Voter guide: Wayne County races

The following are brief biographies of each major party candidate pulled from their official websites, our previous reporting, campaign websites and campaign social media pages. Candidates without that information were contacted, and in some cases did not respond. If the candidate has a campaign website, we've linked to that under "Read more here." This guide does not include third-party candidates or candidates in non-competitive races. For a full listing of all candidates, including from third parties, see here for statewide races and here for Wayne County races.

Wayne County Sheriff

Raphael Washington, D

Wayne County Sheriff Raphael Washington, of Livonia, is running for reelection. He was appointed in 2021 to be sheriff by Wayne County officials after the death of former Sheriff Benny Napoleon and then won, in 2022, an election for a partial term. He worked for 24 years in the Detroit Police Department, serving as a patrol officer, investigative officer, sergeant, lieutenant and inspector of traffic enforcement. He then joined the sheriff’s department in 2009. He served as director of security for Greater Grace Temple, one of the largest churches in Detroit. A member of the National Rifle Association, he has served as a firearms instructor for many years and promotes gun safety. Read more here.

T. P. Nykoriak, R

Nykoriak, also known as Taras Nykoriak, ran unsuccessfully in 2020 as a Democrat for Wayne County Sheriff and, in 2018, as a Republican for county commissioner. He said that, if elected, he will appoint a new undersheriff, saying they will do a better job running the department. He said he would use a task force of officers to help solve problems with violence in neighborhoods, adding that nonviolent offenders should not be in jail. Nykoriak was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to stealing U.S. savings bonds from a Hamtramck church in 2015, according to prior reporting in the Detroit Free Press. He did not appear to have a campaign website at the time this voter guide was being written.

Wayne County Register of Deeds

Bernard J. Youngblood, D

Since 1941, a member of the Youngblood family has been the Wayne County Register of Deeds. The current register of deeds, Youngblood, 74, of Grosse Pointe Farms, was first elected in 2000 and now hopes to continue that tradition, running for his seventh 4-year term. His great-grandfather was elected Wayne County treasurer in 1882 and his cousin, Forest Youngblood, served as register for 30 years before retiring in 2000. "There's a family tradition of serving," Youngblood told the Free Press in 2002. Outside of work, Youngblood has been known over the years for singing at restaurants, churches and the Detroit Yacht Club. Born on Detroit's east side, he graduated from Grosse Pointe High School and Wayne State University. After being honorably discharged from the Army, he worked as a real estate agent. He also has invented some railroad parts, earning patents. He did not appear to have a campaign website at the time this voter guide was being written.

Afaf Ahmad, R

Ahmad, of Westland, is known as an outspoken commentator and radio host who is not shy about criticizing the political establishment in cities like Dearborn and other Wayne County communities. She calls herself “Divaa” on her Facebook pages, where she often posts her thoughts on politics and social issues, usually speaking in Arabic. She speaks about Arab American issues on Fridays on Radio CINA, which airs in Windsor and metro Detroit on 102.3 FM. She said she was once an editor at a magazine and a TV host for an Arabic-language media outlet. She also describes herself as a Lebanese American activist. She did not appear to have a campaign website at the time this voter guide was being written.

Wayne County Judge of Probate Court - (2) positions

Todd Briggs

Briggs, of Grosse Pointe Farms, is an attorney who has practiced for 36 years. He received his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a J.D. from Syracuse University’s law school in New York. “I want to ensure that every person has a voice and is given the opportunity to be heard,” he said on his website. He has appeared before more than 25 probate courts during his career. He has worked as a mediator in 36th District Court in Detroit, an arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau and as an Equal Employment Opportunity investigator with the U.S. Postal Service. Outside of work, he’s a swimmer and triathlete who volunteers to help swimmers with special needs in the Special Olympics. Read more here.

