at the table and consumer rates don't skyrocket," requiring community benefits agreements and giving localities legal resources (Planet Detroit survey).
- Ethics and transparency: "Transparent government with FOIA reform, a strengthened State Board of Ethics, and full financial disclosure from lawmakers," plus an ethics cooling-off period "stopping Lansing lawmakers from cashing in as lobbyists or legislative consultants" (campaign).
- Voting and civil rights: "Fair government with a Michigan Voting Rights Act to guarantee equal access to the ballot, prevent voter suppression, and strengthen democracy"; a Michigan No Secret Police Act keeping ICE out of sensitive locations; increased funding and enforcement for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights; and defending "reproductive freedom, marriage equality, free speech, and immigrant communities" (campaign).
- Public safety: "Create safer communities with strong gun safety laws, public safety funding for police, fire, and community violence intervention organizations, criminal justice reform, and robust youth and after-school programs" (campaign).
- Seniors, transit and PFAS: dignify seniors by lowering prescription drug prices, boosting in-home care, and funding local senior centers; invest in public transit, modern infrastructure, increased housing supply and walkable neighbourhoods; and on PFAS, "We must invest in PFAS remediation and upgrades to our water infrastructure" (campaign; Planet Detroit survey).
Fighting to keep
- As the City of Detroit's first Director of Entrepreneurship and Economic Opportunity (named in 2024 by Mayor Mike Duggan), he helped launch the city's first-ever municipal startup fund to invest $700,000 into Detroit-based startup founders and drive local job creation (campaign record page).
- He worked with Council President Mary Sheffield, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and local businesses to design and launch the Detroit Legacy Business Program, supporting long-standing Detroit small businesses with $2 million in funding and assistance (campaign record page).
- As the youngest member of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Michigan Environmental Justice Advisory Council, he worked to secure the Governor's $2 million Water Restart Grant Program and her statewide Water Reconnection Executive Order during the COVID-19 pandemic (campaign record page).
- He drafted and passed the Detroit River Protection Ordinance, creating safeguards to protect Great Lakes drinking water sources, and secured funding to protect school children from poor air quality through organizing efforts and a legal settlement between Michigan's only oil refinery and the local community (campaign record page).
- He raised over $150,000 for the United Community Housing Coalition to keep families in their homes; he serves on the boards of the United Community Housing Coalition, Michigan League of Conservation Voters, and Climate Power, and volunteers as an expungement attorney (campaign record page).
- He served as Senior Advisor for the Michiganders for Transparency and Term Limits ballot initiative campaign, which put term limits and lawmaker financial disclosure into the state constitution (campaign record page).
- His record: a fourth-generation Detroiter; Detroit attorney, community organizer (Sierra Club, in ZIP code 48217) and educator; Rice University and Columbia Law graduate — student body president at both; adjunct professor of workers'/labour rights law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law; appointed Detroit's Director of Small Business Affairs by Mayor Mary Sheffield in January 2026 (Detroit Free Press; campaign). He won the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary over former Rep. Abraham Aiyash, 58.7% (18,921 votes) to 41.3% (13,312) (Ballotpedia). Campaign finance through October 18, 2026: raised $435,767, spent $395,471 (Planet Detroit, from Secretary of State records).
- Endorsed by the Detroit Free Press Editorial Board (in the primary and again for the general election), U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, former U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, the Michigan AFL-CIO, Our Revolution, the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus, and Run for Something.
Patrick O'Connell
Republican
Fighting to change
- Term limits on Congress: on October 1, 2026 he signed the U.S. Term Limits convention pledge — "I pledge that, as a member of the state legislature, I will cosponsor, vote for, and defend the resolution applying for an Article V convention for the sole purpose of enacting term limits on Congress." U.S. Term Limits' goal is 34 states applying for such a convention; an amendment would then need ratification by 38 states. The release cites a Pew poll in which 87% of adults favour limiting members of Congress's terms (U.S. Term Limits press release, October 1, 2026).
Fighting to keep
- Ecorse resident; Schafer High School graduate; career experience includes working in insurance (Ballotpedia biography, from his Candidate Connection survey). He has never held public office in the sources checked.
- A repeat candidate: he lost the Wayne County Commission District 15 general elections of 2018 (39.5% — 19,218 votes) and 2020 (44.4% — 27,760 votes) to incumbent Joseph Palamara (D); lost a 2010 State House District 14 race (7,069 votes to Paul Clemente's 14,536); and ran in the 2012 and 2014 Democratic primaries for State House District 6, taking 3.4% (354 votes) and 3% (255 votes) (Ballotpedia).
- He advanced from the August 4, 2026 Republican primary unopposed, with 4,059 votes (Ballotpedia).
No campaign platform or prior public-office record was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026) — beyond the single congressional term-limits pledge below. He completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey, but its answer text was not published in the page as fetched (November 2026); no campaign website, Vote411 answers, or Planet Detroit survey response was found.
State
State Representative — District 2
2-year term · Vote for 1
A state representative is 1 of 110, on a 2-year term — the shortest leash on this ballot.
An open seat — Rep. Tullio Liberati is retiring, and the district (Lincoln Park, Allen Park, Melvindale, part of Southgate) has not elected a Republican since the 1960s. Whaley, a Lincoln Park hospital chaplain, beat the incumbent's brother in the primary and would be Michigan's first openly transgender state representative. Kokinda, a businessman who lost this seat's 2024 race, won the Republican primary with 74%.
Joanna Whaley
Democratic
Fighting to change
- Lower utility bills — one of her two headline issues, alongside fixing the district's roads and utility infrastructure (her stated priorities in campaign coverage).
- Create a statewide single-payer health care system in Michigan.
- Record: 38-year-old clinical hospital chaplain from Lincoln Park who works in emergency rooms, intensive care units and hospice care; a former pastor. She won the August 4 Democratic primary with 56.4% of the vote (6,484 votes), beating former state Rep. Frank Liberati and Allen Park Councilman Gary Schlack — after Liberati filed a complaint trying to remove her from the ballot over her name-change paperwork, which the Wayne County Clerk rejected.
- She would be the first openly transgender member of the Michigan Legislature. She has said incumbent Rep. Tullio Liberati's vote against transgender girls in girls' sports was one of the reasons she decided to run. Endorsed by state Sen. Stephanie Chang, state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, Run for Something and the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Ron Kokinda
Republican
Fighting to change
- A businessman and consultant running to flip a seat his party has not won in generations; he won the Republican primary with 74.4% of the vote (3,177 votes) over Zacharia Ortiz.
- Record: he also ran for this seat in 2024, taking 42.4% of the vote in the general election against Rep. Tullio Liberati.
- Campaign conduct note: Erin in the Morning, a news outlet covering transgender issues, reported that Kokinda has referred to Whaley by her pre-transition name during the campaign.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
State boards
State Board of Education
8-year terms · Vote for up to 2
These boards set tuition and budgets for their university (or statewide education policy, for the State Board) and hire the presidents / oversee the superintendent. They do NOT set your local school taxes, your child's curriculum, or K-12 funding formulas. The research gives direction by slate, not candidate-by-candidate platforms. Terms are 8 years — longer than the governor's.
Pritchett and Tilley keep the board's current direction: the state literacy plan, the 2025 health standards, and opposition to the federal scholarship tax credit. Collins and Moeggenberg change it: a faster phonics mandate, the health standards rolled back, and Michigan in the scholarship program.
Judith Pritchett (incumbent)
Democratic
Fighting to change
- Literacy first: more support for teachers in the classroom, smaller class sizes, and more emphasis on parents reading to young children; she says the pieces of the state's reading plan are in place and the focus should stay there
- Wants the board to revisit the state science standards and build artificial intelligence into standards across subjects
- Serves on the board's special education committee (which opened a public input process on September 22, 2026) and points to the shortage of special education teachers as a problem to fix
- Record: retired public school administrator — teacher, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent in Macomb County districts (Utica, Mount Clemens, Center Line), then chief academic officer of the Macomb Intermediate School District until 2017
Fighting to keep
- Incumbent since 2019 and the board's secretary, seeking a second 8-year term; the board's 6–2 Democratic majority keeps its direction if she and Tilley hold these two seats
- Voted with the 6–2 majority in November 2025 to adopt the updated state health education standards — the first update since 2007 — which recommend teaching students to define gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation
- Voted for the board's May 2026 resolution opposing Michigan taking part in the new federal tax-credit scholarship program, passed 6–2
Tiffany Tilley (incumbent)
Democratic
Fighting to change
- Sponsored the board's 2025 resolution urging the state to make reading training mandatory for teachers, and backs the new training requirement the state adopted
- Wants Michigan to study literacy models from states with stronger reading results and apply what works here
- Backs the Department of Education's leadership changes on special education and the board's new special education committee
Fighting to keep
- Incumbent since 2019 and the board's co-vice president, seeking a second 8-year term; the board's 6–2 Democratic majority keeps its direction if she and Pritchett hold these two seats
- Voted with the 6–2 majority for the November 2025 health education standards update and for the May 2026 resolution opposing Michigan's participation in the federal tax-credit scholarship program
Terence Collins
Republican
Fighting to change
- Require phonics training for every teacher within a year, with state funding and training over school breaks — he says the state is waiting too long to mandate it
- Send Department of Education staff into struggling districts (he named Pontiac, Flint and Detroit), and raise pay for paraprofessionals, which he calls too low to keep staff
- Revisit the 2025 health education standards: he says the gender identity guidance "has no place in public education or really any education"
- Supports Michigan joining the federal tax-credit scholarship program, and criticizes State Superintendent Glenn Maleyko for opposing it and for his handling of federal investigations
- Runs on results, accountability and parental rights: science-of-reading instruction, early intervention for struggling students, and clear school-performance information for families
- Record: senior financial analyst at General Motors; served on the Grosse Pointe Public Schools board from October 2023 to December 2024
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Bree Moeggenberg
Republican
Fighting to change
- Roll back the state's health education approach: her campaign promotes a resolution calling for "immediate retraction and public denouncement" of the Department of Education's gender-ideology guidance; she calls gender-transition instruction "political" and "propaganda, and it is absolutely dangerous to do it that way"
- Require schools to notify parents and offer opt-outs for classroom discussions of sexuality, and more classroom transparency for parents
- "Restore instructional focus": back-to-basics classrooms and restored classroom order; she supports the science of reading but says no curriculum works without stable, focused classrooms
- Revisit the Michigan Merit Curriculum, the state's high school graduation requirements
- Record: chair of the Isabella County chapter of Moms for Liberty and a licensed child care provider in Mt. Pleasant; previously a regional director of election integrity for MI Team Trump
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Wissam Charafeddine
Green
Fighting to change
- Evidence-based literacy and math instruction with intervention for struggling students; he names literacy, math, attendance and unequal access to opportunity as the problems the board must fix (Farmington Focus questionnaire, Sept. 30, 2026).
