Local communities to have contested races in November general election
OAKLAND COUNTY — The filing deadline for the November election has passed and there will be several contested races in local cities.
Published September 6, 2023
“We have so many great leaders with different experiences and voices and points of view at the table that, after 12 years, I feel like I’ve had my say and I’ve really put my stamp on the city and led from my values, and I think we’ve all benefited from some of the things that we’ve done, but there’s some value in bringing fresh voices to the table. There’s still lots of work to do. I’ll certainly remain actively, civically involved and close to the commission and the mayor and the city’s leadership, and I’ll be paying attention and certainly weighing in when appropriate,” he said.
Huntington Woods Mayor Bob Paul will be running unopposed for his seat, while Mayor Pro Tem Michelle Elder and resident Jessica Jacobs Steinhart will be running unopposed for two seats on the commission.
Originally, Commissioner Jeff Jenks filed to run for reelection this year, but his application was disqualified by Oakland County for not having enough signatures.
Jenks, who has been on the commission for 24 years, said the technical fault was on his part, as he turned in his application the day before the deadline. Because he did not have the correct number of signatures, he didn’t have time to rectify the situation.
“It would have been a situation where there was a team, the mayor, the commissioners and the brand-new person, they would have been running against me and it just wasn’t worth it. I can still do everything without being elected,” he said.
“I want to just watch and see how my colleagues do. And I still work with Berkley, I still work with Oak Park, I still work with members in Royal Oak and Hazel Park and the judge and Madison Heights and stuff like that. And I’ve done that for years,” Jenks said.
Jenks said he’s proud of what he’s been able to help accomplish during his time on the commission, including the naming of Rackham Golf Course as a historic district, passing a human rights ordinance to help protect LGBTQ+ members of the community, improvements to the recreation center and, more recently, hiring Chris Wilson as city manager.
In the city of Berkley, Mayor Bridget Dean will be running unopposed. For the City Council, Clarence Black will be running for one of three seats against three incumbents: Mayor Pro Tem Ross Gavin, Council member Michael Dooley and Council member Greg Patterson.
The race for mayor of Clawson will be contested between incumbent Paula Millan and challenger Andrea Hodges. For the City Council, incumbents Louis Samson and Scott Tinlin will be running against Matt Binkowski, Nathan Hara and Susan Moffitt for two open seats.
In Pleasant Ridge, incumbent City Commissioners Chris Budnik and Ann Perry will be running unopposed for reelection.
