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Monday, June 2, 2008 10:16 AM EDT
CORUNNA - Shiawassee County voters will go to the polls in a little more than two months and participate in the biggest primary of the century.
Granted, the century only dates back eight years, but the Aug. 5 election has 15 candidates in eight primaries at the county level.
There have been a combined 10 primary races involving 23 candidates since August of 2000.
“My job is to get a majority of Republicans on the county commission,” said Sam Burwell, Shiawassee County Republican Party chairman. “I'm not going into policy discussions because that's not my job. My job is to get Republicans elected - period.”
And when it comes to primary politics, the message is the same on both sides of the aisle.
“Our biggest thing is to get the people out to vote and to let them know who the Democratic candidates are,” said Carol Spaniola, Shiawassee County Democratic Party chairwoman. “We don't tell them what to do. We treat them all the same and support them.”
There are two primary races for Spaniola's party and six on the Republican side.
Both parties said although it is possible, they do not plan to endorse an individual candidate in any primary.
The race for Shiawassee County Sheriff is the only in which both parties have primaries.
Republican Sheriff Jon Wilson has a primary for the first time since 2002, when he topped George Braidwood in the primary by nearly a two-to-one ratio.
Wilson will battle Shiawassee County Assistant Prosecutor Deana Finnegan of Corunna and Byron's Donald Gauthier in the primary.
Braidwood, of Owosso, is running as a Democrat this time around and has a primary challenge against Owosso's Edward Beyett.
The District 2 Shiawassee County Commissioner's race will have a primary after longtime Democratic incumbent Kim Van Pelt did not seek re-election.
Two Republican newcomers will face off in the primary for a chance at a two-year term as commissioner. Gerald Alcorn and Deborah Cline both said they've seen too much partisan politics locally.
“I look at this as a civic duty,” said Alcorn, who noted people from both parties asked him to run for commissioner. “This is just the next step to try and make things better. I don't see as many people working together who could.”
Cline has worked as a legislative aide for the Michigan Senate in Lansing for the last 13 years. She said bipartisan politics at the state and national level seeps into local government.
“A lot of our children - once they go on and graduate from college - they don't return here to raise their families,” Cline said. “We've got to figure out a way to keep our young people in the community.”
The winner will face Democrat Bruce Robb in November's general election.
In District 3, John Bueche challenges incumbent Jack Johnson in the Democratic primary. The winner faces former County Clerk John Pajtas in November.
Incumbent Jon Michael Fuja faces Donald McKay in the Republican primary for District 4, which has no Democratic candidate.
Mark Hanna and Randall Woodworth tangle in the Republican primary for District 6. The winner takes on incumbent Henrietta Sparkes.
Republicans Jerry Gutting and Richard Miller are set for a primary battle for road commissioner. Democrat John Michalec challenges the winner in November.
The Shiawassee Regional Chamber of Commerce hosts its annual meet the candidates' night from 4 to 7 July 22 at the Welcome Center on Baker College's Owosso campus.
Candidates may provide table displays, answer questions from the public and will be able to make a two-minute statement.
The primary race for Shiawassee County sheriff is likely to get a lot of attention.
Sheriff Jon Wilson has come under fire recently after seven deputies filed a hostile work environment complaint in April.
Wilson said he's made responsible budgetary decisions under a shrinking budget while in office.
“My major concern for this office is public safety,” he said. “Next year is going to be a tough year for any government agency. The good part about it is we've survived several years without increasing our staff.”
Wilson must defeat Finnegan and Gauthier in the primary.
“What I see is some very low morale by some very talented officers,” Finnegan said. “I'm excited about the opportunity to get issues out in front of the public so they're not just hearing rumor and innuendo.”
Gauthier was a reserve deputy for three and a half years.
“I'm getting off the sofa to make a difference,” he said. “People will go into the primary and they'll vote their conscience. Some might say it's time for a change; let's let a woman have it for a while. Some might say let the farmer from Byron try it too.”
Braidwood was the undersheriff in 2002 when he lost to Wilson in the primary.
“The most important issue I think is healing our sheriff's department, getting it back to where it was when everyone was confident in their administration and knew they had the backing of the sheriff,” Braidwood said. “I think the public should pay attention to what has happened in the sheriff's department and they should be concerned about it.”
Beyett, Braidwood's challenger in the primary, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
- Letters to the editor to The Argus-Press relating to the primary election Aug. 5, 2008, must be in the newspaper's downtown Owosso office no later than noon July 28 to ensure publication. Those received after that time will not be published.
getitright wrote on Jun 3, 2008 1:48 PM:
Get it RIGHT this time. NO PICTURE ID is required. PERIOD.
And who authorized the posting of sign that a photo ID was REQUIRED?
Did anybody bother to read the rules first? Apparently not.
ATTENTION:
Perry Township
Caledonia Township
Bennington Township
These townships violated current law by posting signs and/or info in the Independent/January 2008 that a PHOTO ID WAS REQUIRED TO VOTE. "