- Expand computer science, responsible AI literacy, career and technical education, digital citizenship and student-data privacy. It is his own field: he founded and serves as CEO of W Institute and wCode, which run youth leadership and computer-science programs, and works as a family engagement and community liaison at Hamadeh Educational Services, a PreK–12 provider.
- Competitive teacher pay, better working conditions and fewer administrative burdens; teachers treated as professionals and parents as partners; board programs judged by measurable results.
- Runs on Green Party values — equity, sustainability, local empowerment, public accountability — and argues public education is a moral, economic and democratic responsibility that should be measured by more than test scores (his campaign statement, charafeddine2026.com).
- Record: Livonia resident; master's degree in software engineering from the University of Michigan–Dearborn; co-chair of the Green Party of the United States since 2025; first run for elected office.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Charles Essner
Libertarian
William Mohr II
U.S. Taxpayers
Christine Schwartz
U.S. Taxpayers
Mary Anne Hering
Working Class
Fighting to change
- Public tax money should go to public schools and other public services (her stated position in a Henry Ford College interview).
- Opposes book bans and supports teaching history and core subjects; wants school employees, parents and students to have real access to State Board resources.
- Runs on the Working Class Party's program: working people need a party of their own class, campaigning on jobs, inflation and a worsening standard of living (the party's June 2026 convention statement).
- Record: retired social sciences instructor — she taught from 1973 to 2022, including 47 years at Henry Ford College in Dearborn. This is her fifth straight run for this board as the Working Class nominee: 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024 (2.3% of the vote) and 2026.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
State boards
University of Michigan Board of Regents
8-year terms · Vote for up to 2
These boards set tuition and budgets for their university (or statewide education policy, for the State Board) and hire the presidents / oversee the superintendent. They do NOT set your local school taxes, your child's curriculum, or K-12 funding formulas. The research gives direction by slate, not candidate-by-candidate platforms. Terms are 8 years — longer than the governor's.
Democratic slate = keep the board's current direction. Republican slate = change it — on tuition, spending, admissions/DEI-type policy, and leadership hires.
Paul Brown (incumbent)
Democratic
Fighting to change
- One university, equitably funded: all three campuses treated as one university, with Flint and Dearborn getting equitable funding
- The university's agenda: use it to address cost and access to education and health care, DEI, LGBTQ+ rights, climate change, and academic independence
Fighting to keep
- The Go Blue Guarantee and the access gains made on his watch: income eligibility for free tuition nearly doubled to $125,000, more than 40% of Flint and Dearborn students now attend tuition-free, and Pell-eligible and minority enrollment in Ann Arbor doubled
Amir Makled
Democratic
Fighting to change
- End the silo budgets: Flint and Dearborn now run on their own tuition while Ann Arbor holds the state allocation — he would shift an extra $20–30 million to each regional campus so each can cover faculty pay, facilities, and its own challenges
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Lena Epstein
Republican
Fighting to change
- Affordability: disciplined budgeting and greater scrutiny of administrative spending; make tuition and housing more affordable; expand need-based financial aid; help students graduate on time without unnecessary costs
- Access for Michigan students: stronger pathways from Michigan high schools and community colleges, and expanded internships and apprenticeships that connect a U-M education to Michigan's workforce
- Accountability: "incredible transparency" about where the money is spent and whether it is used efficiently, with measurable results expected of university leadership
- Free speech: the board should not decide what political opinions are acceptable
Fighting to keep
- Three strong, solvent campuses: one University of Michigan with each campus financially responsible and independent
Michael Schostak
Republican
Fighting to change
- Transparency: "transparency begets trust" — "good spending can survive sunlight."
- Free speech: "the response to controversial speech is more speech, not less speech."
- Campus budgets: every part of the university should be self-sustaining — paired with more financial aid based on a family's ability to pay
Fighting to keep
- The people doing the work: "you don't fix thin margins by squeezing the people doing the work."
Andrew Chadderdon
Libertarian
Kyle Maas
U.S. Taxpayers
Fighting to change
- Free speech: protections are especially important for people with opposing views (Faculty Senate forum, September 24, 2026)
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
State boards
Michigan State University Board of Trustees
8-year terms · Vote for up to 2
These boards set tuition and budgets for their university (or statewide education policy, for the State Board) and hire the presidents / oversee the superintendent. They do NOT set your local school taxes, your child's curriculum, or K-12 funding formulas. The research gives direction by slate, not candidate-by-candidate platforms. Terms are 8 years — longer than the governor's.
Scott and Tebay Zemke keep the current board leadership, the Spartan Tuition Advantage and the trustees' conduct code. Maday and Victory change the board's people and reject the code as written — both refuse to sign it.
Brianna Scott (incumbent)
Democratic
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Board chair and a trustee since 2019; her pitch is stability — she argues trustees take a few years to learn the university, so the board's two longest-serving members should stay
- Campaigns on the Spartan Tuition Advantage, which covers tuition for in-state students from families earning $75,000 or less a year
- Spearheaded the board's new trustee conduct code, adopted at a May 17, 2026 special meeting, and says she will keep abiding by it
- Endorsed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan Farm Bureau's AgriPac and the Michigan Agri-Business Association PAC
- Record: the board she chairs has been in open conflict — two trustees were censured in June 2026 for refusing to sign the code, and in October 2026 two fellow trustees sued her in federal court over it; an earlier board investigation connected to her public complaints about the former chair cost the university more than $2.4 million and ended with her among the trustees censured
Kelly Tebay Zemke (incumbent)
Democratic
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Trustee since 2019 and the board's chair last year (the chair now rotates yearly by seniority); runs with Scott on stability and experience
- Campaigns on the Spartan Tuition Advantage, which covers tuition for in-state students from families earning $75,000 or less a year
- Supports the board's conduct code and says she will keep abiding by it if re-elected
- Endorsed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer
- Record: director of government and external relations for The Henry Ford in Dearborn
She agreed to a Lansing State Journal interview for this race but ultimately was not available to complete it — a fact about coverage, not a position.
Julie Maday
Republican
Fighting to change
- Says major change is needed on a board she calls dysfunctional after three years of infighting, presidential turnover and another sexual assault scandal; her stated main concern is accountability and transparency
- Refuses to sign the board's conduct code as written — she objects to its "duty of loyalty" to the board majority and its limits on what a trustee may say publicly after a vote; she would sign a code covering conflicts of interest, confidentiality and respect
- Says nobody should sit on a board for more than eight years, and pledges not to seek re-election if she wins
- Campaigns with Victory on addressing MSU's $12 million budget deficit
- Record: former Novi city councilor; ran for this board in 2024 and finished third, about 4,100 votes short of a seat
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Roger Victory
Republican
Fighting to change
- Says the board needs a "30,000-foot view": trustees aligned on a shared mission and advocating for resources instead of micromanaging university leaders; he blames the infighting on personal agendas
- Refuses to sign the board's conduct code in its current form
- Campaigns with Maday on addressing MSU's $12 million budget deficit
- Record: state senator since 2019 (Senate Minority Whip), before that eight years in the state House — about 14 years in the Legislature, now term-limited; a lifelong Hudsonville farmer (Victory Farms) and former Ottawa County Farm Bureau president
- Endorsed by the Michigan Farm Bureau's AgriPac and the Michigan Agri-Business Association PAC
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Daniel Patterson
Libertarian
Fighting to change
- "MSU's Board of Trustees is broken & needs change" (his words, Plymouth-Canton Post questionnaire, Oct. 5, 2026): he opposes trustees signing nondisclosure agreements or accepting limits on their duties, and wants public scrutiny of investment decisions (MSU's $4.6 billion endowment), executive compensation and Spartan Ventures.
- Affordability: expand financial aid and the Spartan Advantage program and work toward tuition-free access for Michigan high school graduates; strengthen partnerships with Lansing Community College and other community colleges to cut student costs.
- Would not sign the board's code of ethics and conduct as written (The State News questionnaire, October 2026) — the code under which two sitting trustees were censured in June 2026 for refusing to sign.
- Opposes ICE activity and Flock surveillance cameras on campus; supports divesting from weapons manufacturers supplying Israel; opposes data centers and supports limits on artificial intelligence; supports unions, scientific research and free speech, with a rural, agriculture and Great Lakes focus.
- Record: MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources graduate (1994); served in the Arizona House of Representatives (2008–2012); ecologist and wildland firefighter, retired from the U.S. Department of the Interior; radio host at WJZD in Detroit. Lives in Indian River.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Will Tyler White
Libertarian
Fighting to change
- His campaign website's stated priorities: budget management, affordability, more online courses, support for MSU's land-grant mission, and degree programs tied to economic development.
