By Matt Mackinder
Clarkston News Editor

Two candidates are running for the 23rd District’s State Senator, a position that carries a four-year term, in the race that will be decided on Nov. 8.
Incumbent Jim Runestad is being challenged by Una Hepburn.
The Clarkston News sent both candidates the same questionnaire, and here is how each responded, in alphabetical order.
No answers to the questions were received from Runestad.

UNA HEPBURN
Age: 60
Family: Married, one daughter
Work Experience/Profession: Worked in PR for Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Owned a small business, Yoga Oasis, for 11-plus years, but had to close due to COVID. Also work for a travel company.
How long have you lived in Clarkston? Davisburg (Clarkston School District) for 24-plus years
How long you lived in the district? Well, district boundaries have changed, but I have lived at same address for 24 years.
Q: Why are you running for state senator?
A: The Democratic Party asked me to run because they did not want the incumbent running unopposed. My passion for a number of issues facing our state/country prompted me to accept so I can have a real voice where it matters. I may not be a “seasoned” politician, but I truly believe it is time for a change with new people who realistically represent the people.
Q: What’s your No. 1 issue facing the district?
A: Education/gun safety. These unfortunately go hand in hand. Our schools need to be safe. Our teachers need to be paid more with less restrictions from conservatives trying to ban books. There needs to be red flag laws for gun safety, more thorough background checks. Arming teachers is NOT the answer!
Q: What’s the No. 1 issue facing the state?
A: Women’s rights are human rights. Reproductive freedom is not a government/political issue. It is a personal one.
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Four candidates are running for the 8th District’s County Commissioner, a position that carries a two-year term.
The race will be decided on Nov. 8.
Incumbent Karen Joliat is joined on the ballot by Tom Kurzyniec, Nicholas Luppino, and Connor Nepomuceno.
The Clarkston News sent all candidates the same questionnaire, and here is how each responded, in alphabetical order.
No answers to the questions were received from Joliat or Kurzyniec.

NICHOLAS LUPPINO
Age: 31
Family: Plenty family – two siblings, six aunts, uncles, several cousins, grandparents and friends residing in Waterford, Holly, Walled Lake, Ortonville, Milford, Traverse City, Standish and Clarkston to Seattle, Wash., Mesa, Ariz., Florida, Maine, Minnesota, and Massachusetts.
Work Experience/Profession: What started as art, architecture, literature, sports and interactive entertainment grew inspiration to host playing cards and arcade accommodation. This became sides of nature conservation, religion, history, medicine, law, manufacturing technology and modern capitalizing of computer hardware. The younger part of my student focus thought we would be finalizing industry with applied automation and robotics, contributing community small charity by our course. I didn’t know at the time by all the labor disputes that graced political issues but the robotic arm had already been developed. Relieving the final wrists and elbows that would compile any remaining assembly or necessary labor. Today, the only labor roles we have, or have kept, exist solely for recreation, vocation and defense. This modern, priority administrative law. Hosting publication instructing labor, real estate, stock market, election procedure, bank law, national security and Treasury Constitution. Relating and excavating pre-revolutionized legal command to labor, commerce and national security that have disappeared behind three decades of jeered delay.
How long have you lived in Clarkston or the district? I have lived in 8th District Clarkston for seven years now. Formerly neighbor in Waterford Township since 1991, no stranger to Clarkston’s hospitality being border resident of Maceday Lake, the near friends that were made and Pine Knob winter attraction.
Q: What do you like about living in this district?
A: Friends, amusement and community’s famed political religious views.
Q: What’s your No. 1 issue facing the district?
A: Legal dollar sources. Treasury awareness.
Q: What’s the No. 1 issue facing the county?
A: Bank law, Labor, real estate and architecture adherence. Labor and the excessive development that has companied our conservative deforestation series has been responded with bank law by both federal and state order. Yet to be re-employed and re-prioritized by local bank real estate conduct. Real-time labor reports accrue stock market’s United States Dollar Index (DXY) intending federal order to citizen savings account deposit interest. Re-kindling citizen’s still unanimous decisions concerning land restoration, residential investment and upscaling from the voids of commercial deviation will positively return century long project prospects to resident production.
Q: What’s your opinion on the county public transportation millage?
A: Public transportation always sounds like a great thing but today is not the answer. Citizens, students and voters alike know that public transportation’s claim to benefit are sourced in conspiracy. Conspiracy further highlighted by great negligence of primary and approved ready solution like citizen-direct funding. Citizens share transportation personally and is just as good as any bus. Excessive labor is the real transportation enemy and industry’s make-job ethic is not only labor violation but counter-productive for any traffic, fortune or pollution concern while assisting immigration’s offense effort. Public transportation is not just bus service and taxi, they also concern immigration, defense and harbor funding that is priority intended to disburse citizens their own transportation needs including personal vehicle, maintenance and petrol. Citizens do not approve advancement proposition until priority solution fulfill and is not seen from current public transportation leadership.

CONNOR NEPOMUCENO
Age: 28
Family: No family in the area
Work Experience/Profession: For the five years I have lived in Clarkston, I have been employed in the automotive testing industry. First as a contractor for Aerotek, and for the last four years I have worked for a tier one supplier as a test lab technician. For the last year, I have been a senior technician running a test lab in Auburn Hills.
How long have you lived in Clarkston or the district? I have lived in Clarkston since January of 2017.
Q: What do you like about living in this district?
A: This area is, despite the best efforts of certain leaders over the last couple years, still a vibrant and prosperous community. People are still generally happy and friendly despite the declining health of our economy.
Q: What’s your No. 1 issue facing the district?
A: We need to explore policies that have a tangible impact on the cost of living for all in our community. The county needs to tax and spend less, allowing our families and businesses to keep what they earn instead of being extorted by the county. We need to create incentives for our towns to loosen zoning policies to allow for freer entrepenuership in housing and business. We also need to do what we can to deregulate the local energy market and bring costs down.
Q: What’s the No. 1 issue facing the county?
A: Inflation and the cost of living. Affecting national fiscal and monetary policy is beyond the scope of this job but we must do what we can in our community to counteract inflation’s effects. My policies target sectors of our economy that are within our area of influence.
Q: What’s your opinion on the county public transportation millage?
A: I am opposed to this public expenditure scheme. This millage on all provides a service that only a few in only certain parts of the county could or would use. Rather than fund an expensive and inefficient regional transit authority, I favor deregulation and allowing entrepeneurs to meet the demand for cheap transportation. Clearly, there are too many barriers to entry preventing anyone but SMART to enter this field. We must tear those barriers down and allow opportunities for enterprise.