Challengers line up to take on Walberg, other incumbents in August primary elections
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U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg has two challengers in this year's primary election, and three attorneys have filed to challenge recently appointed Lenawee County District Judge Todd M. Morgan.
These were among the candidate filings made official at Tuesday's deadline for the Aug. 2 primary election. Winners of the primary will advance to the November general election.
The Daily Telegram will have comprehensive coverage of the primary election throughout the summer. Here are the races, according to the Michigan Secretary of State Office and the Lenawee County Clerk's Office:
U.S. House
Walberg, a Tipton Republican, is seeking his seventh consecutive term as Lenawee County's representative in Congress. This time, it would be in the new 5th Congressional District, which stretches from southern Lake Michigan to Lake Erie. It includes all of the southern tier of Michigan's counties plus Jackson County, most of Calhoun County and the southern part of Kalamazoo county. It does not include the cities of Kalamazoo, Portage or Battle Creek.
Challenging him in the Republican primary are Elizabeth Ferszt of Jackson and Sherry O'Donnell of Stevensville.
Ferszt, in a post on her website, says she is running because "Walberg does not represent the values of this district as demonstrated by his vote on Jan 6, 2021 even after the deadly insurrection, to object to the electors from (Arizona) and other states; his believing in ‘stop the steal’ conspiracy theory disqualifies him as a competent legislator."
Her site says she aims to take the Republican Party back from former President Donald Trump and Trumpism and reconnect the party with its "true heritage as party of Pres. Abe Lincoln, Gov. Austin Blair, John Fremont, Charles and William DeLand, Charles Pinckney, and Frederick Douglass."
Ferszt has a doctorate in English language and literature from Wayne State University in Detroit and is currently an instructor at Jackson College. She also is attending law school in Lansing, according to her campaign fact sheet.
O'Donnell is an internal medicine physician in St. Joseph who is the medical director of a clinic she started in 2011 to provide care to the underserved and uninsured, according to her campaign website.
She says she is running for Congress "to be the resounding voice of 'we the people' that will not be silenced." Among the issues she highlights on her website are ensuring COVID-19 patients have access to treatment, capping medication costs and having pharmaceutical companies be responsible for making "medications available and not cost prohibitive or politically unattainable," stopping critical race theory, and stopping "censorship and control" by big technology companies, which she said is eliminating the First Amendment right to free speech.
On the Democratic side, Bart Goldberg of New Buffalo is uncontested. In 2018, according to ballotpedia.com, he unsuccessfully challenged an incumbent for the Democratic nomination in Illinois' State Senate District 20, which is in the northwestern part of the city of Chicago. He also filed to run for the Illinois House of Representatives in 2014, but withdrew before the primary election.
He does not appear to have a campaign website.
Michigan Senate
Two Republicans and a Democrat from Monroe County are running to represent the new 16th Senate District, which covers most of Lenawee, Hillsdale and Monroe counties.
Current state Reps. Joe Bellino of Monroe and TC Clements of Temperance will face off in the Republican primary election, while Democrat Katybeth Davis of Monroe Township is uncontested for her party's nomination.
The Tecumseh, Clinton and Macon area is in the 15th District, which is mostly in Washtenaw County, including about half of Ann Arbor. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jeff Irwin of Ann Arbor is uncontested. Two Republicans are running in the primary election: Scott Price of Ypsilanti and Wyckham Seelig of Ann Arbor.
Michigan House
Three Republicans and a Democrat filed to run for the new House district that covers most of Lenawee County. Democrat John Dahlgren of Clinton is unopposed in the primary in the 34th District. Running for the Republican nomination are Julie Moore, a nurse from Adrian Township; former Madison Township Fire Chief Ryan Rank; and state Sen. Dale Zorn.
Zorn is moving to his family's cottage at Sand Lake from his longtime home in Ida in Monroe County in order to run for the House. He cannot run again for the Senate due to term limits, but he has one term remaining that he could serve in the House.