- Record: Bath Township resident; describes himself as a lifelong learner who is currently taking classes at MSU.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Janet Sanger
U.S. Taxpayers
Did not respond to The State News candidate questionnaire (October 2026), and no published platform was found for her candidacy.
John Sanger
U.S. Taxpayers
Did not respond to The State News candidate questionnaire (October 2026).
John Anthony La Pietra
Green
Fighting to change
- Would not sign the board's code of ethics and conduct as written (The State News questionnaire, October 2026).
- Record: Marshall attorney (Macalester College; Cooley Law School); ran for this board in 2024 and received 1.0% of the vote; a repeat Green Party candidate for state office.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Yaz Ozbek
Working Class
Fighting to change
- Would not sign the MSU board's code of ethics and conduct as written (The State News questionnaire, October 2026).
- Runs on the Working Class Party's program: working people need a party of their own class, campaigning on jobs, inflation and a worsening standard of living (the party's June 2026 convention statement). Detroit resident; he published no separate personal platform.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
State boards
Wayne State University Board of Governors
8-year terms · Vote for up to 2
These boards set tuition and budgets for their university (or statewide education policy, for the State Board) and hire the presidents / oversee the superintendent. They do NOT set your local school taxes, your child's curriculum, or K-12 funding formulas. The research gives direction by slate, not candidate-by-candidate platforms. Terms are 8 years — longer than the governor's.
Both seats are open — neither incumbent is running, and the board's 5–3 Democratic majority is on the line. Akeel and Mack run on affordability, more aid and civil-rights protection. Anuzis and Murphy run on program cuts, fiscal discipline and campus free expression.
Shereef Akeel
Democratic
Fighting to change
- Lower tuition and student debt: expanded financial aid and cheaper course materials
- More open oversight of university spending and contracts — he is both a civil rights attorney and a certified public accountant (partner at Akeel & Valentine; Wayne State MBA)
- Expand medical outreach: use Wayne State's medical school to serve underserved communities better
- Pledges to defend students' due process and constitutional rights against federal pressure
- Record: a civil rights and employment attorney for nearly 30 years; he represented former Abu Ghraib detainees in the case that won a $42 million verdict
- Endorsed by AFT-Michigan, the Michigan Education Association, the Michigan AFL-CIO and the Michigan Association for Justice
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Richard Mack
Democratic
Fighting to change
- Top priority is the graduation rate: up from 26% to 60% over 15 years, he says that is still not high enough for Wayne State's working, parenting and first-generation students
- Budgets that prioritize quality, accessible education and fair faculty and staff pay
- Protect students and faculty from federal pressure on First Amendment rights
- Record: union-side labor and civil rights attorney for 28 years at Miller Cohen in Detroit; chief counsel to a coalition of more than 25 Detroit unions during the Detroit bankruptcy; served on the elected Detroit Charter Commission from 2019 to 2021 and is active with the Detroit NAACP
- Endorsed by AFT-Michigan, the Michigan Education Association and the Michigan AFL-CIO
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Andy Anuzis
Republican
Fighting to change
- Hold down costs by finding duplicative and outdated programs and cutting them — "have the guts to make the cuts"
- Intellectual freedom: he describes a campus climate of "soft censorship" and wrote an August 20, 2026 Detroit News op-ed, "Universities must restore open debate on campus"
- More mentoring, acclimation and support for first-generation college students, and expansion of programs like Math Corps that support Detroit students
- Grow enrollment from across Michigan to grow revenue, and delegate operations to university experts while the board focuses on prudent management
- Record: principal of Cornerstone Lincoln-King High School in Detroit for five years and former president of the Cornerstone Schools network; earlier a chief of staff in the Michigan House and in Congress, and a 2011 senior policy advisor to Mike Rogers
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Christa Murphy
Republican
Fighting to change
- Fiscal discipline: review programs and cut offerings that do not serve students, and optimize how resources are allocated to raise student outcomes
- Priorities: affordability, student success, and a Wayne State education that opens doors after graduation — preparing students for jobs in Michigan's growing industries
- Record: a Wayne State graduate and technology executive with strategy roles at Meta, Samsung and General Motors, and more than 15 years on the Vibe Credit Union board; she also ran for this board in 2022
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Alex Avery
Libertarian
Did not respond to The South End's candidate questionnaire, and no published platform was found for his candidacy (checked October 2026).
Jami Van Alstine
Libertarian
Did not respond to The South End's candidate questionnaire.
Jeff McDonald
U.S. Taxpayers
Fighting to change
- Runs on putting a working-class background on the board: he is a skilled-trades foreman and union steward, and argues the board should reflect the people the university serves — in his words to The South End, "the children of teachers, factory workers, skilled tradesmen, nurses, small business owners, veterans, and first-generation college students."
- Says he is concerned about Wayne State's financial strains and wants to explore alternative revenue first — industry partnerships, grants and other sustainable sources — to reduce the university's reliance on tuition increases, before proposing specific solutions.
- Proposes a student innovation initiative: students submit proposals for cutting costs, improving efficiency or generating revenue, with the most promising proposal receiving a tuition scholarship.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Paul M. Ragan
Green
Fighting to change
- His stated top concern (to The South End): "the current attack on diversity and freedom of speech" as it affects faculty and students at state colleges.
- Record: 70-year-old retiree living in Holly; he volunteered at the Green Party of Michigan's 2026 nominating convention when the party had no candidate for this board. Retired Silicon Valley field-service IT technician; University of Virginia graduate (1978).
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Suzanne Roehrig
Working Class
Fighting to change
- Criticized Wayne State's use of campus police to remove the 2024 pro-Palestinian protest encampment (her Vote411 / League of Women Voters answers).
- Runs on the Working Class Party's program: working people need a party of their own class, campaigning on jobs, inflation and a worsening standard of living (the party's June 2026 convention statement).
- Record: retired teacher and librarian who holds three degrees from Wayne State University; ran for this board in 2024 and received 1.8% of the vote.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Kathleen Oakford
Natural Law
Did not respond to The South End's candidate questionnaire.
Judges — nonpartisan section
Michigan Supreme Court
8-year terms · Vote for up to 2
Straight-ticket voting does NOT reach the judges' section — fill it in separately or it stays blank. Judges do not campaign on changing the law; what a court majority changes is how cases come out — on abortion, voting, guns, business, and criminal law — over the next 6–8 years. Current court: Democratic-nominated justices hold a 6–1 majority, and both seats up this year are held by Democratic-nominated incumbents. No outcome of this race flips the majority in 2026.
Cavanagh + Hood = keep the court's direction. Warren + Morse-Bills = start moving it conservative, 6–1 down to 4–3. Control does not flip either way this year.
Megan Cavanagh (incumbent)
Democratic-nominated
Fighting to change
- Access to justice: keep expanding it — revamped court forms and an easier-to-navigate legal system, better child-welfare outcomes, stronger legal representation for families, and collaboration with tribal courts
Fighting to keep
- The court's current direction — electing both incumbents keeps the current court and its recent direction intact, 6–1
- Her judicial philosophy on the bench: the law must be able to be fairly understood by the citizens who have to live by it — "the law does not exist to serve dictionaries; it exists to serve citizens" — a justice system that is fair, accessible, and grounded in the real lives of the people it serves
Noah Hood (incumbent)
Democratic-nominated
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- The court's current direction — electing both incumbents keeps the current court and its recent direction intact, 6–1
- Opinions rooted in facts: he is running to keep the court's opinions grounded in facts, fairness, integrity, and the rule of law
Michael D. Warren Jr.
Republican-nominated
Fighting to change
- The court's direction (narrow it, starting with future math) — electing both Republican nominees narrows the majority to 4–3 and moves future rulings in a more conservative direction, showing up from 2028's math onward, not by flipping this court now
- Interpret the law as written — his campaign's stated top priority — with an unwavering commitment to fairness
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Casandra Morse-Bills
Republican-nominated
Fighting to change
- The court's direction (narrow it, starting with future math) — electing both Republican nominees narrows the majority to 4–3 and moves future rulings in a more conservative direction, showing up from 2028's math onward, not by flipping this court now
- Apply the law as written rather than reshaping it, and uphold the Constitution, with fairness and accountability in the courtroom — she says recent Supreme Court opinions have been "unfair, unjust and are not equal under the law."
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Thomas W. Howe
U.S. Taxpayers-nominated
Fighting to change
- Judicial reform — probate-court critic who fought his mother's Genesee County probate case through 17 appeals
- Court discipline and audits: rebuild discipline outside the bar associations and put in an AI audit program, and apply the law as written
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
⚠️ ELIGIBILITY FLAG: Michigan requires a Supreme Court justice to be licensed to practise law in Michigan for at least 5 years. Reporting from multiple sources says Howe does not meet that requirement and could not take the seat if elected, though he can legally appear on the ballot. A vote for him is not a vote that can seat him.
Jody White
U.S. Taxpayers-nominated
Fighting to change
- Judicial reform — probate-court watchdog advocate pushing to open secret judicial discipline
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
⚠️ ELIGIBILITY FLAG: Michigan requires a Supreme Court justice to be licensed to practise law in Michigan for at least 5 years. Reporting from multiple sources says White does not meet that requirement and could not take the seat if elected, though she can legally appear on the ballot. A vote for her is not a vote that can seat her.
Judges — nonpartisan section
Court of Appeals — District 1
6-year terms · Vote for up to 3
District 1 covers Wayne County and 16 other counties in southeast / south Michigan — the court most state appeals go to before the Supreme Court. Three candidates listed for three positions in the official state report: voting here ratifies the incumbents; skipping does not open the seat to anyone else on the ballot.
