08-02-2018 Primary Election Candidates for Northern Berrien County State Representative

Primary Election Candidates for Northern Berrien County State Representative

By Annette Christie Five Republicans and two Democrats are seeking the seat that will be vacated by Kim LaSata as she runs for Senate.

Pauline Wendzel is a lifelong Watervliet resident from a 4th generation Bainbridge Township farming family. She attended both Watervliet High School and Michigan State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and Food Industry Marketing.

Pauline spent her youth working on her family farm and counseling young children at Five Pines, a local Christian day camp. She was an active exhibitor at the Berrien County Youth Fair and in 4-H. She served as the Michigan Apple Queen in 2007 and is an advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Pauline was the Programs Director at the North Berrien Historical Museum in 2014, where she educated area youth on the importance of Southwest Michigan heritage. She was the assistant deputy clerk for Bainbridge Township. Wendzel is currently the product brand development manager at Coloma Frozen Foods promoting Michigan fruits, vegetables and agritourism throughout the country. Wendzel believes in the importance of conservative family values and is dedicated to bringing people together for the improvement of our community. “I think it is time for my generation to get involved instead of complaining behind their computer screens,” Wendzel said. Wendzel is also interested in finding the solution to the state’s infrastructure, broadband, roads, and bridges challenges. She believes in theimportance of vocational training for our students along with protecting our rich agricultural heritage while promoting our future.

Bruce Gorenflo of St. Joseph is a Senior Technical Writer & Product Communications Coordinator with 40 years of experience in the private sector. Gorenflo is a graduate of St. Joseph High School, attended Lake Michigan College, and earned his bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University. He is a Republican Precinct Delegate in the City of St. Joseph and is also a member of the Berrien County Republican Party Executive Committee.

He and his wife have been married for 31 years and they have three grown sons. Gorenflo is committed to school funding and safety, protection of the Great Lakes, upgrading our deteriorating infrastructure, a balanced view of energy with a healthy mixture of nuclear, renewable and fossil fuels, promoting the vitally important industries of tourism and agriculture and protecting the rights of the unborn.

JoAnn DeMeulenaere of Bridgman holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Purdue University and has served on the Bridgman Board of Education since 2009. She is also a member of the Bridgman Foundation of Educational Excellence. She is a medical malpractice defense paralegal, is married and has three children.

Her areas of focus are school safety, financial resources for education as well as local control; proper equipment, training and resources for Public Safety; and Health Care, especially in making mental health care more accessible.

Maria Moen is not native to Southwest Michigan. She and her husband have two sons. She has served in the community including for the Curious Kids Museum, St. Joseph Public Schools Foundation, United Way, Catholic Community Education Commission, and at the Readiness Center. She has work experience as an International Destination Services Consultant and as a corporate high level manager.

If elected she wants to re-prioritize spending to put more in roads, to bring new jobs to our communities, and wants to reinstitute career tech classes in high schools. She wants to work with local law enforcement to provide safer communities.

Troy Rolling of Benton Harbor first became involved in politics when he studied the party system at Eau Claire High School. He selected the Republican Party after learning about the differences between the two parties and relating more to the beliefs of the Republican Party. Rolling believes in a government that should be limited to a decision making process and that business makes the world go around, not the government and he strongly opposes any programs that create generations of dependency.

He has been involved in politics for a long time. Rolling ran for the County Commissioner seat for his district in 2004. He served for three years on the Benton Charter Township Planning Commission and currently serves on the Michigan’s Great Southwest Strategic Leadership Council. He sold automobiles for 12 years before creating The Political Company, a consulting service to manage campaigns. He also launched Redtie Concierge Service, with clients in western Michigan and northern Indiana.

The two Democrats on the August ballot are Joey Andrews and Marletta Seats.

Joey Andrews of St. Joseph graduated from Wayne State Law School and is an attorney.

Marletta Seats ran for this position against Kim LaSata in 2016 and was defeated. The Benton Harbor woman is a former Berrien County Commissioner and Benton Harbor School Board member. She is retired from Robert Bosch Corp. Seats has three sons, one of which is a Benton Harbor City Commissioner.

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