Oakland County Key Races
Oakland County Key Races
The Oakland County primary includes races for Water Resources Commissioner, County Treasurer, 6th District Court Judge and 67th District Court Judge.
Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Candidates
Jim Nash, Democrat
Nash, of Farmington Hills, is finishing his third four-year term as Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner. From 2004-2012, Nash was an Oakland County Commissioner. Earlier, he ran a small furniture business and a florist shop. In 2015, Nash was named Environmentalist of the Year by the Michigan Sierra Club for his volunteering. On the job, Nash was named Public Utility Management Professional of 2017 by the Michigan Water Environment Association. In 2021, his department got the Regional Showcase Award from SEMCOG, and an environment group named it Utility of the Future Today for a sewage plant that turns sanitary waste into methane gas to power the plant while creating compost for farmers. Nash is a graduate of Florida State University and served for three years as a U.S. Army medical specialist.
Jim Stevens, Democrat
Stevens, of Rochester Hills, is in his second race against Jim Nash for Water Resources Commissioner. However, he ran as a Republican in 2020 and lost by a 57% to 43% margin. Stevens says he is “a naturalist, design engineer and professional investor.” He cites volunteering with Oakland Family Services, the Salvation Army, Clinton River Watershed Council and his church. He studied at Macomb Community College. In 2015, Steven lost in a three-way race for mayor of Rochester Hills, receiving 8% of the vote to the winning 53% for longtime mayor Bryan Barnett. Stevens is a longtime observer and critic of the Rochester Hills City Council.
Steve Johnson, Republican
Johnson, of Highland Township, is running for Water Resources Commissioner after building a career as principal consultant at Independent Consulting & Advisory Services. His role is to “partner with companies to enhance their strategic and operational effectiveness.” Johnson earned a BS in business management and economics at the State University of New York, and he has an MBA from Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. He cites his “extensive background in corporate management, technology and strategic planning” as his qualification for serving as water resources commissioner. He’s a veteran of the U.S. Navy, where he had advanced training in electronics and computer systems.
Steve Klein, Republican
Klein, of Waterford Township, is a second-year electrician and a software developer. He said he previously spent five years “helping to process mortgage applications.” He is the volunteer head of a nonprofit group he began called Conservation of Waterford Lands. He attends township board meetings “to represent residents' views on the management of public lands, promote greenspace and preserve the wild lands remaining in our township.” Klein studied at Lawrence Technological University for two years and, in 2024, he attended a commercial truck driving school.
Oakland County Treasurer
Robert Wittenberg, Democrat
Wittenberg, of Huntington Woods, has been the Oakland County treasurer since 2021. Before he was elected, he served three terms as state representative for the 27th House District in Oakland County. He was vice chair of the House Financial Liability Reform Committee and also on the Tax Policy and Financial Services committees. Earlier, Wittenberg was an insurance agent. He has a degree in business from Indiana University. As treasurer, Wittenberg led the county in creating the Oakland County Land Bank to boost investment in needy areas. Wittenberg had his staff update the county’s investment policy for the first time in 20 years, to allow new ways for investing county surpluses. He is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Donna Blake, Republican
Blake, of Oxford Village, is a licensed certified public accountant. She has been a controller and treasurer at for-profit as well as nonprofit enterprises. Blake has a degree in accounting from Walsh College and a master of business administration from the night and weekend program of Michigan State University, offered in Troy.
Isaiah Hellner, Republican
Hellner, of Oxford Township, is a 2020 graduate of Oakland University with a degree in marketing. He works as a financial planner and investment advisor. He’s a former volunteer with Grace Centers of Hope in Pontiac, where he participated in neighborhood cleanups and other aid to the substance-abuse clients of Grace Centers. A newcomer to politics, he wants to include more young people in politics.
Susan Kuhn, Republican
Kuhn of Troy spent eight years as an Oakland County commissioner in the 1980s. She has a degree in economics and accounting from Albion College. She spent 20 years as a senior corporate auditor with the Dayton-Hudson department store chain and was a manager for an auto supplier. She lists her current occupation as “volunteer for all things Trump and GOP.” She was 2023 Volunteer of the Year for Cass Community Social Services, a large nonprofit that serves homeless, addicted and mentally ill persons in Detroit.