Three incumbents, three different Detroit Bar ratings: Murray 'Outstanding,' Letica 'Well Qualified,' Bazzi 'Qualified' (2026). All three ask voters to keep them for another 6-year term — what separates them is the record below.
Mariam Saad Bazzi (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- First Arab American woman to sit on the Michigan Court of Appeals. Appointed by Gov. Whitmer in April 2025 after eight years as a Wayne County Circuit Court judge (appointed 2017, re-elected twice), where she ran the Criminal Division's Mental Health Court docket.
- Before the bench: assistant Wayne County prosecutor and lead attorney of the county's Mortgage and Deed Fraud Task Force; former president of the Dearborn Board of Education and a Henry Ford College trustee; Wayne State University Law School graduate.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Qualified.
Anica Letica (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- On the Court of Appeals since 2018 (appointed by Gov. Snyder). An assistant attorney general since 2009, handling criminal appeals and federal habeas cases; before that she ran the appellate division of the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office.
- Recognized for her work on cold-case sexual assault prosecutions before joining the court.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Well Qualified.
Christopher M. Murray (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- On the Court of Appeals since 2002 (appointed by Gov. Engler) — the longest-serving judge on this ballot. Serves as the court's Chief Judge Pro Tem; previously a Wayne County Circuit Court judge and chief judge of the Michigan Court of Claims.
- President of the Michigan Board of Law Examiners, the body that oversees bar admission; chairs the board of advisors of the Federalist Society's Michigan Lawyers Division.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Outstanding — the committee's highest rating, and the only one of the three incumbents to receive it.
Judges — nonpartisan section
Court of Appeals — District 1, partial term ending 01/01/2031
Partial term ending 01/01/2031 · Vote for 1
A separate Appeals contest on this ballot, apart from the three full-term incumbent seats: one incumbent candidate for one partial-term position in the official candidate list. Straight-ticket voting does NOT reach the judges' section — fill it in separately or it stays blank.
Lievense was appointed in March 2026 to fill a vacancy and now asks voters to keep him for the rest of the partial term. The Detroit Bar rated him 'Well Qualified' in 2026.
Andrew J. Lievense (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Appointed by Gov. Whitmer in March 2026 to fill the vacancy left by Judge Kirsten Frank Kelly; now seeks election to serve the partial term.
- Career before the bench: assistant U.S. attorney; litigation associate at Honigman; law clerk to U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn; University of Michigan Law School graduate.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Well Qualified. Endorsed by UAW Region 1 and the Michigan Association for Justice.
Judges — nonpartisan section
Wayne County Circuit Court — 3rd Circuit
6-year terms · Incumbents: vote for up to 16 — plus a separate non-incumbent contest
The county's main trial court: felonies, major civil cases, and family matters in Wayne County. The incumbent contest below is sixteen candidates for sixteen positions and does not change the bench. Two further Circuit Court contests follow on this ballot — a non-incumbent position and a partial-term position — each verified in the Wayne County Clerk's official candidate list.
All 16 are incumbents asking for another 6-year term, and none faces an opponent on this ballot line — voters choose up to 16 of the 16. What separates them is the record: their division, their years on the bench, and the Detroit Bar Association's 2026 ratings — 3 'Outstanding,' 10 'Well Qualified,' 1 'Qualified' (Van Houten), 1 'Not Qualified' (Miller), and 1 'No Rating' (Joseph).
David J. Allen (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Civil Division judge since 2003 — the longest-serving of the 16 incumbents on this ballot.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Outstanding.
Chandra W. Baker-Robinson (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Criminal Division judge since 2021. Before the bench she spent 12 years as a Wayne County assistant prosecutor and led the Wayne Arson Reduction Unit, prosecuting arson-for-profit and fatal arson cases.
- Presides over the court's Adult Drug Treatment Program and, since May 2025, is the designated judge of the court's Mental Health Treatment Court.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Well Qualified.
Christopher M. Blount (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Criminal Division judge since 2022.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Well Qualified.
Nicole L. Castka (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Appointed to the Criminal Division bench by Gov. Whitmer in 2025, filling the seat vacated when Judge Bazzi moved up to the Court of Appeals; this is her first election to keep the seat. Before the appointment she was a Detroit criminal-defense lawyer who founded her own firm, the Law Office of Nicole L. Castka, in 2003.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Outstanding.
Bradley L. Cobb (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Criminal Division judge since 2022.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Well Qualified.
Chris Dingell (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- A circuit judge since 2003, now hearing Family Division–Domestic cases (moved to the family docket in January 2025). Before the bench he served in the Michigan Senate from 1987 to 2002.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Well Qualified.
Charlene M. Elder (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Circuit judge since 2006 (appointed by Gov. Granholm), currently in the Civil Division. On taking the bench she was the first Arab American Muslim woman to serve as a judge in the United States, and she helped start the court's Domestic Violence Prevention Court.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Well Qualified.
Helal A. Farhat (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Presiding judge of the court's Family Division–Domestic section since March 2019, and the court's chief judge pro tem for 2026 — the court's second-in-command.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Well Qualified.
Nicole N. Goodson (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Family Division–Domestic judge since November 2022, appointed by Gov. Whitmer. Before the bench she was president and CEO of the Legal Aid and Defender Association, which represents low-income Wayne County residents; her own legal-aid work focused on domestic-violence survivors and residents facing homelessness.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Well Qualified.
Edward J. Joseph (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Civil Division judge since 2014, appointed by Gov. Snyder to the seat vacated by Judge Wade McCree's removal. In private practice from 1991 (civil, probate, juvenile and criminal cases); formerly a special assistant attorney general and a Wayne County public administrator for probate matters.
- Listed as supported by the Eastside Republican Club PAC and Right to Life of Michigan PAC in Republican endorsement trackers.
Detroit Bar Association 2026 rating: No Rating — Joseph is listed among the candidates who did not participate in the Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee's process.
Mary Beth Kelly (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Former Michigan Supreme Court justice (2011–2015). She began her judicial career on this court in 1999 and was its chief judge from 2002 to 2007 — the first woman to lead the court; she returned to the circuit bench's Family Division–Domestic section in January 2021.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Well Qualified.
Don Knapp (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Presiding judge of the court's Criminal Division; on the bench since 2018.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Outstanding.
Cylenthia LaToye Miller (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- On the bench since 2006 — first as a 36th District Court judge, then appointed to this court's Criminal Division by Gov. Whitmer in 2019. She was presiding judge of the court's Family Division–Juvenile section from January 2023 to May 2024 before rotating to the Criminal Division, and she is the founding judge of Street Outreach Court Detroit, which holds sessions in community locations for people experiencing homelessness.
- She chairs the board of Purpose Charter Academy, a Detroit charter school founded by former state Rep. Brian Banks — a role her own campaign website lists. That role is at the center of the August 2026 Judicial Tenure Commission complaints noted in the flags.
- In 2024 she was cited after bringing a firearm to a security checkpoint at Detroit Metro Airport; the Wayne County Prosecutor is also appealing one of her murder-case dismissals (reported 2026).
Detroit Bar Association 2026 rating: Not Qualified — the only incumbent on this ballot rated Not Qualified. Judicial Tenure Commission complaints were filed against Miller on August 31, 2026 over her charter-school board roles. A complaint is an allegation, not a finding; she has not been disciplined.
Carla G. Testani (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Family Division–Domestic judge; joined the court's family docket in 2018.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Well Qualified.
Margaret M. Van Houten (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Criminal Division judge since winning election to the bench in 2012; before that she served on the Dearborn Heights City Council.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Qualified — the lowest passing rating among these 16 incumbents.
Shannon Nicol Walker (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Criminal Division judge since January 2015 (elected 2014). She began her career as a public defender with the Legal Aid and Defender Association, then served as an assistant Wayne County prosecutor.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Well Qualified.
Judges — nonpartisan section
Wayne County Circuit Court — 3rd Circuit, non-incumbent position
6-year term · Vote for 1
The contest that adds a new judge to the county's main trial court. One candidate is listed for the one non-incumbent position in the Wayne County Clerk's official candidate list. (The Woodhaven edition flagged this contest as unverified; the official candidate list has since confirmed the name below.)
One open seat and one filed candidate: Hawkins, a career defense attorney, is the only name on this ballot line besides a write-in. The Detroit Bar gave her 'No Rating' in 2026 because she did not participate in its evaluation process.
Shakira Lynn Hawkins
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
- Criminal defense attorney and public defender for roughly a decade. Her stated case for the seat: the bench needs more judges whose background is criminal defense and civil rights, not mainly prosecution.
- Runs on reducing mass incarceration and expanding problem-solving alternatives to jail, such as mental-health and drug courts.
- Former executive director of My Sister's Place, a domestic-violence shelter. University of Michigan and University of Detroit Mercy Law graduate. Endorsed by UAW Region 1 and Region 1A.
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Detroit Bar Association 2026 rating: No Rating (did not participate in the evaluation process). Did not respond to the League of Women Voters' VOTE411 questionnaire.
Judges — nonpartisan section
Wayne County Circuit Court — 3rd Circuit, partial term ending 01/01/2031
Partial term ending 01/01/2031 · Vote for 1
A separate Circuit Court contest on this ballot: one incumbent candidate for one partial-term position in the official candidate list.
Sabree was appointed to this seat in 2025 and asks voters to keep Sabree in it for the rest of the term ending January 1, 2029. The Detroit Bar rated Sabree 'Well Qualified' in 2026.
