All elections are important, but Tuesday’s is incredibly so with proposals to sell Royal Oak’s Normandy Oaks golf course, with a road millage in Royal Oak and road bond proposal in Southfield all on the ballot.
That’s not to mention, of course, the races for national, state and local offices that will have an impact on South Oakland County for years to come.
Chief among those races is that for the U.S. 14th Congressional District, in which Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence led the field of three to win the Democratic nomination. In a district that is heavily Democratic, Lawrence should win, but voters need to get out and make sure that she does.
Lawrence knows the district and Michigan well, and she has been actively involved in taking the issues that Southfield shares with other local communities to Washington, testifying before Congress and meeting with President Obama.
Furthermore she is known to study issues thoughtfully, to be accessible to the public and to work hard at finding innovative solutions to area problems.
Sadly, her win will be one of two losses in city leadership, though she promises that she will be still representing the area, just on another level.
The other loss will be that of Jeremy Moss, another Democrat and a current Southfield city councilman who won that party’s nomination for state representative in the 35th District. Moss also is sure to win Tuesday’s balloting, and ultimately, that is an excellent thing for local residents with the opportunity to lock into the Legislature someone who is creative and brings fresh ideas that will appeal to younger voters.
Notably, at less than 30 years old, Moss has successfully wooed fellow council members as he has pleaded for measures that will attract Millennials to Southfield. Knowing that officials state-wide have been concerned about the loss of young minds as the economy tanked, Moss will be an asset to all.
