Tag: Vacancy

A former state representative who served three terms in the Michigan House will be taking a seat on the Macomb County Board of Commissioners.

Republican Ken Goike was appointed by the GOP-majority board to the seat vacated recently by Don Brown, who had been the body’s chair. Brown, a Washington Township Republican, left office to take a postion in the Macomb County Public Works Office.

Although the final vote to appoint Goike was 12-0, a straw vote immediately before the final tally showed eight commissioners favored Goike and four commissioners favored Troy Patrick Kosal of Washington Township, a chemistry teacher for Utica Community Community Schools who ran for Washington Township supervisor last year.

Board Chair Joe Sabatini of Macomb Township, who voted for Goike, said he also liked other candidates among the 15 applicants but noted Goike’s experience.

“He has the accolades and experience,” Sabatini said. “He can get into it right away. He going to be able jump right in. I think he’s going to blend in well with the board.”

Goike of Ray Township, the owner of a trucking and excavation company, served in the Michigan House from 2011-2016 and has had a long association with running the Armada Fair, which after more than 150 years is one of the longest running fairs in Michigan. He ran for state senate in 2018 but was defeated in the primary by Pete Lucido, who left the senate after winning the Macomb County Prosecutor’s seat.

He also worked for about two years in a supervisory position with Republican Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller, who sat next to Goike in the audience at the meeting in the county Administration Building in Mount Clemens.

“I’m very elated the people (commissioners) had confidence in me,” Goike said after the meeting. “I know the area very well. This oppotunity came up, and it’s the perfect fit for me.”

He said he doesn’t have any specific plans for issues he may pursue but mentioned he has special expertise in infrastructure.

He plans to run for the post, representing District 1, in two years when the county will conduct a special election.

One of the applicants, Jean Zott of Shelby Township, said she appreciated the process of seeking the post and congratulated Goike. But she questioned the board waiting for two years, the 2026 gubenatorial election, to choose a commissioner for the seat due to the cost to the nine communities in the district for a separate election. She said it should be held sooner.

“I understand that elections are expensive,” she said. “Our government has made elections expensive (through early voting). And now we’re not having special elections because they’re expensive. … But it’s expensive to not have a special election.”

She noted that the constituents of District 1 didn’t get a say in the appointment and have to wait two years to have input, and that commissioners only this year went to four-year terms from two-year terms.

She said she doesn’t plan to run for the post in two years.

Brown, who attended the meeting, called Goike’s appointment “a good choice,” saying he has known him for many years.

“He checks all of the boxes,” he said.

Originally Published: January 23, 2025 at 4:19 PM EST