Three out of Lenawee County’s nine county commission seats have contested races in the November election, and all three of those contested races are a rematch between two candidates who faced each other in 2022.

The Lenawee County Commission is the county’s governing body. It currently has a 8-1 Republican majority. Commissioners are elected by districts. 

County commissioners in Michigan previously served two-year terms, but as a result of a bipartisan bill that was passed by the Michigan Legislature and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2021, their terms are now four years long.

The Lenawee Voice asked the county commission candidates in the three contested races to talk about what they believe the most important issues facing the county in the next four years will be. We asked incumbents what they are most proud of from their time on the commission, and we asked challengers how they would approach the job differently. We also asked candidates about one of the most contentious questions to come before the commission recently, namely, what to do about the former Tecumseh Products site that the county now owns and that was previously proposed to be the location of a sports facility dubbed Project Phoenix.

District 1 (Tecumseh and Tecumseh Township): Incumbent Republican David Stimpson is opposed by Bill Swift, the current chairman of the Lenawee County Democratic Party.

Stimpson said one of the most pressing issues facing Lenawee County is how to attract and retain young people.

“Our population has aged and not replaced the youth over the past several decades,” he said. “This will have a large impact on local school districts in declining population, local economy and overall erosion of services. We need to develop our community in ways to attract the youth and  continue a strong local economy.”

He said another major issue is the loss of civility in the public process.

Stimpson, who was first elected to the commission in 2004, said he’s proud that the county has had a balanced budget every year for more than 20 years. As additional points of pride, he cited having been able to renovate the human services building, sheriff’s department, old courthouse, courthouse annex and drain building; expanding mental health services; continuing to operate the Maurice Spear Campus for rehabilitation of young offenders while many other counties have had to outsource those services; and making the prosecuting attorney and public defenders full-time employees of the county.

Swift, who works in management for a software development company, serves on the boards of Associated Charities, the Lenawee NAACP, the Kiwanis Club of Tecumseh, and the Lenawee County Fair.

He said he’s concerned about “the radicalization of the county commission” and what he sees as some commissioners’ embrace of Trump-style governance.

“I have a great deal of concern about the risks that the county will be facing over these next four years should we face any public health crisis similar to the COVID-19 pandemic or challenges to the fundamental constitutional basis of government,” he said. For example, he said, some counties have declared themselves to be “Second Amendment sanctuaries” in defiance of gun control laws.

If elected, Swift said, “I would seek to bridge the gap between the Republican factions which have developed on the county commission. Currently, a lack of communication hampers the ability of the commission to function fully and completely and effectively on behalf of the people of Lenawee County. Regardless of any personal animus or feelings that I might have about members of the commission or their political beliefs or leanings, I would seek to build relationships and negotiate compromise solutions that serve the people of the county well.”

On the Tecumseh Products site, Stimpson said the county should stay on its current course, working with the company on cleanup and working with the city of Tecumseh to find a long-term purpose for the property.

Swift is critical of his opponent’s support for Project Phoenix, arguing that Stimpson should have recused himself as someone who owns property in the area, and said that he is “open to just about any proposal that puts the site back into use.”

District 6 (West side, city of Adrian): Incumbent Republican Terry Collins is opposed by Democrat Andrew Winckles.

Collins was first elected to the commission in 2012 after retiring as Adrian’s chief of police. He said housing is an important issue and that the county needs to work with others to get affordable, attainable housing in the county.

Another issue, Collins said, is how to use the money Lenawee County is receiving as a result of legal settlements with companies involved in the opioid crisis. 

“We must use the opioid settlement funds prudently and seek both housing and treatment for those with drug or mental health issues,” he said.

Collins said the county commission’s recent accomplishments include making strides in government transparency, with all meetings available to be viewed online. He also said the county has made progress in upgrading its infrastructure, for example at the sheriff’s department, the old courthouse, and the Maurice Spear campus for youth.

Winckles, who works in student support services at Siena Heights University, said housing is the most important issue facing the county right now.

“The average price of a home in Lenawee County is now around $210,000, while the average cost to rent a two-bedroom apartment is now just over $1,000,” he said. “In other words, a minimum wage hourly worker would need to spend over half of their yearly income on rent alone. There is not enough supply and private developers are not going to be able to meet demand at a cost that is affordable for the majority of citizens.”

Winckles said he supports establishing a Lenawee County Housing Commission to explore building mixed-income public housing, something that he said would have the added benefit of creating skilled-trades jobs in the county.

Winckles said he respects Collins and his service to the community, but he has a different philosophy on government and would be “an unapologetically progressive voice on the commission.”

