Two Nov. 3 candidates have quit campaigning but remain on the ballot; a look at Oakland County's contested races

Voters looking over their Nov. 3 ballots will see two names of candidates who have stopped running.

Deborah Snyder, a candidate for the Oakland Community College Board of Trustees, will appear on the ballot but told C&G Newspapers on Sept. 28 that she did not plan to continue her campaign, the outlet reported.

Michele Maleszyk, a candidate for the Troy School Board, will also appear on the ballot. She told C&G on Sept. 23 that she did not plan to continue her campaign, according to the outlet.

C&G did not report why either candidate stopped campaigning.

Early in-person voting runs Saturday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 1. Our early voting guide has sites and hours.

Countywide races

Oakland Community College Board of Trustees (two six-year seats): Jose F. Aliaga, Marian Blocker, MiVida M. Burrus, Jacqueline A. Kelly, Robin L. McGregor and Alexandra Morgan are running, along with Snyder, according to C&G.

6th Circuit Court, open seat (one six-year term): Victoria King and Lisa Marie Neilson. The six circuit judges seeking re-election are unopposed: Mary Ellen T. Brennan, David M. Cohen, Lisa Gorcyca, Nanci Grant, Jeffery S. Matis and Lorie N. Savin.

Probate Court, open seat (one six-year term): Elisabeth Dery and Jessica Ann Hallmark. Probate Judge Nicole S. Huddleston is unopposed for a partial term ending Jan. 1, 2029.

Judicial races appear in the nonpartisan section of the ballot, according to the county clerk's official candidate list.

District courts

51st District Court (Waterford Township): Carmen J. DeFranco and Pamela J. Monville are running for judge, according to the county clerk's official candidate list. The Oakland County Bar Association held a Zoom forum for the two on Oct. 13 with the League of Women Voters-Oakland Area, Oakland County Legal News and the Oakland County Times, which posted the video Oct. 18. Kevin McLogan moderated.

47th District Court (Farmington and Farmington Hills): Moneka Sanford and Michael Sawicky, according to the county's official candidate list.

School boards

Troy School Board (two six-year seats): Vital Anne, Walt Cook, Mary Gunn and Beau Taylor, plus Maleszyk, according to C&G.

Royal Oak Schools Board (three four-year seats): Deborah Anderson, Michelle Cook, Melissa Dodoro, Liz Dupee, Belem Morales and Trina Tocco, according to C&G.

Legislative races in the Troy area

According to C&G and the county's official candidate list:

• State Senate, 9th District: Theresa Brooks (D), Michael Webber (R), Jacob R. Schodowski (Working Class Party) and Philippe M. Cicchini (no party affiliation)
• State House, 56th District: Sharon MacDonell (D) and Ashok Baddi (R)
• State House, 57th District: Thomas E. Kuhn (R) and Tom Turner (D)
• U.S. House, 11th District: Jeremy Moss (D), Ethan Baker (R), Farid Ishac (Libertarian), Ryan Teasdale (Green) and Anil Kumar (no party affiliation)

Other contested races

These races are also contested, according to the county's official candidate list:

• State Senate, 23rd District: Greg Hill (D) and Donni Steele (R)
• State House, 54th District: Sarah Pounds (D) and Roman Gaskey (R)
• West Bloomfield Township trustee (partial term ending Dec. 1, 2028): Amy Mindell (D) and Sean Lavine (no party affiliation)

Statewide questions

Two statewide proposals are on every Michigan ballot, according to C&G:

• Proposal 2026-1 asks whether to hold a convention in 2027 to draft a general revision of the state constitution.
• Proposal 2026-2 is an initiated law that would restrict campaign contributions from regulated utilities and large state contractors and expand campaign finance rules to more political communications, including online.

Local ballot questions are covered in our stories on public safety, pathways and other proposals and library millages.

At the top of the ballot, spending on ads in Michigan's U.S. Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers has reached $181 million in spent and reserved airtime for the year, fourth-highest among this year's Senate races, Axios Detroit reported, citing AdImpact data as of Oct. 8. Republicans account for 58% of that spending, according to Axios.

Ballots differ by community. Voters can check what is on theirs with their city or township clerk. The county's full candidate list is posted on the Oakland County Clerk's elections website.

This story uses the Oakland County Clerk's official Nov. 3, 2026, candidate list (updated Oct. 19) and reporting from C&G Newspapers, the Oakland County Times and Axios Detroit.