The Run Down on Primary Election Results, Multi-City Candidate Info and Links to Campaign Pages, November 2019 Ballot Info
Local candidates in Westland and neighboring communities are gearing up for Victory in November. Contentious campaigns have already taken the stage in Inkster and Livonia, while Westland only has seven candidates vowing for City Council and one candidate for City Clerk. Here are the lists of candidates and links to campaign pages so you can follow along on the campaign trail for Westland, Dearborn Heights, Livonia, Inkster and Garden City. The election for all cities is Tuesday November 5th.
Westland
Current City Council President Godbout and Councilman Londeau are the only two incumbents in the race. Joining the incumbents, Tim Gilbert is a candidate who has experience from the highly contentious 2017 Council race that started with more than 16 candidates. With a lifetime commitment to public service, Gilbert is a veteran, a former Police Officer, current business owner in Westland and has served on City Boards and Commissions. Another notable candidate in this election cycle is Mike McDermott, former candidate for State Representative taking 2nd place to current State Rep Kevin Coleman but defeating City Councilman Bill Johnson. McDermott is a Human Resources manager who is college educated and a homeowner, and has several years experience working on campaigns and advocating for issues across Southeast Michigan. City Clerk Leblanc is running unopposed for re-election. He has previously served as a City Council Member and in the State House of Representatives.
CITY COUNCIL (Vote for not more than 4)
- (Incumbent) James Godbout
- (Incumbent) Michael Londeau
- Tim Gilbert
- Mike McDermott
- Deborah Kehrer
- Michael Delph
- Andrea Rutkowski
CITY CLERK (Vote for 1)
Dearborn Heights
Councilwoman Lisa Hicks-Clayton received 1st place in the Primary, defeating 8 other candidates by a large margin. Lisa ran for Mayor of Dearborn Heights in 2017 but was defeated by the longtime incumbent. She continues to serve on City Council and we are waiting to see what she does next! Incumbents Ray Muscat and Dave Abdallah placed second and third. Newcomers Stephen Henry, Larry Henney and Rose Tripepi will also compete in the November election. Dearborn Heights voters also took to the polls in the primary to decide on a Schools tax. The Crestwood Schools Operating Mileage proposal was defeated by voters 56%-43%.
Livonia
City Council President Laura Toy took the lead in the Mayors race where incumbent Dennis Wright has opted not to run for re-election. She received 49% of the vote and will run one-on-one with Maureen Brosnan, who earned 41% of votes and is new to the political arena. Brosnan is the current Chairperson for the Board of Directors of St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia and has extensive experience in leadership roles. The third candidate was eliminated. Tenniswood received 9% of the vote and if Brosnan can gather all of that support, she will have enough votes to be the next Mayor of Livonia. This is certainly expected to be a highly contested and perhaps ugly election for the residents of Livonia.
The incumbents Scott Bahr, and Kathleen E. McIntyre took 1st and 2nd place respectively. They will face off with six other candidates in November. Newcomers Brandon McCullough and Rob Donovic had an excellent showing in the Primary results however they will need to make sure they don’t lose ground to Eileen McDonnell who is only a slight margin behind them. Donovic is the youngest candidate in the race and the success of his campaign can be seen in most neighborhoods that display yard signs. Jim Davis, a former Wayne County Sheriff Deputy is also within reach for a victory in November. Steve King, a former School Board Member and Brian Duggan, a former City Councilman in Livonia are trailing behind but still may pull it together. Four other candidates were eliminated in the Primary. Both tax proposals for Livonia Public Schools were approved by a 2/3 margin or more.
Inkster
Incumbent Mayor Byron Nolen is faced with a strong challenger who may be able to garner enough support for a win. Timothy Williams was eliminated from the race and the 13% of the vote he received are now up for grabs. Patrick Wimberly moves on to the general election in November head to head with Mayor Nolen in what is on track to be a contentious campaign season. City Council District 2 and District 4 saw incumbents take a strong lead where Councilman Steven Chisholm of Dist. 4 received 51%, double the votes of the newcomer candidate, Rebecca Daniels. Candidates for District 3 City Council member are facing a highly competitive campaign trail. Incumbent Sandra Watley will hit the campaign trail to keep her lead on newcomer Christha Bond who was just 26 votes behind in the primary election.
Garden City
City Council – Four candidates have filed to run and four positions are available on the Garden City City Council in November. Incumbents Patricia Squires, Brian Earle and Kelly Kerwin won’t have an issue getting re-elected this time. Newcomer Melissa M DiMichele has also submitted approved petitions for the open seat.
Library Board – Two candidates have filed to run for a seat on the Library Board. William Werhane and Nancy Bailey.
There will also be three ballot proposals where voters choose Yes or No. Voters in Garden City are being asked to renew the Police and Fire Mileage, an additional Mileage for the Library, and an amendments to the City Charter. View more info at Voter Central for Garden City.