Voting in Birmingham: Who's Running for State Office This November

The Nov. 6 general election is a little more than a week away, and Patch is looking to help Birmingham residents prepare with a quick reminder of what's on the ballot and what they need to know before they vote.

The November ballot promises to be a long one. Besides picking either Mitt Romney or Barack Obama for the Commander in Chief job, voters will decide on a slate of state proposals as well consider candidates for various levels of representation in Washington, Lansing and Pontiac.

In addition, Birmingham voters will be deciding on a city charter amendment and voting for two members of the Birmingham Board of Education.

Birmingham Patch has been covering this election all year, however sometimes you just need a quick refresher before you head to the polls. Today, we're taking a look at the candidates running for state office, including the Michigan House of Representatives and various state educational boards.

State Representative — 40th District

Birmingham will be voting for who will fill the soon-to-be empty seat in the Michigan House of Representatives in the 40th District.

The 40th District is made up of Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township and parts of West Bloomfield. Currently, the district is represented by Birmingham resident Chuck Moss (R-Birmingham), who has to step down at the end of the year due to term limits.

Mike McCready

• Residence: Bloomfield Hills
• Party: Republican
• Occupation/Experience: McCready is a principal at the Birmingham-based McCready and Associates. He was elected to the Bloomfield Hills Commission in 2007.
• History in the race: McCready announced he would be entering the race in late April, noting "we need to keep Michigan on the right track financially."
• Biggest issue facing Michigan: "I am willing to work with Governor Snyder and anyone in Lansing to help Michigan be a better place for job creators," McCready said in April. "The citizens of Michigan want their government to work, and they don't care who does it or who gets credit for it."

Dorian Coston

• Residence: West Bloomfield
• Party: Democrat
• Occupation/Experience: Coston, 39, is a certified paralegal, working for the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Special Operations and Safe School Initiative. Before that, he spent time as a small business owner and public school teacher.
• History in the race: Coston joined the race earlier this summer and has not before run for public office, though he worked on several campaigns in Michigan 14th congressional district.
• Biggest issue facing Michigan: Early childhood education and local public schools are a focus of legislation which Coston hopes to champion. He said that he hopes to raise an increase of 10 percent of current funds every year to improve early childhood programs in public schools.

Steve Burgis

• Residence: Birmingham
• Party: Libertarian 

Burgis did not respond to Patch's request for an interview, nor did he respond to a survey from the Oakland County League of Women Voters.

State colleges, universities

Birmingham voters will have the opportunity to vote for representaion on various state education boards, including:

State Board of Education (vote for no more than two)

• Todd Courser (Republican)
• Melanie Kurdys (Republican)
• Michelle Fecteau (Democratic)
• Lupe Ramos-Montigny (Democratic)
• Andy LeCureaux (Libertarian)
• Karen Adams (U.S. Taxpayers)
• Gail Graeser (U.S. Taxpayers)
• Candace Caveny (Green)
• Dwain Reynolds (Green)

Regent for University of Michigan (vote for no more than two)

• Dan Horning (Republican)
• Robert Steele (Republican)
• Mark Bernstein (Democratic)
• Shauna Ryder Diggs (Democratic)
• James Hudler (Libertarian)
• Gregory Stempfle (Libertarian)
• Joe Sanger (U.S. Taxpayers)
• Gerald Van Sickle (U.S. Taxpayers)
• Eric Borregard (Green)
• Nikki Mattson (Natural Law)

Trustee for Michigan State University (vote for no more than two)

• Melanie Foster (Republican)
• Jeff Sakwa (Republican)
• Joel Ferguson (Democratic)
• Brian Mosallam (Democratic)
• Michael Miller (Libertarian)
• Bill Mohr (U.S. Taxpayers)
• Stephen Young (U.S. Taxpayers)
• Lloyd Clarke (Green)

Governors for Wayne State University (vote for no more than two)

• Michael Busulto (Republican)
• Satish Jasti (Republican)
• Sandra Hughes O'Brien (Democratic)
• Kim Trent (Democratic)
• Robert Gale (U.S. Taxpayers)
• Marc Sosnowski (U.S. Taxpayers)
• Margaret Guttshall (Green)
• Lathan Redding (Green)

Board of Trustees members for Oakland Community College (vote for no more than two)

• Clay Jansson
• David Kniffen
• Gillian Levy
• Olga Meyer
• Christine Marle O'Sullivan
• Angela River
• Latrecia Renee Scott
• E. Wadsworth Sherrod III
• Randy Ston
• Steve Thomas
• David Trott
• Ravi Yalamanchi
• Pamala Davis

Information provided by the Oakland County League of Women Voters. For more, visit the League's Voter Guides.

For more

• Voting in Birmingham: What's On the Local Ballot This November
• Voting in Birmingham: What's On the County Ballot This November

For all of Birmingham Patch's coverage of the 2012 November general election, visit Birmingham's 2012 General Election Guide.