Democrat Who Covers Part of Rochester Hills to Seek State House Seat

, the Democratic Oakland County Commissioner whose district encompasses the northwest corner of Rochester Hills, will seek election to a recently vacated state House seat in February, he announced Monday morning.

The seat, covering the state's 29th District in Pontiac and Auburn Hills, was held by Democrat Tim Melton, who resigned last month to take a position with the national public school organization StudentsFirst, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.

A special election is tentatively planned for Feb. 28, 2012, to fill the vacancy.

Greimel is a former Rochester Board of Education president; he was first elected to the county commission in 2006.

“The one thing on the mind of every Michigander right now is jobs — and that's the primary focus of my campaign,” said Greimel, in a press release. He was joined Monday morning by 17 prominent community leaders who have endorsed him.

“If the state is going to get serious about attracting and retaining good-paying jobs, we need to change our policy priorities. We need to preserve job-creating tax incentives, and invest in the quality of life that attracts and retains talented and educated young people.

"And most importantly, we need to reward work and keep money in the hands of people who spend it.”

His county commission district covers Auburn Hills, Pontiac and the part of Rochester Hills north of Walton and west of Brewster to the city's borders on the north and west. If Greimel is elected to the House, a special election would be held to fill his county commission seat until the November 2012 election. County commissioners are elected every two years.

The results of that election would be short-lived, however. A would move most of Rochester Hills, including this part now under Greimel's leadership, into a new, incumbent-free District 12 seat.