The 34th District seat is open because Rep. Bronna Kahle, who lives in the district, cannot run again due to term limits.
Parts of Lenawee County will be other House districts. The city of Hudson is in the 35th District, which also includes Hillsdale and Branch counties. State Rep. Andrew Fink of Osseo and Steven Meckley of Somerset Township are running for the Republican nomination. Democrat Andrew Watkins of Hillsdale is unopposed for his party's nomination.
Macon Township is in the 31st District, which extends through Monroe County to southern Wayne County. Two Democrats and two Republicans are running. The Republicans are Dale Biniecki of Monroe and Holli Vallade of Milan. The Democrats are Van Buren Township Trustee Reggie Miller and Glenn Morrison Jr. of Van Buren Township.
Ridgeway and Deerfield townships are in the 30th District, which stretches across the southern half of Monroe County and includes the city of Monroe. Two Republicans and one Democrat are running. The Republicans are William Bruck of Erie and Paul Pirrone of Temperance. The Democrat is Suzanne Jennens of Lambertville.
District judge
District Judge Todd M. Morgan was sworn in on April 11 after being appointed in January by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to fill a vacancy created when District Judge Jonathan L. Poer retired. He filed to be elected to complete the term, which ends Jan. 1, 2027. Also running to complete the term are Christopher Fleming, a Lenawee County assistant prosecutor, and attorneys Ashley Hanson-Grimes, who lives in Adrian, and David Lacasse, who lives in Tecumseh. Both Hanson-Grimes and Lacasse have offices in Adrian. The top two finishers in the primary will advance to the November general election.
Lenawee County District Judge Laura J. Schaedler is also up for reelection this year to a new, 6-year term. She is unopposed.
County commissioner
There will be four contested Republican primaries for positions on the Lenawee County Board of Commissioners:
In District 4, which covers Dover, Fairfield, Madison and Seneca townships, incumbent Dawn Bales is challenged by Beth Blanco.
In District 6, which is generally the west side of the city of Adrian, incumbent Terry Collins will face Isaac Bowers.
In District 7, which covers Blissfield, Deerfield, Ogden, Palmyra, Ridgeway and Riga townships, incumbent Jim Goetz is running against James Hart and Kevon Martis.
In District 9, which includes Adrian Township's Precinct 1 and Clinton, Franklin and Macon townships, incumbent Chris Wittenbach faces James Van Doren and Kim Goldmann.
Uncontested Republican primaries are in District 1, which is Tecumseh Township and the city of Tecumseh, where David Stimpson is seeking reelection; District 2, which covers Cambridge, Rome and Woodstock townships, where Dustin Krasny is running to be elected after being appointed to the board in January; District 3, which includes the cities of Hudson and Morenci and Hudson, Medina and Rollin townships, where Nancy Jenkins-Arno is seeking reelection; and District 8, which is Adrian Township's Precinct 2 and Raisin Township, where Ralph Tillotson is seeking reelection.
The Democrats running for the county board are uncontested. Bill Swift is running in District 1; Karol "KZ" Bolton is running in District 5, which is generally the east side of Adrian; Andrew Winckles is running in District 6; and Jeff DiCenzo is running in District 9.
County road commissioner
Incumbent Robert Emery, a Democrat, was the only candidate to file for the six-year term on the road commission up for election this year.
Township positions
There are township positions where elections are being held to complete unexpired terms. These positions will run through 2024.
In Blissfield Township, treasurer Tammy Cox-Wynn is running as a Republican to complete the term as treasurer,
In Fairfield Township, Republicans Christopher Porter and Supervisor Chris McAllister are running to complete the supervisor term. Treasurer Dawn Comar is running as a Republican to complete the term as treasurer.
In Woodstock Township, four Republicans are running to complete a term as trustee: John Clark, Melvin Cure, Walter Szczechowski and Wendy Chetkovich.
There are no Democrats running for those positions.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Walberg, other incumbents face challengers in 2022 primary elections