Lennox wins bid for drain commissioner
Dennis Lennox II added "public official" to his résumé Tuesday night, narrowly winning a bid for the Cheboygan County drain commissioner race.
The Republican senior from Topinabee unseated eight-year incumbent, 78-year-old Democrat John Pietrangelo.
In a race that went down to the wire, Lennox recieved 6,202 to Pietrangelo's 6,116 in the 22-precinct county, according to the county results posted online.
Lennox carried Mullett Township, which encompasses his hometown, 382 to 335 votes.
"It's a very difficult year for Republicans," he said. "You're seeing a party that's going to have to have serious inner discussions over the next few weeks and months, and start looking at changing its course."
As drain commissioner, Lennox will hold a powerful county position with the authority to spend millions on drainage fixes and pass the bill on to land owners and municipalities.
Lennox said he ran to determine whether the office is even necessary.?
Lennox, a political science major, gained notoriety at CMU for his 2007 efforts to apply media pressure to Grifffin Endowed Chair Gary Peters, who won his bid for the 9th District U.S. House of Representatives seat Tuesday night.
Lennox was raised in Cheboygan County, where his family helped start the local Berean Bible Church. He has been active in state politics, serving as an alternate delegate at the Republican National Convention in September.
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