Aliyah S. Sabree (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Appointed to the 3rd Circuit by Gov. Whitmer in May 2025 (seated June 9, 2025) after eight years as a 36th District Court judge in Detroit, where Sabree served as the court's chief judge pro tem. Sabree now sits on a Family Division docket.
- Earlier career: associate general counsel for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, council liaison in the Detroit mayor's office, and assistant Wayne County prosecutor.
- Detroit Bar Association Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee rating, 2026: Well Qualified.
Judges — nonpartisan section
Wayne County Probate Court
6-year terms · Vote for up to 3
Probate Court handles wills and estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and mental-health commitments — the court a family meets after a death or when a relative cannot care for themselves. Three candidates for three seats — all three are elected if the ballot count holds, so your marks ratify rather than choose between them. Judges do not run on platforms; what is listed is each candidate's record and ratings.
No platform fight in this race — judge it on record and ratings.
Sarah Colegrove
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
- Record: 25+ years concentrated in probate law (30 years legal overall); her own firm; mediator (U.S. Postal Service), arbitrator (Better Business Bureau), neutral case evaluator (Wayne County Mediation Tribunal). Endorsed by sitting Probate Judges Paolucci and McClory
Fighting to keep
- Three candidates for three seats — all three are elected if the ballot count holds
Detroit Bar Association rating: NOT QUALIFIED. As a court-appointed special fiduciary, the probate court approved her $51,159.55 fee and assessed it against Susan Hubbard; the Court of Appeals vacated that in Nov 2023 and sent it back for a hearing.
Suzanne Fanning
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
- Record: probate attorney; first run for judge; elected chair of the Washtenaw County Bar's Probate & Estate Planning Section. Endorsed by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan
Fighting to keep
- Three candidates for three seats — all three are elected if the ballot count holds
Detroit Bar Association rating: WELL QUALIFIED — the highest of the three.
Vanessa M. Moss
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
- Record: Detroit attorney — family law, probate, juvenile, criminal defense; former judicial assistant at Frank Murphy Hall of Justice; ran for State Senate (2018) and 36th District Court (2024). Endorsed by UAW Region 1
Fighting to keep
- Three candidates for three seats — all three are elected if the ballot count holds
Detroit Bar Association rating: QUALIFIED. A challenge to her ballot spot over old campaign-finance filings from her 2024 run was rejected — the Court of Appeals ruled Aug 28, 2026 that her filing affidavit was accurate when signed.
Susan L. Hubbard
Write-in — not on the printed ballot
Fighting to change
- Write-in campaign: Judge Hubbard is not on the printed ballot — her petitions were ruled short of the 4,000 valid signatures required, and the Court of Appeals affirmed that ruling on August 28, 2026. She says she is continuing as a write-in candidate
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
A Michigan write-in vote is only counted for a person who filed a declaration of intent by October 23, 2026 — whether she filed one had NOT been confirmed in the reporting reviewed. Confirm that filing before writing her in, and write the name exactly in the Probate Court write-in space.
Judges — nonpartisan section
Judge of District Court — 25th District
6-year term · Vote for 1
The 25th District Court serves Ecorse, Lincoln Park and River Rouge. This race fills an open, non-incumbent seat; the court's other judge, David J. Zelenak, is not on this ballot. Neither candidate received a published rating in the Detroit Bar Association's 2026 judicial evaluation lists (checked November 2026).
An open, non-incumbent seat — no sitting judge is a candidate. Both candidates are Lincoln Park attorneys who already work inside the 25th District Court: one as its Director of Managed Assigned Counsel and Regional Drug Court defence counsel, the other as a court-appointed attorney in the same court and chair of Lincoln Park's Public Safety Commission.
David M. Loeckner
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
- Strengthen the Drug Court — "Reduce repeat offenses through accountability and structured rehabilitation" (Loeckner campaign flyer, "Priorities," loecknerforjudge.com).
- Launch a new "Court to School" Program — "Show students the real consequences of drugs, alcohol, and criminal behavior before they make life-changing mistakes" (campaign flyer).
Fighting to keep
- 23 years as an attorney — criminal law as both defence attorney and previously as a local prosecutor in Brownstown and Huron Townships; civil law including a landlord-tenant practice; and family law (D. Augustus Straker Bar Association "Meet the Judicial Candidates" newsletter, October 2026; campaign flyer).
- Director of Managed Assigned Counsel in the 25th District Court since 2021 — he oversees the appointed-attorney program under the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (Straker Bar newsletter; campaign flyer).
- He serves on the 25th District Court's Regional Drug Court Team as defence counsel; previously he served on the 33rd District Court's Sobriety Court Team for 2.5 years, first as prosecutor and then as defence counsel (Straker Bar newsletter).
- Board of Directors, Downriver Facing Addiction Now; past president of the Downriver Bar Association; member, Michigan Association of Treatment Court Professionals (campaign flyer; Straker Bar newsletter).
- Campaign-reported support: judicial endorsements and United Steelworkers Local 1299 support, with a linked letter — reported by the campaign, not published by an endorsing organisation (Michigan Judicial Endorsements 2026, checked October 30, 2026).
- Born and raised Downriver; a Lincoln Park resident; continuing a 40+ year family law practice serving local residents (campaign flyer).
Krystle-Marie Medina
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
- Reestablish the Court Work Program (Medina campaign site, medinaforjudge.com).
- Improve the court's online presence to make the court more accessible to the community (campaign site).
Fighting to keep
- Continue the treatment court program "to ensure that participants receive rehabilitative treatment while still being held accountable for their actions" (campaign site).
- Private practice in criminal and immigration law; she serves as a court-appointed attorney in the 25th District Court; chairperson of Lincoln Park's Public Safety Commission; she has lived, worked and volunteered in the area for over ten years, with her home base in Lincoln Park (campaign site).
- Bachelor's degree 2007 and Juris Doctor 2010, University of Florida; licensed in Florida in 2011 and in Michigan in 2013; she opened her own solo law firm in 2014 handling family-based immigration and criminal cases; in law school she worked with a federal criminal defence attorney and externed at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida (State Appellate Defender Office profile, sado.org).
- Endorsed by UAW Region 1 and UAW Region 1A (UAW Power; Michigan Judicial Endorsements 2026).
- Campaign framing: "Proven Integrity — Highly Experienced — Community Driven" (campaign site).
County
Wayne County Community College District — Trustee, District 8
6-year term · Vote for 1
The WCCCD board sets tuition, budgets, and policy for Wayne County Community College District and hires its chancellor. One candidate is listed for the District 8 seat in the official candidate list.
One candidate for one seat — as listed, this contest ratifies rather than changes the board.
Susan C. Steeby
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- District 8 trustee on the Wayne County Community College District Board of Trustees, appointed to the board on August 22, 2019 (WCCCD trustee biography).
- Works as business manager of Aerius Health Center in Riverview; holds a bachelor's degree from Adrian College. No campaign platform was found in the sources checked (November 2026).
County
Wayne County Executive
4-year term · Vote for 1
The job: chief executive of Michigan's largest county (43 cities and townships) — county roads, public health, the county jail and sheriff's budget side, parks, and a county budget approved at $2.1 billion for 2026–27. The County Executive does not set Woodhaven city services, your school board, or state/federal law. Note: Warren Evans and Michael Evans are NOT the same person — check the first name on the ballot.
Two men named Evans and an independent. The incumbent runs on 11 straight balanced budgets and a transit millage voters just approved; the Republican runs on business discipline and a foreclosure-relief plan; the independent is a former state representative who qualified by petition and published no platform.
Warren C. Evans (incumbent)
Democratic
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- County executive since 2015. His central claim, in his VOTE411 answers: he “led the county back from the brink of bankruptcy, restored financial stability and delivered balanced budgets” — 11 consecutive balanced budgets, with Moody's raising the county's credit rating again in 2026. The county commission approved a $2.1 billion budget for fiscal 2026-27.
- Public safety: he credits the county's Violent Crime Reduction Initiative with a 49% drop in homicides countywide, a 62% drop in nonfatal shootings since 2020, and a 64% drop in Detroit carjackings (his February 2026 State of the County address).
- Transit: his signature 2026 initiative, a countywide SMART bus millage ending the suburban opt-out patchwork, passed in the August 4, 2026 primary with 67% of the vote (230,977 to 113,591). His framing is “One Wayne County” across all 43 cities and townships.
- His stated priorities for another term (VOTE411 — he was the only one of the three candidates to answer): financial stability, infrastructure including county roads, bridges and stormwater systems, public safety, economic opportunity and regional transit. New initiatives named in 2026: workforce pipelines, student debt relief and maternal health.
- Background: former Wayne County sheriff (2003–2009) and Detroit police chief. He won the August 2026 Democratic primary with 87.57% of the vote.
Michael A. Evans
Republican
Fighting to change
- “Back to Business”: he wants to “run Wayne County with the discipline of a well-managed business — transparent, efficient, and answerable to taxpayers” (campaign website).
- Foreclosure relief — his signature proposal: when the county covers an eligible homeowner's delinquent property-tax bill, let the homeowner repay it over five years without penalties, keeping families in their homes while the county recovers what it is owed. His campaign states plainly that this is a proposal, not current law, and would need legal review, budget analysis and county approval.
- Open county contracting to qualified local businesses “through a fair, transparent process — not closed doors and unnecessary barriers,” including help for smaller contractors who cannot meet expensive bonding requirements and splitting larger projects among multiple contractors instead of concentrating them with a few firms.
- Work with local investors to turn vacant and blighted property into jobs and housing; make county parks “safe, welcoming, updated, and family-friendly”; use employment-based approaches to child-support obligations rather than penalties that make earning a living harder.
- Record: Detroit-born (Chadsey High School, Ferndale High School graduate), U.S. Army veteran and business owner. Unopposed in the Republican primary (66,166 votes).
