Saginaw County governing board could grow Democrat majority via appointment

SAGINAW, MI — The Saginaw County Board of Commissioners will appoint one of three candidates to a vacancy on the governing body. The move could build on the group’s existing Democrat majority.

Citing in part a desire to spend more time with his family, Republican James Theisen in April resigned from his post as commissioner of the county’s District 5, which encompasses the townships of Jonesfield, Lakefield, Richland, and Thomas.

To interview and consider the trio of candidates seeking Theisen’s old position, the board will host a meeting at 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 10, at the Saginaw County Governmental Center, 111 S. Michigan in Saginaw.

While commissioners could pick one of the political hopefuls Tuesday, previous appointment decisions were delayed until after the day of the interviews to provide officials more time to consider a decision.

The person selected will occupy the position for a relatively brief period of time. Voters could unseat the appointee in the November elections.

The hopefuls

Two of the three candidates who applied for Theisen’s vacant seat — Democrat Peyton Ball and Republican Tracey L. Slodowski — are also Saginaw County Board of Commissioners candidates in the upcoming elections, essentially giving them an opportunity to test-drive the position for about a half-year before voters in November decide who represents them for a 2-year term.

For the 2-year term decided by voters, Slodowski will face three opponents in the August primary election, with the winner advancing as a the Republican candidate in the November election. Ball is uncontested as a Democrat.

A third individual up for the shorter-term commissioners-appointed post, Victoria White, did not register as a candidate for the August primaries. White, though, still could enter the November race as a candidate not affiliated with a political party. Saginaw County clerk’s office records indicate she did not provide a political party affiliation in her application for the appointed post.

A short-term opportunity

Of the 10 remaining commissioners on the Saginaw County board, two are Republicans. The 8-to-2 imbalance means the majority-Democrat board could appoint another Democrat — Ball — to a post historically occupied by a Republican.

Constituents in four consecutive elections chose Theisen to represent them in District 5. The closest call came in 2012, when the Republican earned his first term after besting Democrat Dave Adams by 637 votes. Theisen defeated Democrat Lisa M Prakash by more than 3,500 votes in 2016. He ran unopposed in 2014 and 2020.

To earn the appointment to Theisen’s seat, one of the three candidate must receive at least six votes from commissioners. With three candidates up for the post, the board will eliminate the individual with the least votes if an initial tally falls short of a 6-vote majority.

A second tally then could determine the victor between the remaining two candidates.

If the poll remained 5-5, voting would continue until a commissioner switched her or his pick, officials said.

A long-term outlook

There is one candidate on the 2022 August primary election ballot who did not apply for the temporary commissioner position despite living in Theisen’s district: Republican Rick Riebschleger.

Another candidate who registered for the primary election, Republican James M. Graham, will face Slodowski and Riebschleger in August. Graham, though, was not eligible for the temporary commissioners-appointed post because he did not reside in the district vacated by Theisen. Graham lives in the district now represented by Democrat Sheldon Matthews.

How is that possible? Once each decade, a statewide redistricting process re-draws the map boundaries that tie constituents to specific elected offices, including the Saginaw County Board of Commissioners. The November elections will determine the representatives for the new map. The shifting boundaries moved Graham from Matthews’ expiring county district to the new district sought by Ball, Slodowski and Riebschleger.

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