The headliner for this year’s Livingston County Democrats’ Winans Dinner attended last year’s gathering as a candidate, but returns this year as the county’s voice in Congress.

Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin will be the special invited guest at the party’s 36th annual event on Friday, May 17th at Lakelands Golf and Country Club. Also attending will be Lavora Barnes, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. Slotkin defeated two-term Republican Mike Bishop in November, becoming the first Democrat to represent the 8th Congressional District since Debbie Stabenow in 2000. The district includes Ingham and Livingston counties and the northern tier of Oakland County.

After the 9/11 attacks, she joined the Central Intelligence Agency as a Middle East analyst. During three tours in Iraq, she worked as a militia expert alongside the U.S. military. She also worked under both President Bush and President Obama in positions at the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. In 2011, she became Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Pentagon, where she oversaw policy on Russia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

The event, the party’s major fundraiser of the year, begins at 6 p.m. with a social hour featuring music, snacks, and a cash bar, followed by a sit-down dinner at 7 p.m. Also included is a silent auction plus a 50-50 raffle. Tickets for the event are $70 per person through April 26th and $80 after that and at the door. A limited number of free tickets for high school students also are available. Tickets may be reserved on-line through the link below or by mailing a check made out to Livingston County Democrats to party headquarters at 8028 Grand River, Woodland Plaza Suite 7, Brighton, MI 48114. For more information, call 810-229-4212 or email livcodems@gmail.com. (JK)