Hartland resident Ella Nikitin has filed to run in 2024 as a Democrat for the District 4 seat on the Livingston County Board of Commissioners; the district includes Hartland Township and portions of Oceola Township on the county’s east side.
The first trans woman to run for office in Livingston County, Nikitin is also one of the hosts of “The Stir,” a new, progressive podcast in Livingston County.
Nikitin could be facing off against incumbent Republican Wes Nakagiri, who has not yet filed for the August 2024 primary. The deadline to file is 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
“I want the county to actually improve,” Nikitin said, “rather than pass meaningless resolutions about non-local issues that don’t do anything to improve the lives of our county residents.”
A 2019 graduate of Hartland High School, Nikitin, 22, holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan Flint with a major in computer science and a minor in physics.
Nikitin says she will make expanding access to public transportation in the county a focal point of her campaign. She would like to see the county commission increase its contribution to the Livingston Essential Transportation (LETS) bus service so that it can capture a greater share of grant funding from the state.
She says she will also push for a public transportation millage at the county level, giving taxpayers a choice to vote on whether or not public transport should be a priority. To date, the county commission has refused to bring the issue to voters despite previous discussions on the issue. Neighboring Oakland County residents approved a transportation millage in 2022.
Demand for improved access in Livingston was demonstrated in recent years with a comprehensive transportation assessment conducted by the county in partnership with stakeholders in 2018, Nikitin said, but the issue has since been ignored by the current commission.
“The county has the demand for better public transportation, but it seems like the current county board has no interest in improving it,” Nikitin said. “We have the second highest commute times in the state. Over 50% of us work outside of the county in places like nearby Oakland or Washtenaw counties. A dial-a-ride service and a 9-5 commuter bus to Ann Arbor is not sufficient to meet the need. We need more.”
Other issues Nikitin says she will focus on are making sure the county contributes its fair share to improvement projects such as roads and sidewalks, without relying on the townships to foot the entire bill, as is often the case, and to advocate for local and state policies that support more affordable and accessible housing in the county.