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Did not respond to the League of Women Voters' VOTE411 questionnaire (as of Oct. 12, 2026) or to the LWV's local voter guides.
John Olumba
Independent (no party affiliation)
Did not respond to the League of Women Voters' VOTE411 questionnaire or to the LWV's local voter guides, and no 2026 campaign platform could be verified from an official source.
City of Lincoln Park — nonpartisan
Mayor of Lincoln Park
2-year term · Vote for 1
Lincoln Park elects its city officers in even years — the mayor and council moved local officer elections to even years in 2013 as a cost-saving measure, saving taxpayers $40,000–$60,000 a year in odd-year election costs (City of Lincoln Park elections page).
The incumbent mayor runs unopposed for a new 2-year term, so a vote in this race keeps the current mayor; the contested city action in 2026 is in the Council race and the Headlee Override proposal.
Maureen Tobin (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Incumbent Mayor of Lincoln Park, current term 2025–2026, running unopposed (GoodParty.org; Wayne County Clerk official candidate list).
- A Lincoln Park resident for over 20 years; she worked as a city employee for 6 years, with 5 years as the city's Event Coordinator; in 2018 she was elected to the city council but declined the seat to ensure that city events continued to grow (City of Lincoln Park staff directory).
- Member of the Lincoln Park Exchange Club; involved with the prevention of child abuse, and fundraising to help end veteran homelessness (City of Lincoln Park staff directory).
- As mayor, part of the mayor-and-council that adopted the 2026–27 water and sewer rates on August 10, 2026, effective September 1, 2026 — rates that raised some bills up to 28%; the city manager said most residential customers would pay less than $17 more per month (about $200 per year), and most residents an additional $58.26 a quarter (Detroit Free Press, August 26, 2026).
- Listed as an endorser — "Mayor Maureen Tobin, Lincoln Park" — on Abdul El-Sayed's U.S. Senate campaign endorsements page (abdulforsenate.com).
City of Lincoln Park — nonpartisan
Clerk — City of Lincoln Park
2-year term · Vote for 1
The incumbent clerk runs unopposed; the City Clerk's office administers all Lincoln Park elections, including the school district's.
Kerry Kehrer (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Incumbent City Clerk, current term 2025–2026, running unopposed. The City Clerk is the official keeper of municipal records and presents the agenda and minutes for legislative and committee meetings (GoodParty.org).
- By City Charter, the Election Commission — which approves election duties and the appointment of election inspectors — is comprised of the Mayor, the Treasurer, and the City Clerk (City of Lincoln Park elections page).
- No campaign platform was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026).
City of Lincoln Park — nonpartisan
Treasurer — City of Lincoln Park
2-year term · Vote for 1
The incumbent treasurer runs unopposed for another 2-year term overseeing the city's financial operations.
Patricia Lulko (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Incumbent City Treasurer, current term 2025–2026, running unopposed. The City Treasurer is responsible for overseeing the financial operations of the city (GoodParty.org).
- Already listed as Lincoln Park City Treasurer in the City's Spring/Summer 2020 newsletter — in the office since at least 2020 (City of Lincoln Park "Happenings" newsletter, Spring/Summer 2020).
- No campaign platform was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026).
City of Lincoln Park — nonpartisan
City Council — City of Lincoln Park
2-year term · Vote for up to 6
All 6 sitting council members whose terms end in 2026 are running again, against 3 challengers — a water-billing accountability advocate, a former state representative, and a People First Pledge candidate — so voters decide how many, if any, of the 6 seats change hands.
Jason Behr (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Incumbent council member, current term 2025–2026 (GoodParty.org).
- Part of the council that adopted the August 10, 2026 water and sewer rate increase, effective September 1, 2026 — some bills rose as much as 28%; the city manager put the added cost for most residents at $58.26 a quarter, citing aging-infrastructure repair and replacement and Great Lakes Water Authority increases of 5.8% (water) and 4.26% (sewage) (Detroit Free Press, August 26, 2026).
- Listed as an endorser — "Jason Behr, Lincoln Park City Councilmember" — on Abdul El-Sayed's U.S. Senate campaign endorsements page (abdulforsenate.com).
- No individual 2026 campaign platform was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026).
Nicholas J. Craven, Jr.
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
- Accountability in "our water crisis" and on roads — "I advocate for the accountability in our water crisis, roads and the information to go along with it… I don't believe it's right for council to tell us 'not to complain' about our water bills… just to get a 'estimated bill'" (candidate's Wave Connect profile).
- Make crucial information easier and more accessible, with "modernized publishing and inclusive engagement," and promote "transparency in local government with real results" (Wave Connect profile).
- Revitalize the business community to bring the community population back; increase safety and civic engagement; better-looking roads mean "more customers, happier residents with fewer car repairs and a strong business district" (Wave Connect profile).
Fighting to keep
- Professionally Certified Human Rights consultant and Professionally Certified Tradesman; active local union member; experience in the union trades (mills, batteries and fabricators) alongside daily auditing of utility suppliers, and work on policy and SOP revisions in his trade (Wave Connect profile).
- He has taken the People First Pledge — promising to serve people first, independent of both major parties and big-money interests (GoodParty.org).
Tracy Duprey (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Incumbent council member, current term 2025–2026 (GoodParty.org).
- Part of the council that adopted the August 10, 2026 water and sewer rate increase, effective September 1, 2026 — some bills rose as much as 28%; the city manager put the added cost for most residents at $58.26 a quarter, citing aging-infrastructure repair and replacement and Great Lakes Water Authority increases of 5.8% (water) and 4.26% (sewage) (Detroit Free Press, August 26, 2026).
- She has taken the People First Pledge — serve people first, independent of both major parties and big-money interests (GoodParty.org).
- No individual 2026 campaign platform was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026).
Belda Garza
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Former Michigan State Representative, 1999–2002 (Center for American Women and Politics, Rutgers University, Women Elected Officials database).
- Identified on Abdul El-Sayed's endorsements page as "Belda Garza — Former State Representative and Candidate for Lincoln Park City Council" (abdulforsenate.com).
- No individual 2026 campaign platform was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026).
Jason Nichols (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Incumbent council member, current term 2025–2026 (GoodParty.org; listed there as "Jason H. Nichols").
- Recorded voting YES on January 14, 2026 to adopt the ordinance allowing marijuana retail establishments as a special land use in the municipal business district (passed 4–3, on a 5–2 planning commission recommendation) (Citizen Portal summary of the January 14, 2026 council meeting).
- Part of the council that adopted the August 10, 2026 water and sewer rate increase, effective September 1, 2026 — some bills rose as much as 28%; the city manager put the added cost for most residents at $58.26 a quarter, citing aging-infrastructure repair and replacement and Great Lakes Water Authority increases of 5.8% (water) and 4.26% (sewage) (Detroit Free Press, August 26, 2026).
- No individual 2026 campaign platform was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026).
Lylian Ross (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Incumbent council member, current term 2025–2026; a Lincoln Park councilwoman since at least 2019–2020 per city meeting minutes and the city's Spring/Summer 2020 newsletter (GoodParty.org; city sources).
- Recorded voting NO on January 14, 2026 on the ordinance allowing marijuana retail in the municipal business district (the ordinance passed 4–3) (Citizen Portal summary of the January 14, 2026 meeting).
- Part of the council that adopted the August 10, 2026 water and sewer rate increase, effective September 1, 2026 — some bills rose as much as 28%; the city manager put the added cost for most residents at $58.26 a quarter, citing aging-infrastructure repair and replacement and Great Lakes Water Authority increases of 5.8% (water) and 4.26% (sewage) (Detroit Free Press, August 26, 2026).
- No individual 2026 campaign platform was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026).
Carlos Salcido (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Incumbent council member and Council President, current term 2025–2026; a Lincoln Park councilman since at least 2019 per city meeting minutes and the city's Spring/Summer 2020 newsletter (GoodParty.org; Citizen Portal; city sources).
- Part of the council that adopted the August 10, 2026 water and sewer rate increase, effective September 1, 2026 — some bills rose as much as 28%; the city manager put the added cost for most residents at $58.26 a quarter, citing aging-infrastructure repair and replacement and Great Lakes Water Authority increases of 5.8% (water) and 4.26% (sewage) (Detroit Free Press, August 26, 2026).
- GoodParty.org labels him an "Incumbent Candidate" and lists his council office contact (GoodParty.org profile).
- No individual 2026 campaign platform was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026).
Eric Szor (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Incumbent council member, current term 2025–2026 (GoodParty.org).
- Part of the council that adopted the August 10, 2026 water and sewer rate increase, effective September 1, 2026 — some bills rose as much as 28%; the city manager put the added cost for most residents at $58.26 a quarter, citing aging-infrastructure repair and replacement and Great Lakes Water Authority increases of 5.8% (water) and 4.26% (sewage) (Detroit Free Press, August 26, 2026).
- No individual 2026 campaign platform was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026).
Dawn Trueblood
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
- She has taken the People First Pledge — promising to serve people first, independent of both major parties and big-money influence (GoodParty.org).
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Beyond the pledge below, no campaign platform or prior public-office record was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026).
School district — nonpartisan
Lincoln Park Public Schools — Board Member
6-year terms · Vote for up to 3
Lincoln Park Public Schools serves about 4,895 students in 11 schools, grades PK–12 (NCES district directory, 2024–25). Superintendent: Terry Dangerfield. Voters approved the district's Replacement Operating Millage on May 2, 2023 and its 'Safe, Dry and Warm' no-tax-rate-increase bond and sinking-fund renewal on May 7, 2024.
