Nine file to run for three seats on school board in November
MIDLAND, Mich. — Nine people have filed to run for three seats on the Midland Public Schools Board of Education this November, according to information from the City Clerk’s office. The deadline to apply was July 26.
Incumbent board members Patrick Frazee, Jon Lauderbach and Phillip Rausch have terms which expire on Dec. 31, 2022. Messrs. Lauderbach and Rausch are running for reelection. The seats are all ‘at-large,’ meaning the three candidates with the most votes in November will be elected.
At least three candidates — Melinda Cox, Jimmy Sheets, and Sara Ladwein — have ties to Rise Up Midland, the parents rights group which organized in response to the implementation of policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The group is part of a nationwide trend of conservative groups paying closer attention to local school boards.
Will Zablocki, a former leader of Rise Up Midland who declared his intention to run for school board but then came under fire for his criminal background and who was arrested again in April, did not file to run.
Jennifer Ringgold, an administrator of the Facebook group Mask Up MPS, filed to run.
“The current atmosphere of divisiveness and bullying at public meetings is hurting kids, it’s hurting staff, and it’s hurting our community,” Ms. Ringgold said to supporters during the launch of her campaign in March. “We have to figure out a way to come together and stop the destructive tearing down of one another, and begin building together.”
Serial candidate Kurt Yockey, Great Lakes Bay Region Mental Health Partnership Executive Director Matt Samocki and Michelle Tschaikowsky also filed to run.
The election is Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Michael Westendorf is the chairman and executive editor of Chemical City Paper. As Executive Editor, he leads the City Paper’s news coverage and editorial team.