All of the candidates for Van Buren Township offices are Democrats and were unopposed in the August primary election.
But, write-in candidate Janine Houle filed at noon on Oct. 1 to run for a trustee position. She also is a Democrat, but her name will not be on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot and voters will have to write it in if they want to vote for her.
Van Buren Township Deputy Clerk Brianna Beaudry said she checked with the county and voters can write in the name under either the Democrat or Republican township trustee spaces since a write-in is considered a non-partisan candidate.
Incumbents running are Supervisor Kevin McNamara, Clerk Leon Wright, Treasurer Sharry Budd, and Trustees Donald Boynton, Bryon Kelley, and Kevin Martin.
Since incumbent Trustee Sherry Frazier is not running for reelection, her son William Frazier is running for the seat.
Now, Janine Houle has filed as a write-in candidate for trustee making five Democrats running for four, four-year positions.
Janine Houle
Janine Houle, 61, 43836 N. Timberview Dr., has lived in the township for 12 years and is retired. She attended Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, and Lawrence Institute of Technology, Southfield.
She is the mother of Kyle Gurka, 32, and Lance Gurka, 28.
Houle served on the board of directors of the Wayne County Society of Autistic Citizens (Way SAC) in the late 1990s.
She is the president and past vice-president of the Belleville Area Garden Club and belongs to the Fraternal Order of Eagles #3996, the Belleville Walking Club, the Sierra Club, World Wildlife Foundation, and AARP. She enjoys gardening, photography, swimming, and boating.
Houle listed her work experience as: United Technologies Automotive, purchasing department; Society of Manufacturing Engineers, editing technical theses and compiling them into research books for each seminar; Ford Motor Company, assistant to the division manager to whom plant managers of six Southeast Michigan plants reported; assisted George T. Darany, former state representative for the Dearborn area; Construction Foreman Assistant, Fairlane Homes; grant writer for the Pollinator Garden at Pumphouse Park, Garden Club.
When asked why she is running for office, she replied: “The four men on the ballot are running unopposed and over the last several months I was hearing that there should be a female running also. So, I thought, why not me?”
Her goal once elected? “I consider myself an environmentalist and nature-lover. I am still concerned about the contamination entering the river upstream.”
In addition, Houle said her eldest son is cognitively impaired and non-verbal, so she is an advocate for the handicapped.
“I hope that ‘villages’ for the handicapped will be common place, and not a rarity,” she said.
The other four running for trustee seats were unopposed until last week.
Donald Boynton, Jr. for trustee
Incumbent Trustee Donald Boynton, Jr., 61, 13237 Dover Ct., is running for reelection to the position. He and his wife Karen have lived in the township for 19 years.
Bryon K. Kelley for trustee
Incumbent Trustee Bryon K. Kelley, 47, 49202 Peninsular Dr., is running for reelection to the position. He has lived in the township for 20 years.
Kevin Martin for trustee
Incumbent Trustee Kevin Martin, 68, 9405 Madison Dr., has lived in the township for 27 years. He is married to 34th District Court Judge Lisa Martin. He was first elected in 2016 and was reelected in 2020 and is running for reelection again.
William Frazier for trustee
William Frazier, 52, 271 Holly Ln., is running for election to Trustee Sherry Frazier’s seat, since she did not file for reelection. This is his first bid for elective office. He has lived in the township for 41 years. Frazier is a paraprofessional in the Van Buren Public Schools.
Kevin McNamara for supervisor
Incumbent Supervisor Kevin McNamara, 66, 44714 Greenbriar Dr., is unopposed for supervisor.
Leon Wright for clerk
Incumbent Clerk Leon Wright, 63, 9961 Andover Dr., is unopposed for the position of clerk, a position he has held since 2008.
Sharry A. Budd for treasurer
Incumbent Treasurer Sharry A. Budd, is unopposed for the position of treasurer. She has lived in the township for 60 years and was first elected in 1996 and ran successfully every four years since.
The full backgrounds of all the incumbents and newcomer William Frazier can be found in the July 11 issue of the Independent.
To see that issue on line, go to www.bellevilleareaindependent.com and click on PAPERS and go to the 2024 issues.