Unopposed incumbent slate — the only three candidates for the three seats are the sitting board members whose current terms run 2021–2026: DeFiore (trustee), Gilbert (board secretary) and Sciantarelli (board treasurer). A fourth filer, Shannon Akers, was disqualified and is not on the ballot. None of the three published a campaign platform in the sources checked (November 2026).
Phyllis DeFiore (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Incumbent Trustee; she has held a board seat since at least 2016 — a district Annual Education Report letter dated March 23, 2016 already lists her as a Trustee; her current term runs 2021–2026 (district documents; GoodParty.org).
- Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) Level 4 Master Board Member Award, received at the MASB Awards Ceremony on April 25, 2024, for completing leadership programs and classes, attending conferences and years of service (district press release, May 23, 2024).
- Sat on the board that adopted the 2026–27 budget (general appropriations resolution effective June 16, 2026): $80,828,999 appropriated in the general fund on $76,064,476 in revenue, the 18.000-mill non-homestead operating levy continued, and a projected June 30, 2027 fund balance of $25,289,388 (district budget resolution, June 2026).
- Sat on the board during its building program under the voter-approved bond: the June 2026 budget appropriated $35,643,973 for building improvements in the Capital Projects/Voted Bond fund, including an $18,000,000 bond issuance, plus a 1.3340-mill sinking fund levy; the district's May 7, 2024 'Safe, Dry and Warm' no-tax-rate-increase bond and sinking-fund renewal proposals were put to voters during this board's term (district budget resolution, June 2026; district mailer, April 2024; The News-Herald, April 7, 2024).
- Sat on the board that issued the district's Wireless Communication Devices policy implementing Michigan's new classroom device law, MCL 380.1303a — devices powered off and out of sight during instructional time, usable before and after school, at passing time and at lunch (district letter and policy, August 2026).
- No campaign platform was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026) — the points above are the public-office record of an incumbent, not a stated campaign position.
Gordon Gilbert (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Board Secretary — the role listed for him in district documents from August 2021 through August 2026; he was already a board Trustee by March 23, 2016; his current term runs 2021–2026 (district letters and handbook; GoodParty.org).
- Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) Level 5 Master Diamond Award — the highest level among the four Lincoln Park board members honoured at the MASB Awards Ceremony on April 25, 2024 (district press release, May 23, 2024).
- Sat on the board that adopted the 2026–27 budget (general appropriations resolution effective June 16, 2026): $80,828,999 appropriated in the general fund on $76,064,476 in revenue, the 18.000-mill non-homestead operating levy continued, and a projected June 30, 2027 fund balance of $25,289,388 (district budget resolution, June 2026).
- Sat on the board during its building program under the voter-approved bond: the June 2026 budget appropriated $35,643,973 for building improvements in the Capital Projects/Voted Bond fund, including an $18,000,000 bond issuance, plus a 1.3340-mill sinking fund levy; the district's May 7, 2024 'Safe, Dry and Warm' no-tax-rate-increase bond and sinking-fund renewal proposals were put to voters during this board's term (district budget resolution, June 2026; district mailer, April 2024; The News-Herald, April 7, 2024).
- Sat on the board that issued the district's Wireless Communication Devices policy implementing Michigan's new classroom device law, MCL 380.1303a — devices powered off and out of sight during instructional time, usable before and after school, at passing time and at lunch (district letter and policy, August 2026).
- No campaign platform was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026) — the points above are the public-office record of an incumbent, not a stated campaign position.
Nadalie Sciantarelli (incumbent)
Nonpartisan
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Board Treasurer — the role listed for her in district documents from August 2021 through August 2026; her current term runs 2021–2026 (district letters and handbook; GoodParty.org).
- Part of a board the Michigan Association of School Boards has honoured as a whole — the district's May 23, 2024 release states "the entire seven-member board has received MASB honors over the past several years"; she was not one of the four members individually named in that release, so no individual MASB level is claimed for her.
- Sat on the board that adopted the 2026–27 budget (general appropriations resolution effective June 16, 2026): $80,828,999 appropriated in the general fund on $76,064,476 in revenue, the 18.000-mill non-homestead operating levy continued, and a projected June 30, 2027 fund balance of $25,289,388 (district budget resolution, June 2026).
- Sat on the board during its building program under the voter-approved bond: the June 2026 budget appropriated $35,643,973 for building improvements in the Capital Projects/Voted Bond fund, including an $18,000,000 bond issuance, plus a 1.3340-mill sinking fund levy; the district's May 7, 2024 'Safe, Dry and Warm' no-tax-rate-increase bond and sinking-fund renewal proposals were put to voters during this board's term (district budget resolution, June 2026; district mailer, April 2024; The News-Herald, April 7, 2024).
- Sat on the board that issued the district's Wireless Communication Devices policy implementing Michigan's new classroom device law, MCL 380.1303a — devices powered off and out of sight during instructional time, usable before and after school, at passing time and at lunch (district letter and policy, August 2026).
- No campaign platform was found in the sources checked for this guide (November 2026) — the points above are the public-office record of an incumbent, not a stated campaign position.
Proposals
State proposal
State Proposal 2026-1 — Constitutional convention
“Shall a convention of elected delegates be convened in 2027 to draft a general revision of the State Constitution for presentation to the state's voters for their approval or rejection?”
A YES vote
Fighting to change
- Convene a convention in 2027 to draft a general revision of the entire Michigan Constitution. 148 delegates (one per state House district + one per state Senate district), elected on a partisan ballot, could revise every article, provision, and word of the 1963 constitution — taxes, education funding, abortion, voting, local government, all of it open at once
- Estimated cost: roughly $70–$90 million
- A YES does not change one word of law on Election Day — delegates must be elected, a draft written, and voters must approve any new constitution in a later vote
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
A NO vote
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Keep the current 1963 constitution as it is. This question is required to appear every 16 years; voters said no in 1978, 1994, and 2010, and it will appear again in 16 years if it fails
- Who lines up where: opposed by the Michigan Chamber, the Small Business Association of Michigan, Michigan LCV, and a broad business / labour / education / health coalition (“Protect MI Constitution from Special Interests”). A Detroit News / WDIV poll cited in September had 47% supporting, 31% opposed, 22% undecided
State proposal
State Proposal 2026-2 — Money out of politics
A citizen-initiated law (backers: Michiganders for Money Out of Politics, “MMOP”) to amend the Michigan Campaign Finance Act: (1) prohibit regulated utilities, big government contractors, and their substantially connected persons from contributing to officials who can impact them; (2) expand political-communication disclosure to communications that clearly identify a candidate or ballot question; (3) expressly apply “who paid for this” disclosure to internet political communications.
A YES vote
Fighting to change
- Ban campaign contributions — direct or indirect — from regulated electric and gas utilities, from contractors with over $250,000 a year in government contracts, and from people/organisations with “substantial connections” to them (including immediate family members, per campaign-finance guides) — to candidates and officials who can impact them. In plain terms: DTE / Consumers Energy-type money and big state-contractor money comes out of campaigns for the officials who regulate them and award their contracts
- Close the “issue ad” gap: expand disclosure rules to political communications that clearly identify a candidate or ballot question, even if they never say “vote for / vote against”
- Online ads included: the “who paid for this” disclosure law expressly applies to internet political communications
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
A NO vote
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Keep current Michigan campaign-finance law: utilities and large contractors may keep contributing under current rules and limits, and ad-disclosure rules stay as they are
- What this proposal does NOT do either way: it does not ban all corporate money, does not ban PACs in general, does not limit what you personally can give, and does not touch federal races. It is a state law for state campaigns, not a constitutional amendment
- Who lines up where: backed by Michiganders for Money Out of Politics (MMOP), recommended Yes by Michigan LCV; opposed by the Michigan Chamber and the “Protect MI Free Speech” coalition, on free-speech / unequal-treatment grounds
Wayne County proposal
Wayne County Proposal A — Detroit Zoo millage RENEWAL
“Do you approve the renewal and restoration of the levy of 0.10 mill on all taxable property in Wayne County for a period of ten (10) years, from 2028 through 2037?”
A YES vote
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Keep the Zoo millage running 2028–2037 at 0.10 mill = 10 cents per $1,000 of taxable value — the same rate you already pay, restored from the rolled-back 0.0982 mill. On a home with $100,000 taxable value: about $10 a year
- Funds animal care (2,000+ animals, 200 species), education and senior programmes, and facility maintenance at the Detroit Zoo. Estimated first collection at the restored rate: about $6.15 million. Voters approved this millage in 2008 and renewed it in 2016
A NO vote
Fighting to change
- Let the millage expire — the Zoo loses this county funding stream when the current levy ends. A No does NOT close the Zoo by law; it removes this money
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
Wayne County proposal
Wayne County Proposal B — History museums millage — NEW tax
“Shall a 0.2 mill tax on all taxable property located within Wayne County be imposed by the Authority for a period of ten (10) years, being years 2026 through 2035… to provide historical museum services…?”
A YES vote
Fighting to change
- Create a new tax: 0.2 mill = 20 cents per $1,000 of taxable value, for 2026–2035, levied by the Southeast Michigan Public Historical Museum Authority to support the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Historical Museum, and the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, and other public historical museums in Wayne and Oakland counties
- On a home with $100,000 taxable value: about $20 a year — in addition to the Zoo millage if both pass. Estimated to raise about $12,219,200 in Wayne County in 2026; after administrative costs, 15% of the Wayne County revenue goes to Wayne County for supporting historical museums in the county
Fighting to keep
No fight stated.
