FLINT -- With just a little more than a month until Election Day, voters don’t have a lot of time to acquaint themselves with candidates running for federal, state and local office.
About 30 of them mingled with voters Thursday evening for an informal meet and greet hosted by the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Candidates running for U.S. Senate, Congress, state office and several municipal seats came out.
Whether democrat, republican or non-partisan, candidates said they expect voters to be more engaged this election year, because everyone can agree on one thing – they want to see continued economic growth in Genesee County.
“We need someone that knows what’s going on, that’s lived in it and understands and that’s willing to get out and fight hard for it, to pull in the reins,” said David Davenport, a non-party affiliate running against republican Jim Slezak and democrat Dan Kildee for the 5th district U.S. Congress seat.
Other candidates encouraged voters to take this month to educate themselves on the numerous non-partisan races and proposals on November’s ballot.
"The ballot is currently four pages long. So with all of the ballot proposals, it's very important for the voter to understand exactly what they're doing,” said Flint attorney Glenn Cotton, who’s running for 68th District Court judge against incumbent Judge Herman Marable, Jr.
“And I'm encouraging all voters to vote absentee if in fact they qualify under the ordinance to be able to vote absentee, because it actually is a long ballot. So we want people to make an informed decision,” Cotton said.
For a list of candidates running in the November general election in Genesee County, click this page: http://www.gc4me.com/departments/county_clerks1/docs/2012NovGeneralCandidates.pdf
