By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


Voters in the cities of Howell and Brighton are casting ballots today in council primaries.

In Howell, there are a total of eight candidates running for three open seats. The six top vote-getters will move on to the November general election.

Among those seeking election are two incumbents; Jeannette Ambrose, who was appointed in 2018 and is seeking election to a second term; and Jan Lobur who was first appointed to Council in 2015 and was recently appointed Mayor Pro-Tem.

Newcomers seeking election to the board include Realtor Kriston Detmer, the wife of Mike Detmer, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination last year for 8th District Congressional seat and is running for the nomination against next year. Also running is Kevin Shopshire, the Legislative Director for Democratic State Representative Stephanie Young; Lee Ann Blazejewski, who ran for the Livingston County Board of Commissioners 5th District seat but lost in the GOP primary to Jay Drick. She also previously applied for an open seat on the Howell City Council; Alexander Clos, who serves on the Howell Board of Zoning Appeals and also previously applied for an appointment to council; Luke Wilson and Chiropractor Jacob Schlittler.

Meanwhile, in Brighton, nine candidates are seeking four open seats on City Council.

Incumbents include Attorney Jon Emaus, Livingston County Chief Information Officer Kristoffer Tobbe and Renee Pettengill, who works for Cornerstone Schools in Detroit.

Challengers include local Realtor Jordan Genso who serves on the Brighton Library Board; Susan Bakhaus, a retired legal consultant who has various community volunteer roles and is a known City Council watchdog; Bill Albert, a Brighton High School graduate who serves on the Downtown Development Authority Board; Paul Gipson, a civil defense trial attorney; Daniel Huth, a “proud stay-at-home dad”, past youth minister and volunteer with experience in the restaurant and retail industries; and Jennifer Winningham, a mother of three and working professional.

The top 8 vote-getters will move on to the November general election. There are also two operating millage renewals on the ballot for voters in the Fenton and Linden school districts.

Polls are open until 8pm.