Commissioner candidates

District 1: West Lansing, south of the river

(D) Victor Celentino (i)
Age:  47
Occupation: Special education teacher, Lansing School District
District’s most important issue: Unemployment and the economy. 

(R) Phillip Hofmeister
Did not respond to questionnaire

District 2: Downtown, Westside

(D) Rebecca Bahar-Cook (i)
Age: 42
Occupation: Vice president, Capitol Fundraising Associates
District’s most important issue: Preserving services offered by the county while continuing to balance the budget. 

(R) Jane Weidman Waligorski
Did not respond to questionnaire

District 3: South central Lansing

(D) Sarah Anthony
Age: 28
Occupation: Director of finance, Michigan College Access Network
District’s most important issue: Public safety and the lack of economic development on the southside of Lansing. 

(R) Leslie Little
Did not respond to questionnaire

District 4: North Lansing, downtown

(D) Debbie DeLeon (i)
Age: 58
Occupation: Retired, state of Michigan
District’s most important issue: That continues to be the difficult economy, unemployment and tax foreclosures.

(R) Vickie Niklas
Age: 64
Occupation: Retired, state of Michigan
District’s most important issue: Restoring the north end, bring more businesses (jobs) to the area (i.e.: the Old Town District for instance), promoting the use of the Land Bank to restoring some of the wonderful older homes in the area to draw young families back into Lansing. 

District 5: Southeast Lansing

(D) Todd Tennis (i)
Age:  42
Occupation: Lobbyist
District’s most important issue: Foreclosure prevention has been a major issue in my district. ... Many of my constituents also depend on our Community Health Centers which provide primary care for low-income working families.  

(R) Rhonda Fuller
Age: 62
Occupation: Independent contractor, sales
District’s most important issue: Crime.

District 6: I-96 to Leslie, west of U.S. 127

(D) Jim Dravenstatt-Moceri
Age: 56
Occupation: Field service leader, Lansing Board of Water and Light; police officer, Frankenmuth; assistant business manager, IBEW Local 352; deputy, Ingham County Sheriff Department
District’s most important issue: Unemployment and foreclosure.

(R) Randy Maiville
Age:  48
Occupation: Engineer
District’s most important issue: Sheriff ’s Department — jail and road patrols.

District 7: South Lansing, Delhi Township
(D) Kara Hope
Age: 38
Occupation: Attorney, adjunct professor at Cooley Law School
District’s most important issue: The interrelated problems of poverty and decreased revenue (from property taxes and the state).

(R) Vince Dragonetti (i)
Age: 65
Occupation: Financial educator
District’s most important issue: Unfunded future liabilities.

District 8: East Lansing

(D) Penelope Tsernoglou (i)
Age: 33
Occupation: Small Business Owner & Attorney
District’s most important issue: Maintaining quality county services despite our declining revenues.

(R) Brian Mishler
Age: 45
Occupation: Elementary special education teacher
District’s most important issue: The creation of jobs for our residents.

District 9: MSU, East Lansing east of Abbot

(D) Carol Koenig (i)
Age: 48
Occupation: Attorney, small business owner
District’s most important issue: The budget and our schools.

(R) Derek Drushel
Did not respond to questionnaire

District 10: Eastside and southeast Lansing

(D) Brian McGrain (i)
Age: 35
Occupation: Associate director and COO, Community Economic Development Association of Michigan
District’s most important issue: Underutilized and abandoned real estate.

(R) Nick Kowalski
Did not respond to questionnaire

District 11: Haslett, Lake Lansing

(D) Dianne Holman (i)
Age: 61
Occupation: Business owner/engineer
District’s most important issue: Provide the best services possible given limited resources and find new ways to optimize the use of available funds.

(R) Kim Maylee
Did not respond to questionnaire

District 12: Meridian Township, Okemos

(D) Deb Nolan (i)
Age: 63
Occupation: Retired special education teacher
District’s most important issue: Replacing an aging fire station, improving the quality of our roads, bridges and sidewalks, finding willing and oommitted residents to run for our school board and maintaining our wonderful county park system.

(R) Alan Wolfe
Age: 67
Occupation: Real estate agent
District’s most important issue: Having funds to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the citizens. Included are good roads, the Sheriff's Department, drain commissioner, animal control, court system and health department.

District 13: Williamston, Webberville

(D) Tim Basore
Age: 63
Occupation: Plumbing, mechanical, zoning inspector
District’s most important issue: Services to the district with monies we have.

(R) Randy Schafer (i)
Age: 59
Occupation: Vocational teacher
District’s most important issue: Respect for out-county areas.

District 14: Mason, Dansville, Leslie

(D) Kelli Green
Age: 42
Occupation: Retail clerk
District’s most important issue: Prioritizing a fragile budget while providing essential services.

(R) Don Vickers (i)
Age: 66
Occupation: Retired teacher/principal
District’s most important issue: Declining revenues and board hesitancy to reduce spending.