Macie Gaines

Gaines, of Grosse Pointe Park, is a probate attorney who is a protege of the late judge, Adam Shakoor, former chief judge of 36th District Court in Detroit. She was introduced to probate work by him and has practiced in that area for years, helping with the estate of the late Rosa Parks, some Motown artists and others in Wayne County. She then had a private practice with her husband, Robbie Gaines, and also taught probate law at the law school at University of Detroit Mercy. “For the past decade, she has been a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable people in society,” it says in the bio on her website. She wants to promote “safeguards for vulnerable adults who have been subject to financial exploitation and/or mistreatment” and protect the rights of people with disabilities and people involuntarily hospitalized for alleged mental health problems. Read more here.

Ron Haywood

Haywood, of Detroit, is an administrative hearing officer with the Department of Appeals and Hearings in Detroit. “In this position, I hear cases dealing with city blight, dangerous buildings and appeals from other city administrative departments,” he said on his website. Before then, he worked as a prosecutor for Wayne County for 23 years, seeking “justice for crime victims.” He’s also been a moot court judge for five years. He once worked as a probation/parole officer in New York City before going to law school to become an attorney. He has lived in Detroit for most of his life, graduating from Denby High School. He said he was inspired to go to law school and become a judge after observing Black judges in Detroit’s Recorder’s Court. Read more here.

Daniel Mercier

Mercier, of Detroit, is a criminal defense attorney and commercial real estate developer. “Balancing these two worlds may seem like a challenge but I've found that they complement each other in unexpected ways,” he said on his LinkedIn page. “My real estate ventures have honed my negotiation skills, which I bring to the courtroom, and my legal background has given me a unique perspective on property transactions.” He graduated from Michigan State University in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in construction management and package engineering and, in 1998, from Nova Southeastern in Florida with a J.D. Mercier said he has more than 20 years of legal experience that includes criminal defense, family law, civil litigation and real estate law. Read more here.

16th District Judge of District Court - (1) position

Jim Jolly

Jolly, of Livonia, is a city councilman in Livonia. He was previously president of the Livonia City Council for two years and is now in his ninth year on the council. Jolly has served as a court officer and law clerk in 16th District Court and later became Livonia's magistrate for seven years. Jolly has also been an assistant prosecuting attorney for the city of Westland and an assistant legal counsel for Lawrence Technological University in Southfield. “If elected, I pledge to uphold the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, and justice, always striving to make Livonia a safer and more just community for all its residents,” he said on his website. Read more here.

Robin Persiconi

Persiconi, of Livonia, is an assistant prosecuting attorney for the townships of Canton, Plymouth and Northville. Born and raised in Livonia, she graduated from Livonia Stevenson High School, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School. She worked for 20 years as a public defender, practicing law in criminal defense, family law, and landlord/tenant matters. She said on her website she represented “defendants who could not afford to retain legal counsel and vigorously defended and advocated for those that are the most vulnerable and marginalized in our communities.” She added that she wants “to ensure that every voice is heard and every case is decided with the utmost respect for justice.” Read more here.

23rd District Court Judge - (1) position

Victoria I. Shackelford

Shackelford, chief judge of Taylor’s 23rd District Court, is running for reelection. She was originally appointed to the bench in 2021 and then elected in November 2022. Shackelford said she runs a regional treatment court program at the court. According to the city’s website, she previously worked as an assistant prosecutor for Wayne County and, before that, practiced criminal law and worked as a public defender. She earned a law degree from the University of Toledo College of Law and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Eastern Michigan University. Shackelford’s campaign website says she lives in Taylor with her wife, and they have three sons and two dogs. Read more here.

Michael I. Tinney

Tinney is an attorney who has worked as an administrative law judge for the state since 2022, according to his campaign website. He was hired to hear cases involving unemployment insurance appeals and said he now works in the corrections division hearing cases concerning prisoner misconduct. Tinney previously worked as an assistant prosecutor for Wayne County and, before that, for Norstar Building Corporation and was appointed to Taylor’s Board of Ethics in 2022, according to his campaign website. Tinney earned his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and has bachelor’s degrees in political science and history from Michigan State University. He lives in Taylor with his wife and son. Read more here.

