Ingham County voters will elect a new county commission in today’s election.
At least four of the 14 seats on the ballot in districts across the county will see new commissioners, as no incumbents are seeing re-election in those districts. Those four districts include parts of Lansing, Delhi Township and Meridian Township.
District 3, southwest Lansing
Republican Beverly Hansen faces off against Democrat Derrell Slaughter for a two-year term to replace Sarah Anthony, who is running for state representative.
District 7, portions of south Lansing and Delhi Township
Alexa Krueger, Republican
Krueger is a graduate of the University of Michigan. She works at the University of Michigan as a program coordinator of the university’s Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives and at Michigan State University as a program coordinator for the Child Health Advances through Research with Mothers program.
Krueger did not respond to interview requests.
Chris Trubac, Democrat
Chris Trubac grew up in Holt and graduated from Holt High School in 2008. Trubac said he has gravitated toward politics since he was a teenager. He said he decided to run for Ingham County commissioner because he wanted to make a difference in his local area. Some top issues he spoke about were roads, animal shelter supervision and treatment of prisoners and jail regulations.
“I understand the community because it’s the community I grew up in and ultimately the reason why I’m doing this is because I feel like I have a strong investment in the Lansing area,” Trubac said. “I’m running because I’m passionate about this place — my place. I think this area is a great place to live in, but I think it could be even better.”
District 11, northern Meridian Township
Aaron Clark Beauchine, Republican
Aaron Clark Beauchine has lived in the Lansing area native. In an interview with a local news station, he stated that his experience from living in the area has given him a good look at what has been happening in the county. He also said he hopes to bring a younger outlook to the commission.
Beauchine did not respond to interview requests.
Emily Stivers, Democrat
Emily Stivers is a Michigan State University graduate and has had a 15-year career in nonprofit public service. Stivers said the biggest issue she hopes address if elected is the quality of roads in Ingham County. She said she began making inquiries about the condition of the roads in the area in past years and was told that the roads were a county issue. Other issues Stivers is interested in include improving local trails and parks and establishing more renewable energy in the area.
“I’m running now because I think it’s time we have more women running for office and more moms running for office,” Stivers said. “If elected, I will be the first openly bisexual county commissioner for Ingham County.”
District 12, southern Meridian Township
Mark Polsdofer, Democrat
Polsdofer attended the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University and has been involved in politics for multiple years. He thought that running for Ingham County commissioner would be a perfect opportunity to apply his background of dealing with policy and budget issues at the state level to working within the local level. Some important issues Polsdofer spoke about were the downtown Okemos redevelopment, enhancing local parks and improving infrastructure funding.
“Projects and developments we have coming up in our area, such as the downtown Okemos redevelopment, are going to require planning to make sure that proper investments are made with the county road department. Environmental cleanup will also be required with new developments, and having someone like me, who has worked with the Department of Environmental Quality and knows how that operates will be an asset.”
Carol Van Drie, Republican
Carol Van Drie is a local author and needle felt artist with a background in writing and editorial work. One issue that Van Drie said she is adamant about is the quality of roads. During her book tours as an author, she said she took notice of the poor condition of Michigan’s roads.
“Due to being a military wife, I have always been a part of politics because the Congress and president of the United States represent the military,” Van Drie said. “I have always been very involved in politics in every state and place we’ve lived, and I feel like it’s very important to be knowledgeable about politics.”