By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


All nine seats on the Livingston County Board of Commissioners are up for election this year although the primary races are varied based on redistricting changes.

Most incumbents have filed for re-election and will be running in different districts, which were re-drawn as a result of the 2020 Census. Each seat carries a two-year term.

Some familiar names and newcomers have filed for the August Primary. All Republican candidates will have Democratic challengers in November.

Longtime Commissioner and former chair Carol Grffith and Commissioner Mitchell Zajac are not running for re-election.

In the District 2 race on the Republican side, former commissioner Dave Domas will face current commissioner and former Judge Carol Sue Reader. Lisa Wojciechowski is running unopposed in the Democratic Primary. Her background involves extensive leadership in the health care field.

Three Republicans have filed for District 3. They include Dan Delmerico, Frank Sample and Meghan Reckling, who currently chairs the Livingston County Republican Party. Democrat Lori Cowan, who serves as a trustee on the Unadilla Township Board, is running un-opposed.

In the District 5 GOP race, former Howell Mayor Nick Proctor will be up against incumbent Jay Drick. The winner will challenge Democrat Kasey Helton of Marion Township in November, an outspoken activist who was facing potential charges for Twitter posts she made about nurses who “publicly spread health misinformation”. The Sheriff's Office conducted an investigation that was forwarded to the Prosecutor's Office, which declined to issue charges.

Three Republicans filed for the 8th District seat. They include current Genoa Township Trustee Jim Mortenson, former Pinckney school board member Tabitha Dolan, and Nick Fiani – a former Brighton School Board member who resigned in late 2014 after serving two years of his four-year term. He’s run unsuccessfully for various offices since then. Democrat Amber Bismack, a longtime educator, is running unopposed.

Two Republican incumbent commissioners are vying for the new District 9 seat. They include Brenda Plank and Jay Gross, the current District 8 commissioner. The District now covers all of Green Oak Township and part of Hamburg Township. Democrat Christine Kaczkowski is running unopposed. She works in public accounting and is said to have an extensive record of volunteering in local schools and sports.

The complete list of candidates is available on the Livingston County Clerk’s webpage. That link is provided.