Bob Sexton of Brighton Township, a retired educator, is running for the District 7 seat on the Livingston County Board of Commissioners. The district includes the City of Brighton, and Brighton Charter Township Precincts 1, 3-5, and 7-9.
Sexton taught English and speech at the high school and community college levels for more than three decades, including 25 years at Fowlerville High School, where he was president of the Fowlerville Education Association.
In a release, Sexton said the current board of commissioners “ignores the views of the majority of county residents.”
“In recent years I have witnessed the increasingly radical stances of the board. They spend time promoting divisive issues like COVID response and declaring Livingston a ‘constitutional county,’” Sexton said. “I believe the role of county government is to provide for the well-being of its citizens, not promote radical conservative ideas.”
Sexton said there is enough of that in Washington, D.C., and that he will bring a more-moderate voice to the county board, and that instead of fighting culture wars, he will focus on serving residents.
“I see real needs for senior services in our county so our elderly can age in place,” he said. “There is a need for recreational opportunities within the county. We area a highly populated county and growing daily; yet the services provided mirror those of a small rural county.”
Sexton said it’s time Livingston starts to “think and act like the growing, dynamic county that we have become.”
As a member of St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church, Sexton has been active in working with young people, visiting local nursing homes, and coordinating the parish blood drive.
Sexton, who has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Central Michigan University, has been married to his wife, Claudia, for 25 years, and they have three daughters and nine grandchildren.
The 7th district is currently represented by Republican Martin Smith, who has not yet filed for re-election.
The Livingston Post reached out to Smith on Dec. 27, 2023, to see whether he was planning to run for re-election, and he said he was, though he hasn’t yet filed.
Mel Paunovich, who served as the Brighton Township supervisor from 1990-1992 as a Democrat, is running for the 7th District seat as a Republican.
The deadline for filing is 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
Sexton can be reached at sextonrobert81@gmail.com.
