Macomb County Voters Select Sheriff, County Clerk and Probate Judge

Macomb County Key Races

Macomb county voters on Aug. 6 will vote on primary candidates for County Sheriff, County Clerk and Probate Judge.

Macomb County Sheriff Candidates

Scott Budnick, Republican

Budnick, a Hamtramck police officer from Macomb Township, supports enforcing laws against people preying on seniors and believes every school in Macomb County needs to have at least one armed officer on-site. He supports working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to turn over “illegal aliens” encountered in the county; recruiting and retaining sheriff’s office employees by boosting morale, restoring benefits and improving wages; and deploying more deputies to patrol neighborhoods and roads.

In March 2024, Budnick was sentenced to nine months of probation after he was convicted by a district court jury of a 93-day misdemeanor in a July 2022 incident when he was working security for a bar in Shelby Township. The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office stated Budnick believed someone in the entry line had a fraudulent ID and contacted Hamtramck dispatch to confirm the person’s information through the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) even though he was not working as a police officer at the time.

Read more about Budnick here: https://www.scottbudnickforsheriff.com/

Eddie Kabacinski, Republican

The Warren resident and former Warren City Councilman lists his political party as “conservative Republican” on his statement of organization form with the county clerk in a bid for Macomb County Sheriff. He lost a reelection bid for a city council seat and subsequent write-in effort in 2023. He is a supporter of former President Donald Trump and donned a military gas mask during an April 2020 city council meeting, complaining about a loss of freedom because of the actions of the governor at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, the city council passed a resolution to censure him for his misuse of his position as a councilman days after they said he was arrested for refusing to wear a mask during a Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission meeting in Detroit. In September 2020, he stood with counter-protesters at a rally to support a Black family in his council district that was the victim of attacks because they had a Black Lives Matter sign in their window.

Kabacinski is charged with carrying a concealed weapon after a traffic stop in May in Warren. Separately, a jury convicted him of peddling political merchandise without a sales permit during a 2021 rally for Trump. In 2022, he pleaded no contest in a 2020 Eastpointe case in which he was accused of chasing down and handcuffing a woman who put Black Lives Matter stickers on Trump yard signs.

Read more about Kabacinski here: https://ekabacinskicommittee.wixsite.com/eddie

Terence Mekowski, Republican

Mekoski is retired from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and is making his second run at Macomb County sheriff, a seat he lost in the 2020 general election. The husband, father and grandfather from Shelby Township identifies as a Constitutional Republican. A Detroit police officer for five years, he then spent 26 years at the Oakland County Sheriff’s Officeand retired in 2016 as deputy commander of patrol services. He then worked for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as a senior financial investigator for the Opioid Strike Task Force. He won a special election in 2022 for a partial term as state representative for the former 36th House District.

He supports protecting county borders and expanding the marine division to assist with that effort as well as attacking human/child sex trafficking organizations and the opioid and fentanyl epidemic in neighborhoods. He proposes informing and protecting seniors from scams and fraud, training and assigning more school liaison officers, upholding the U.S. Constitution and protecting citizen’s rights.

Read more about Mekoski here: https://www.mekoski.com/

Macomb County Clerk and Register of Deeds Candidates

David Adams, Democrat

Adams is from Bruce Township. His campaign does not appear to have a website or social media presence, and he could not be reached.

Steve Fleck, Democrat

Fleck is from Eastpointe. His campaign does not appear to have a campaign-related website or social media presence, and he could not be reached.

Kristi Dean, Republican

Dean, of Shelby Township, is secretary of the Macomb Community College Board of Trustees, an elected term that expires Dec. 31, 2028. She also is running in the 2024 primary for the Shelby Township Board of Trustees. Dean, the mother of three adult sons, works in the mortgage industry and has a background as an analytics developer.

She believes there is wasteful spending in government and envisions the clerk’s office as a one-stop shop using technology to make it more efficient and effective. Dean is an adjunct faculty member with several colleges, officiates high school swim meets and has an emergency medical technician license. She ran unsuccessfully for a partial term for the 8th District state Senate seat in the 2021 primary as well as for county sheriff.

Anthony Forlini, Republican

Forlini was elected Macomb County clerk and register of deeds in 2020 who served as a state representative for six years and prior to that served as the Harrison Township supervisor. Most recently, he was a district director for U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell and operations manager at Macomb County Public Works. Forlini, of Harrison Township, is a lifelong Macomb County resident, father and grandfather who served as a state representative for six years and prior to that served as the Harrison Township supervisor. He also owns a business and is a certified financial planner. He has been active in community groups and was knighted by President Sergio Mattarella of Italy for charitable works between the two countries in 2016. As clerk, he touts a state-of-the art software system for residents; reduced wait times; elimination of voicemails so callers speak to a live person when they call. He conducted a county elections forensic audit, digitized court cases back to 2019 and has in-house concealed pistol license fingerprinting.

Read more about Forlini here: https://www.forliniforus.com/

Jackie Ryan, Republican

Ryan, of Sterling Heights, is a former deputy Macomb county clerk who is making her second bid to be Macomb County Clerk/Register of Deeds. She was defeated in the 2020 primary for this role and also was defeated in the 2022 primary for county commissioner. In 2018, Ryan was terminated as deputy register one day after Macomb County Clerk Karen Spranger was dismissed by a judge.

Ryan describes herself as a mother, grandmother, constitutional conservative and pro-life. She has a background in business and accounting, according to her website. She wants to audit every election; have ballots hand counted, restore one-day voting and require proof of citizenship to vote. She also wants to keep records low-cost, accurate and secured; and provide a website for all candidates and proposals before the election. She believes she was wrongfully removed from her prior position with the county and wants to correct what she calls “fraud” and “deception” in the clerk’s office.

Read more about Ryan here: https://www.ryanformacomb.com/meet-jackie

Probate Judge Candidates

Jeyona C. Fudge

Fudge, of St. Clair Shores, is a graduate of James Madison College at Michigan State University, and she also received a law degree at MSU. She is a Macomb County deputy chief assistant prosecutor in the Constructive Reimbursement Unit. She formerly worked for the nonprofit Legal Aid & Defender Association of Macomb and now serves it as a board member. In 2017, Fudge joined the Macomb County Friend of the Court as a judicial service officer. In 2014, she opened Detroit Sip, a coffee shop in northwest Detroit, where she grew up. In 2023, Fudge won a Spirit of Detroit Award for her shop’s promotion of local products made by other small businesses in Detroit.

Aaron J. Hall

Hall, of Clinton Township, is a Macomb County assistant prosecutor who is chief of the probate unit, handling family cases; and he’s deputy chief of the Treatment Court Unit, which gives special attention to those whose criminal cases involve addiction. Previously, Hall worked as a research attorney for Macomb County Circuit Court, where he drafted numerous decisions for judges to consider. Hall was an “extern” for Justice David Viviano of the Michigan Supreme Court. He’s a graduate of the University of Detroit School of Law and a cancer survivor.

Benjamin A. Schock

Schock, of Macomb Township, is a dual alumnus of Michigan State University, both as an undergraduate and of the law school. He co-founded a law firm in Mt. Clemens that specializes in probate cases, including guardianships and elder law. In 20 years, he estimates he has advised clients on more than 500 probate court cases, although he also has handled criminal defense work. Schock is serving his second term as president of the Macomb County Bar Association, earlier having been vice president, and he is active in mentoring young lawyers. Before practicing law, Schock was a financial advisor and, for two years, a credit counselor for General Motors Acceptance Corporation.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Macomb County Voters Select Sheriff, County Clerk and Probate Judge