Oakland County 6th District Court Judge
Tricia Dare
Dare, of Oxford, has worked for nearly 27 years as an Oakland County assistant prosecutor and is chief of the special victims, hate crimes and victims services units. She’s handled criminal and civil cases. She is married to a retired Oakland County Sheriff’s Office sergeant and is the mother of two college-age daughters. Her grandfathers, grandmother and father were UAW members at General Motors, and she is the first generation in her family to attend college. She is a founding member and former chair of the Oakland County Child Abuse & Neglect Council and a member of other professional organizations. She has taught one-day classes at Oakland Community College and Oakland Police Academy and volunteered with organizations that provide resources to vulnerable individuals in the community. She wants to do more as a public servant and make a difference on the other side of the bench to ensure justice, according to an Oakland County Bar Association questionnaire.
Read more about Dare here: https://dareforjudge.com/
Nicole Sophia-Calhoun Huddleston
The West Bloomfield lawyer, who has been practicing in Michigan for nearly a decade, has handled family, civil and criminal litigation through Southeast Michigan, including by providing free legal counsel and representation. Huddleston has served as managing director at the Detroit Justice Center for the past several years, overseeing the group’s Legal Services Practice. She was an assistant prosecutor in Wayne County before joining the center, working in the domestic violence division, and as a staff attorney at Legal Aid and Defenders and Lakeshore Legal Aid. She is an American Bar Association certified mediator in Michigan and was named in 2021 to the Michigan Supreme Court’s Justice for All Commission. She is married with a son, 11, and two adult daughters in college; her mother was a supervisor in a nursing home, and her father served in Vietnam. She serves on several community boards. She wants the judiciary to reflect the community it serves and advance the principles of equal justice under the law.
Read more about Huddleston here: https://www.electhuddlestonforjudge.com/
Moneka Sanford
The Farmington Hills resident has been an attorney for more than 20 years and previously served as a social worker with the state of Michigan. She has practiced extensively in family law in Oakland County. She has provided indigent defense services as a court-appointed advocate. She was born in Detroit, moved to Oakland County at age 11, has two children and is a member of several legal associations. She is the proprietor of her private law practice and has handled criminal and family law cases. She is committed to ensuring people have access to a legal system characterized by experience and fairness, recognizes the significance of diverse perspectives on the bench, and understands the need to provide resources to safeguard and strengthen families, according to her website. She believes in equal access to justice for all, regardless of race, color, or income, and that she can bring diverse experience.
Read more about Sanford here: https://www.monekasanfordforjudge.com/
67th District Court Judge (Oakland and Genesee Counties)
K.C. Baran
Baran, of Fenton, is a general practice lawyer who also works as a high school basketball referee. He’s a member of the American Legion and Knights of Columbus. As do his opponents in the race, Baran has said that retiring judge Christopher Odette leaves big shoes to fill. Baran said his experience handling cases in various district courts has prepared him to be a good judge. Baran is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and of the Michigan State University School of Law.
Jeffrey E. Clothier
Clothier, of Fenton, has a long-standing general law practice based in Flint, with a focus on criminal defense, and says he has handled cases in 72 counties of Michigan. He has a law degree from Michigan State University, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, and a diploma from Flint Southwestern High School. Clothier was admitted to practice before the Michigan Supreme Court in 2002. He has been endorsed by four union locals including the Mid-Michigan Labor Council of the AFL-CIO. He has been a supporter of the Genesee County Bar Association’s outreach efforts.
Elias J. Fanous
Fanous, of Grand Blanc, is a general practice lawyer based in Flint with expertise in landlord-tenant cases as well as criminal law and other subjects. He’s a graduate of Cooley Law School in Lansing with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan—Flint. Fanous, who is treasurer of the Genesee County Bar Association, is a board member of Whaley Children’s Center in Flint.
Amanda Odette
Odette, of Grand Blanc, has the same last name as the outgoing judge but is not related. She is the city attorney for Burton, Mt. Morris and other municipalities in Genesee County. Odette has prosecuted criminal cases and also handled collection cases and landlord-tenant matters, and she has been supportive of the Genesee County Sobriety Court. Odette says she is the only candidate with experience as both a prosecutor and as a defense attorney. She has a law degree from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University in Boston.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oakland County Key Races