34th District Court Judge - (1) position

Robert P. Coutts

Coutts, a 25-year resident of Van Buren Township, said he is an experienced trial attorney in Allen Park with experience working in 34th District Court. He has been with a private practice since 1991, served as an assistant city attorney for various municipalities and as a public defender over the years, according to his law firm website. From 2003 to 2007, he was a trustee at Van Buren Public Schools and a former president of the Belleville Rotary Club. He has also been active in other community groups. He’s running on his record of experience, integrity and service.

Teresa Patton

Patton, of Van Buren Township, is an attorney who has worked at the 34th District Court as an assistant prosecuting attorney and a court-appointed defense attorney. In 2019, she became administrator of the indigent defense program for the 34th District Court. She is currently the director of The Regional Managed Assigned Counsel Office, which was created to work with 20 district courts in Wayne County on implementing the standards of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission. “I support due process of law and equal access to justice for all regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or religious or personal beliefs,” Patton said. Read more here.

35th District Court Judge - (1) position

Joe Barone

Barone has been a private practice attorney in downtown Plymouth since 1997. He previously served as a Wayne County commissioner and, according to his campaign website, has been involved with community organizations, including as a board member with the Plymouth Township Downtown Development Authority and as a Canton Chamber of Commerce ambassador. He earned a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, a master of laws degree from Wayne State University Law School and a bachelor’s degree in business from Michigan State University. Barone, who lives in Plymouth Township, has two daughters. Read more here.

Michael Woodyard

Woodyard is a staff attorney at Neighborhood Defender Service of Detroit. Before that, he spent years as an assistant prosecutor for Wayne County, where he worked in the domestic violence, child abuse and public integrity units, before leaving in 2017 to start his own firm, according to his campaign website. Woodyard earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School and has a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University. After college, he worked as a newspaper reporter in Ohio, New York and Detroit, according to his campaign website. He lives in Canton with his two children. Read more here.

36th District Judge - (2) positions

Andrea Bradley-Baskin

Bradley-Baskin is the general counsel for the 36th District Court. According to her campaign website, she practiced at two of the largest law firms in the state and established a law firm with her father. She said she also worked as an administrative law judge for the state and as a hearing officer for Detroit. Bradley-Baskin’s campaign site describes her as a wife and mother who advocates for diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and “approaches her work with empathy and precision.” She earned a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University. She lives in Detroit. Read more here.

William Burton Jr.

Burton currently serves as a magistrate at 36th District Court. According to his campaign website, he was appointed to the position in 2023 and, before that, worked for 18 years as an assistant prosecutor for Wayne County. His campaign website says Burton “developed a reputation as a fair Assistant Prosecutor, searching for the truth and seeking justice rather than just pursuing convictions.” He earned a law degree from Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia, and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Fisk University in Nashville, where he was a student athlete in track and field. His campaign site says he is a longtime northwest Detroit homeowner. Read more here.

Malaika Ramsey-Heath

Ramsey-Heath has been a magistrate at 36th District Court since 2020. According to her campaign website, she has been a longtime board member of Michigan Legal Services, worked as an appellate public defender, ran a private law practice and worked as a constituent relations specialist and legal analyst for the late Detroit City Council President Maryann Mahaffey. The website says Ramsey-Heath believes “in a judicial system that ensures equality for all and provides opportunities for a better community.” Ramsey-Heath earned a law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law and a bachelor’s degree in the administration of justice from Howard University. She is a mother of two and lives in Detroit. Read more here.

(This story was updated to add new information and correct a misspelling.)

This year's voter guide was compiled by reporters Clara Hendrickson, John Wisely, Arpan Lobo, Paul Egan, Todd Spangler, Niraj Warikoo, Christina Hall, Bill Laytner, Gina Kaufman, Ahmad Garnett, Jenna Prestininzi, Bella Bakeman, Carmella Guaglianone and Diamy Wang, with editing help from Emily Lawler, Pat Byrne, Sally Tato and Jewel Gopwani.

Questions about this guide, or about election coverage in the Free Press? Contact State Government & Politics Editor Emily Lawler: [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Voter guide: Wayne County races