A NO vote
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- No new tax. The museums keep operating on their other funding; the authority gets no Wayne County levy
City of Lincoln Park proposal
City of Lincoln Park Proposal — Headlee Override
Shall a "Headlee Override" be adopted so that the current limitation on the amount of City taxes that may be levied against all taxable property in the City of Lincoln Park, Wayne County, Michigan, be increased as follows: Up to 20 mills from approximately 17.17 ($20.00 from approximately $17.17 per $1,000.00 of taxable value) for general operating expenses. If approved and levied in its entirety, this millage would raise an estimated maximum amount of $2,420,265 for the City in 2027 by allowing the City to levy the maximum mills previously approved by the voters and authorized by the City Charter and State law which have been reduced as required by the Michigan Constitution of 1963.
A YES vote
Fighting to change
- Raises the cap on the city's general operating tax levy from approximately 17.17 mills to up to 20 mills ($20.00 instead of approximately $17.17 per $1,000.00 of taxable value) on all taxable property in the city (official ballot wording).
- Overrides the Headlee Amendment rollback — it restores the city's power to levy the maximum mills voters previously approved and that the City Charter and state law authorize, which have been reduced as required by the Michigan Constitution of 1963 (official ballot wording).
Fighting to keep
- If approved and levied in its entirety, it would raise an estimated maximum of $2,420,265 for the City in 2027, for general operating expenses (official ballot wording).
A NO vote
Fighting to change
No fight stated.
Fighting to keep
- Keeps the current limitation in place — the city stays capped at approximately 17.17 mills ($17.17 per $1,000.00 of taxable value) for general operating expenses; the Headlee-reduced rate stands (from the official ballot wording).
- The city does not get the estimated maximum $2,420,265 in additional 2027 revenue the full 20-mill levy would raise (official ballot wording).
Promise tracker
| Office | Status | Winner | Term | Promises |
|---|
| U.S. Senator (Michigan) | in_office | Abdul El-Sayed (Democratic) | 6-year term, decided Nov 3, 2026 | - {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Health care, completely: Medicare for All — everyone covered, including vision, dental, and hearing, with no premiums, no copays, no deductibles'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Medical debt: abolish it for every American — wipe it out, not just cap it'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': "Drug prices: expand Medicare's power to negotiate prices for every prescription drug, negotiated earlier; public manufacturing of essential medicines such as insulin; ban the pharmacy-benefit-manager middlemen"}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': "Money in politics — Super PACs and corporate outside spending: overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision; ban outside spending through corporate 501(c)(4)s, Super PACs, and 527 groups; public election funding and campaign spending caps"}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Money in politics — his own campaign: he says he is the only candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan who has never taken a dime of corporate money, and never will'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Taxes at the very top: a billionaire tax on wealth over $1 billion; tax capital gains and inheritances over $1 million the same as ordinary income and close the stepped-up-basis loophole; raise the rate on earnings over $1 million; close the Social Security payroll-tax cap — paired with a cost-of-living exemption up to $50,000'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Housing: a building boom — massive investment in new homes and streamlined building rules; ban large corporations that speculate on housing from owning homes at all; ban algorithmic rent price-fixing software; a federal renter bill of rights'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Everyday costs capped to income: a federal water guarantee — at least 50 gallons of clean water per person per day, water bills capped at 2% of household income, and ironclad shutoff protections'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Workers and trade: pass the PRO Act so workers can unionize; unions at the table on trade; targeted tariffs to protect Michigan manufacturing as it grows'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Immigration: abolish ICE and replace it with a new enforcement structure; repurpose ICE funds to immigration courts to clear a pathway to citizenship for people stuck in limbo'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': "Environment: shut down the Line 5 pipeline; a pathway to 100% renewable energy built on union jobs; codify the EPA's Endangerment Finding so no administration can strip climate authority by executive order"}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': "Foreign policy: end blank-check U.S. military funding to foreign militaries — including Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia — and spend the money at home; an immediate arms embargo on Israel; support Ukraine against Russia's invasion"}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'How Washington works: abolish the filibuster; Supreme Court reform — end lifetime appointments, impose term limits, the same number of appointments per presidential term; end partisan gerrymandering with a federal nonpartisan districting committee'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Abortion: codify the rights once protected by Roe v. Wade into federal law'}
|
| U.S. Representative — District 13 | in_office | Donavan McKinney (Democratic) | 2-year term, decided Nov 3, 2026 | — |
| Governor / Lt. Governor of Michigan | in_office | Jocelyn Benson / Winnie Brinks (Democratic) | 4-year term, decided Nov 3, 2026 | - {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Drug prices: an independent Prescription Drug Affordability Board to push back on price gouging'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Caregiving costs: a $5,000 caregiver tax credit'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Hospital prices: upfront hospital pricing; more mobile health centers for rural and underserved areas; restore federal health-care cuts'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Teacher pay: a $60,000 minimum starting salary for teachers'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Early childhood: pre-K for all 3- and 4-year-olds; make childcare more affordable — expand Rx Kids and remove barriers for childcare providers'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Reading: reading by third grade, tracked statewide; school funding weighted to student need; more career and technical education'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Housing: a tax credit for first-time buyers (and, in her guide answers, second-time buyers and people moving up, to free up starter homes); faster construction approvals; support for starter homes'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Big buyers: bar private equity firms and institutional investors from buying a home in its first 100 days on the market; hold investors who drive up rents accountable'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Cash for mothers and infants: expand Rx Kids statewide (cash help first launched in Flint)'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Energy bills: stop “unfair” rate hikes; audit the power grid; increase outage credits; modernize the grid'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Pollution: increase penalties for corporations that pollute water, land, and air; enforceable guardrails for the Great Lakes'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Data centers: pause new development until rules on community input, energy costs, and natural resources are set — and make data-center companies pay for the added energy use in local communities'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Tax help, targeted: credits like the $5,000 caregiver credit and first-time buyer credits instead of an across-the-board cut'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Government services: overhaul the Department of Health and Human Services so residents can actually access Medicaid, food assistance, and other services; let local governments set a higher minimum wage than the state'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Voting: a state Voting Rights Act; no proof-of-citizenship requirement to register'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Immigration enforcement: state police should not participate in federal raids; oppose federal cuts to sanctuary cities; support families targeted by federal overreach'}
|
| Michigan Secretary of State | in_office | Garlin Gilchrist II (Democratic) | 4-year term, decided Nov 3, 2026 | - {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': "Federal interference: block it — Michigan's elections belong to Michiganders; fight attempts by the Trump administration to interfere with our elections, and ensure every vote is counted and certified without political interference"}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Voter data privacy: safeguard the sensitive voter and driver data the office holds from federal data demands and Big Tech — he says he will fight demands not grounded in law in court alongside the Attorney General'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Campaign finance: real-time reporting before Election Day that shows who is spending money in our elections; real authority for the office to hold violators accountable quickly; stronger disclosure so voters can see who funds political messages; limits on leadership PACs — his "Stand TALL" agenda: Transparency, Accountability, Limits, and a Level Playing Field'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': "Services: bring the whole office into the 21st century — more online services and digital driver's licenses, alongside in-person service"}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Clerks and disinformation: give local clerks the training and security they need, and meet disinformation head-on with clear, trusted information on how, when, and where to vote'}
|
| Michigan Attorney General | in_office | Eli Savit (Democratic) | 4-year term, decided Nov 3, 2026 | - {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'New consumer-protection rules in his first 100 days — aimed at algorithmic price-gouging, surveillance pricing, and AI deceptive marketing'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Enforcement priorities, in his order: 1) safeguard constitutional and voting rights, including reproductive freedom; 2) fight corporate misdeeds — wage theft, price-gouging, fraud; 3) protect the environment, public health, and the Great Lakes'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Gun laws: supports red-flag laws (ERPOs) — laws that “prevent tragedies… prevent death in the first place”'}
|
| State Senator — District 1 | in_office | Justin Onwenu (Democratic) | 4-year term, decided Nov 3, 2026 | - {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Housing: lower property taxes, streamline development to build more affordable housing, expand down-payment assistance, invest in home repair'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': "Utilities: expand home energy efficiency and weatherization, stop extreme water and electricity rate hikes, pass Michigan's first statewide water affordability program"}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Health care: authorize safe importation of lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada, create a prescription drug affordability board, cap insulin and other essential drug costs, forgive medical debt, ban hospital junk fees'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Auto insurance: limit the use of non-driving factors in pricing; a statewide Good Driver Savings Program with automatic discounts for clean records'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Workers: protect collective-bargaining rights, repeal the ban on project labor agreements, crack down on wage theft, raise the minimum wage'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Schools: rebuild school infrastructure, ensure equitable funding, raise teacher and staff pay, expand skilled trades programs'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Environment: cumulative health impact assessments for new or expanded permits in overburdened communities; a Michigan Environmental Justice Act; lead service line replacement'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Ethics: FOIA reform, a strengthened State Board of Ethics, full financial disclosure from lawmakers, a lobbying cooling-off period'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Civil rights: a Michigan Voting Rights Act; a Michigan No Secret Police Act; increased funding and enforcement for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights'}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Public safety: strong gun safety laws, public safety funding for police, fire, and community violence intervention organizations, criminal justice reform, robust youth and after-school programs'}
|
| State Representative — District 2 | in_office | Joanna Whaley (Democratic) | 2-year term, decided Nov 3, 2026 | - {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': "Lower utility bills — one of her two headline issues, alongside fixing the district's roads and utility infrastructure (her stated priorities in campaign coverage)."}
- {'note': '', 'sourceUrl': None, 'status': 'not_started', 'text': 'Create a statewide single-payer health care system in Michigan.'}
|
| Wayne County Executive | Awaiting results | — | 4-year term, decided Nov 3, 2026 | — |
| Mayor of Lincoln Park | Awaiting results | — | Decided Nov 3, 2026 | — |
Sources
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