Incumbents prevail in top Macomb offices

MACOMB COUNTY — In an election year defined by a polarized electorate, Macomb County residents opted to stick with the government they have.

The county’s prosecutor, clerk, sheriff, treasurer and public works commissioner — all incumbent officeholders — were each elected to another term on Nov. 5, with statewide Election Day trends favoring Republican candidates in all but one of the races among Macomb County’s top administrative officials.

In the Macomb County clerk and register of deeds race, with all precincts reporting now, Republican Anthony G. Forlini led with about 57.8% of the vote. Democrat David Adams had about 41.7%.

In an email, Forlini credited his victory to Macomb County residents’ confidence in the job that he has already been doing as clerk. He also reflected on his campaign.

“From the very beginning when I ran and won for (Harrison Township) township supervisor through my current term as County Clerk I have always ran a positive campaign, respecting the people that I ran against,” Forlini said.

Anthony Wickersham retained the Macomb County Sheriff’s badge, the lone Democrat to win among the county’s five top seats. Vote counting in the race for sheriff ran well into election night and the morning after, and the race was not called in Wickersham’s favor until 10:53 a.m. on Nov. 6. At press time, Wickersham garnered 255,475 votes (52.02%) over Republican challenger Terence Mekoski’s 233,539 votes (47.55%).

“Each year it gets closer and closer, and I’m honored that the residents of Macomb County elected me to be their sheriff for the next four years,” Wickersham said.

The close nature of the race tracked with a state and county that furthered its reputation as a Republican stronghold, but Wickersham was quick to downplay the idea of his approach to the office as partisan.

“For the last four years it’s been this way, starting in 2016, and to be honest with you I try to stay out of the political arena,” Wickersham said. “I’m a law enforcement (and) corrections professional and that’s the job I want to do. Obviously, I know the sheriff’s position is political and partisan, so you’ve got to pick a side. I just want the people of Macomb County to know that as Sheriff, I put the roles and responsibilities first before the politics.” 

Wickersham plans to continue the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office’s focus on completing the central intake and assessment center at the Macomb County Jail, hiring deputies for contracted policing areas, the office’s focus on proactive policing and, ultimately, reducing crime.

“I’ve been the sheriff for 14 years and now I have another four to complete my projects, my missions and to do the job that I love.”

In the prosecutor race, Republican Peter Lucido received 279,131 votes (56.91%) at press time, besting Democrat Christina Hines, who received 209,233 votes (42.66%).

Lucido said he was honored and humbled that the election results showed a lot of good things had happened since he took office that allowed him to clean the office up.

“And to move forward now and show the people with hard work, determination you can succeed at anything you do,” Lucido said. “And that’s what we’ve done. We’ve done a great job. The entire office is now motivated to do the things that needed to be done.”

Hines said in a text she thanks those who supported her and that the experience was incredible.

“The people I met, the conversations we had, the organizing we did — this is the actual work of democracy, and I am so grateful for this experience and for the remarkable work that so many people did every day for this campaign,” Hines said in the text. “It is not the outcome we hoped for, but I believe that we made a difference in our community, and I am looking forward to doing absolutely everything I can to continue to strengthen our community and fight for what is right.”

In the treasurer race, Republican Larry Rocca received 277,780 votes (57.97%) and Democrat Matthew Churchwell received 198,930 votes (41.52%).

Rocca said he is humbled to have the support of Macomb County residents.

“I continue to do a good job for the citizens of Macomb County and make this county the greatest county in Michigan,” Rocca said.

Churchwell said he thinks his campaign ran a great race.

“We have, just the rest of the party, a whole lot to learn,” Churchwell said. “I give my best to Larry. I think he’ll serve faithfully and serve the constituents in Macomb County and we’ll look to the next one.”

In the public works commissioner race, Republican Candice Miller received 301,853 votes (51.06%), Democrat Kevin Higgins received 170,011 votes (44.29%) and Libertarian Jim Fulner received 12,274 votes (3.81%).

Miller said she is honored the people of Macomb County gave her another four years to continue as public works commissioner.

“I ran this race basically on my record over the last eight years, previous eight years,” Miller said. “And really that focus has been and will continue to be how we can improve on water quality because water quality equals quality of life. And then also how our department can be a critical component of economic prosperity for the county.”

Higgins had no comment on the race.