Oakland County Commission: Blue seat turns red

The 19-member county commission saw one seat change political parties Tuesday.

Commissioner Ajay V. Raman was narrowly defeated by Robert Smiley, his Republican challenger, 16,419 votes to 16,219.

Smiley will join six veteran Republicans on the board, all of whom retained their seats after defeating Democratic challengers:

• Republican minority leader Michael Spisz of Oxford received 24,231 votes to 14,581 for Paul Kelly.

• Michael J. Gingell of Lake Orion beat Christina Joy Root, 23,933 votes to 15,983.

• Bob Hoffman of Highland Township beat Derek Marshall with more than double the votes, 27,497 to 13,052.

• Karen Joliat of Waterford beat Jesse Brown, 25,578 to 15,505.

• Christine Long of Commerce Township beat Chris Sommer, 25,876 to 14,885. On Wednesday she expressed her thanks on social media for her reelection, writing in part, "I truly enjoy representing each and every one of you. Always feel free to contact me. I work for ALL of you."

• South Lyon attorney Phil Weipert beat Ellen Gelerman, 26,301 to 15,330.

Despite that showing, Democrats retained a significant 12 to 7 majority on the commission.

Democrat Brendan Johnson won a close race, 17,756 to 16,232, over Republican challenger Dale Hetrick with a margin just over 1,500 votes.

"It's almost identical to the margin in 2022. To be honest, I'm rather proud for the margin to have held as steady as it has, given the rightward shift we saw in the overall electorate (Tuesday)," Johnson said.

He attributed his win to "diligent public service over the last two years and knocking thousands upon thousands of doors in the district to directly talk to constituents ... I have a great feeling about the good we can do in the next few years!"

Penny C. Luebs responded to her 21,915 to 15,486 victory over Republican challenger Edward Kempen with a short note on social media.

"Thank you, everyone, for your vote! It is an honor to serve as your Commissioner. Life is good!," she wrote.

The remaining incumbent Democrats also had decisive wins over Republican challengers:

• Yolanda Smith Charles of Southfield won, 32,540 to 6,756, against Aaron Tobin.

• Linnie Taylor of Southfield had a 29,027 to 9,062 win against W. Jackson.

• Charlie Cavell of Ferndale won, 28,956 to 12,968, over Paul Taros.

• William Miller III of Farmington Hills won, 22,177 to 12,090, against Jacob Kovacs.

• Gwen Markham of Novi won, 21,178 to 15,319, against Daniel Lawless.

• Ann Erickson Gault of Troy saw a 19,647 to 15,086 win over Douglas K. MacLean.

• Marcia Gershenson, the commission's vice chair, won 24,446 to 17,977 against Johnnette Eggert.

• Dave Woodward, the commission's chairman, had a 23,520 to 14,497 win over Regina Wilk.