Monroe County election guide: two running for District 4 county commissioner

MONROE COUNTY — Voters in Monroe County have more than 30 contested races in the Aug. 6 primary election. The Monroe News sent questionnaires to the candidates in the contested races. Profiles of the candidates in contested primaries will be published over the next several days.

Below are the responses from incumbent Republican District 4 County Commissioner Jay Heinzerling of Monroe, who is being challenged for the District 4 county commissioner position by Democrat Jesse M. Riggs of Newport. District 4 covers portions of Frenchtown Charter Township, including voting precincts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 north of the River Raisin, and 8 and part of 7.

Their responses are printed as provided, though they may have been edited for clarity or truncated if the answers exceeded the given word limits.

In-person voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6. Absentee ballots may be requested from township clerks.

Jay Heinzerling

Age : 40

Occupation : Ford Motor Co. team leader material handling

Spouse/kids : Married/two kids

Government experience : Currently I am the Monroe County commissioner for district 4.

Volunteer/community service experience : I volunteer anywhere I see my time being of value toward an organization. Mikey's Minute and Jefferson baseball just being a few. I also donate food and food services to homeless shelters and multiple community events.

Why are you running for this position? To keep up the economic growth and continue building on the team we've created over the last two years, as a community working together for the benefits of Frenchtown Township, Monroe County, and the state of Michigan.

What do you think is the main challenging facing District 4, and what should be done about it? District 4 has issues like all districts, but the beaches are unique. Shoreline retention/seawalls, roads, old trees and old drains are just a few of the issues we face.

Why should people vote for you? We as a community must continue to fix issues of the past, while implementing team work instead of divisiveness. The future of Frenchtown and Monroe County are bright and will always be my top priority. With the Gordie Howe bridge opening soon, I feel I can bring people together for the benefit of businesses and quality of life for all.

Jesse M. Riggs

Age : 49

Occupation : UAW Overtime Coordinator, Ford Dearborn Truck & Coordinator of UAW Standing Committees

Spouse/kids : Married 15 years to Alicia Riggs. five sons and one daughter (deceased)

Government experience : two-term precinct delegate, Democrat

Volunteer/community service experience : As a Union Catholic, I’ve been involved in dozens if not hundreds of volunteer/ community service projects. Whether it be collecting necessities for our abused women’s shelter, feeding the homeless, giving out groceries, building the Selma Rankins community garden beds or delivering some requested supplies to our veterans at the Detroit and Ann Arbor VA, I have been a volunteer, participant and organizer. My team and I have collected Toys for Tots and school supplies for children in multiple districts. Earlier in my life, I struggled with drugs and alcohol, so I have also long been involved in local efforts to raise awareness of drug abuse & the opiate crisis as well as recovery.

Why are you running for this position? I’m running for this position to restore representative Democracy to Monroe County, to represent the working families of Monroe County and address their needs in a meaningful way.

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What do you think is the main challenge facing District 4, and what should be done about it? I think there are a variety of issues I see in our district. Emergency service equipment, affordable housing or infrastructure improvements, there are many challenges for us. The main challenge facing the district, in my eyes, is addressing the needs of our children. Whether it’s food insecurity, lack of school supplies or activities for our children, we could do better. I feel if we were to address those challenges, we’d do a lot of indirect good for the families, parents and teachers of our children.

Why should people vote for you? I think the people of District 4 should vote for me because my Catholic upbringing has fostered the ideals of caring for the sick, the poor, the elderly and the indignant as did our Lord Jesus Christ and my union career has been a path of practicing and exercising those ideals. My experience in participating in and leading committees within the UAW uniquely qualifies me for many of the duties. As a grassroots organizer, I’ve been able to bring differing opinions together. I’m a longtime resident of Frenchtown with deep family ties to the community.

— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com .

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe County election guide: two running for District 4 county commissioner