“I believe strongly that local government should take a more active role in making citizens’ lives and living conditions better,” he said.

On the issue of Tecumseh Products, Collins voted with the majority earlier this year in a 5-4 decision to not entertain any offers to sell the property for industrial development. In that discussion, Collins said it would not be fair to Tecumseh to sell the property to someone who would develop it in a way the city doesn’t want. He also expressed concern about the possibility of selling it to someone who would buy the property and just sit on it, instead of returning it to productive use.

Winckles has a similar position. “I think it is important that the people of Tecumseh have a voice in what happens with this property and who it is sold to,” he said. “I get their concerns about a potential industrial development on that site, which sits right next to downtown. Ideally, that site could be developed into a mix of commercial and residential properties that could have a positive economic impact not only on the city of Tecumseh, but on the entire county.”

District 9 (Clinton, Macon and Franklin townships and Adrian Township west of Wisner Highway): Incumbent Republican James Van Doren, the county commission chair, is opposed by Democrat Jeff DiCenzo.

Van Doren, a retired business executive, is serving his second stint on the county commission. He was first elected in 2000 and served on the board for 10 years, retiring after the 2010 election. Before being elected to the commission again in 2022, he was executive director of the nonprofit economic development agency Lenawee Now.

As the most important topics facing the county in the next four years, Van Doren named monitoring and balancing the budget, making important upgrades to security and other issues at the Rex B. Martin Judicial Building, and establishing a strategic plan.

A few of the commission actions Van Doren said he’s most proud of include reversing course on things done by past commissions — for example, ending the county’s contract with foreign-owned social media data processing company Zencity and dropping the Project Phoenix proposal.

 However, he also cited some new initiatives the commission has undertaken.

“We commissioned a wage study allowing us to adjust compensation that allows us to keep the good, dedicated employees currently serving county government and our residents,” he said.

In addition, he said, “we reworked the commission chambers with audio and visual equipment allowing for better communication with our constituents. All committee meetings are currently live-streamed and in the very near future will be interactive.”

DiCenzo is retired from the commercial insurance industry. A Lenawee County resident since 1986, he has volunteered with a variety of service clubs (including the Jaycees, Civitan, and Hudson Kiwanis Club), business groups (such as the homebuilders association and chambers of commerce) and nonprofits (including Associated Charities, United Way, Re-Bicycle Lenawee, and the Adrian Symphony Orchestra). He currently is a board member for the Lenawee County Department on Aging.

He said the issues facing the county over the next four years will be “finances, changing philosophies in criminal justice and rehabilitation, and remaking our communities to make them more attractive to families and homeowners.”

The county commission doesn’t deal with divisive national issues, DiCenzo said, but rather “tangible, ground-level issues like budgeting, spending our money wisely, supporting a safe and healthy lifestyle, and taking care of our parks and infrastructure.”

DiCenzo said he isn’t spending any money on his campaign, and as a commissioner, he “wouldn’t be courting influence with people in the county who imagine themselves as power brokers.”

“I love living in Lenawee County, and people who know me know that I can talk to just about anyone, and I can see the good in anyone, Democrat or Republican, if their heart is in the right place,” he said. “I’m offering my services to the county for four years to do the detail work needed to keep things running smoothly, and to help keep communication open among county residents.”

On the subject of Tecumseh Products, Van Doren voted against the resolution earlier this year that stated the county would not consider any sale of the property for industrial use.

”This property needs to be put on the market for sale and reduce the continuing ongoing expense to the county,” he said.

DiCenzo said that although he would not have supported the county buying the property, “what’s done is done.” He proposed converting as much of the property as possible into parkland,  including walking and biking trails; space for sports like disc golf, basketball and tennis; and maybe an amphitheater.

All other Lenawee County Commission districts are uncontested:

• District 2 (Cambridge, Rome and Woodstock townships) — Republican incumbent Dustin Krasny is unopposed.
• District 3 (Rollin, Hudson and Medina townships, including the city of Hudson, plus the city of Morenci): Republican David Aungst is unopposed.
• District 4 (Dover, Fairfield, Seneca and Madison townships): Republican Beth Blanco is unopposed.
• District 5 (East side, city of Adrian): Democrat James W. Daly is unopposed.
• District 7 (Ogden, Palmyra, Riga, Blissfield, Deerfield and Ridgeway townships): Incumbent Republican Kevon Martis is unopposed.
• District 8 (Raisin Township and Adrian Township east of Wisner Highway): Republican incumbent Ralph Tillotson is unopposed.