Gretchen Driskell Wins Race for 52nd House District

Gretchen Driskell plans to keep campaign promise and restore education funding.

Saline Mayor Gretchen Driskell is now the newly elected state representative for Michigan's 52nd District.  With 124 of the 169 precincts counted, Driskell had 17,460 votes and Mark Ouimet had 17,207, according to unofficial results from Washtenaw County. Driskell ran against incumbent Republican Ouimet of Scio Township. Driskell, who has been Saline mayor since 1999, was critical of the Republicans' cuts to revenue sharing payments to municipalities since announcing her campaign in March.  "I don't want to cut any more revenues," she said. She said she plans to have a more detailed plan by January but she said her focus will be restoring education funding, a major platform of her campaign. "What really resonated when I went door to door …

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Saline Elections 2012: Your Guide to Area Ballots

These national, statewide and local candidates have already drawn attention in races that affect Saline.

Saline Patch is devoted to bringing you the information you need about 2012 political races that touch our community. Here are the candidates to watch in races locals are already talking about: Brian Marl and Glenn Law are running for the office of mayor. Marl serves on City Council. Law was one of council's longest serving members before resigning last fall to take a teaching job up north. Incumbent city council members David Rhoads and Dean Girbach are seeking re-election. They are joined by Lee Bourgoin, who left the city after serving for years as city manager and then finance director. Mark Ouimet, the incumbent Republican from Scio Township faces a challenge from Saline Mayor Gretchen Driskell, Democratic candidate.  Karen Delhey, …

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Aysha Jamali

10:25 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Thank you for the correction, Barbara. The article has been updated.   more ›

Legislation Would Offer Low-Interest Emegency Loans to Cash Strapped Cities, School Districts

The loan program would be increased from $5 million to $100 million.

State Rep. Mark Ouimet, R-Scio Twp., says that Michigan’s struggling school districts and municipal governments will be able to receive low-interest emergency loans thanks to legislation that passed the house last week. "Some of our local cities, township, villages and schools have struggled with declining revenues due to the state's economic hardship," Ouimet said. "These important measures provide another tool for stressed municipalities to help deal with a financial emergency that actually could cost taxpayers more in the long run." Ouimet, chairman of the House Local, Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs Committee, shepherded the bills through the committee process, according to a news release issued by his office. House Bills 5566-…

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Guest Column

Ouimet: Remembering Veterans Once A Year Is Not Enough

State Rep. Mark Ouimet says Americans owe veteran more than thanks.

It was a tremendous honor to be the master of ceremonies during the annual Memorial Day event at Arbor Crest Cemetery in Ann Arbor this past Sunday.  We must never forget to honor and pay tribute to the American heroes who lost their lives protecting our freedom. Make no mistake.  Our country would not exist today without the bravery and sacrifice of the men and women who served and died in the United States armed forces. Without their valiant efforts, our lives would be so much different.  Our freedom of thought, of expression, our freedom to attend religious services of our choosing, is tied to the efforts of those who fought for those freedoms on faraway battlefields.  During my speech at Arbor Crest, I also wanted to make sure that we …

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Guest Column

Republicans Rank Education At Bottom of Priority List

An educated population is the number one asset in a successful economy yet Lansing continues their march in the opposite direction.

Republican Leadership in Lansing has made education their number one target once again, showing us that education is at the bottom of their priority list. In the past week we have seen an expansion of unaccountable and unproven cyber schools, an education budget that looks more like a vague illusion of fiscal responsibility rather than a practical application of that concept, and University of Michigan funding tied to unscientific reporting requirements on stem cell research. What are they thinking? We know that an educated population is the number one asset in a successful economy yet Lansing continues their march in the opposite direction.    Locally, we are dealing with budget deficits in K-12 education. We are closing schools, …

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Ouimet Campaign: We Have $111,000 For 2012 Election

The campaign says Ouimet has raised more money for this cycle than all but one state lawmaker.

State Rep. Mark Ouimet, R-Scio Twp., currently has more than $111,000 on hand for the 2012 election cycle, according to information on the Michigan Secretary of State website. "I want to thank the people who contributed to my campaign and for their continued confidence in how we’re reinventing Michigan,” Ouimet said in a release issued by the campaign Thursday. “We've made some significant steps forward to foster an environment where the economy can rebound. We've put more people back to work, streamlined government and created a positive fund balance, but we still have much more work to do." Ouimet has raised more than $125,000 since November 2010, and has more than $111,000 cash on hand, according to the release. Ouimet is the second …

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Saline's Mayor Driskell Considers State Run

Saline's longtime mayor said she's forming an exploratory committee to run as a Democratic Party candidate against Mark Ouimet to be State Representative for Michigan District 52.

Saline Mayor Gretchen Driskell confirmed Thursday that she is considering running for the state house in the November election. Driskell, Saline's longest-serving Mayor in her sixth term, said she is forming an exploratory committee to consider running for State Representative for Michigan District 52. The district is represented by Mark Ouimet, R-Scio Twp. Thursday, the Ouimet campaign annpunced it has $111,000 on hand for the 2012 election cycle. If she runs, Driskell will do so as a Democratic Party candidate. There are no other declared Democratic Party candidates. "It's something I am considering. I was approached to run and I am seriously looking at it," said Driskell, who has been critical at times of the policies coming out of …

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