Newly Elected Farmington Hills Mayor Joins Race for State House

Farmington Hills Mayor Barry Brickner has stepped into the race to fill term-limited State Rep. Vicki Barnett's 37th District House seat. 

Theresa Rich and Chris Greig, both of Farmington Hills, have also announced their candidacies. All three are Democrats, as is Barnett. 

"I was always considering running for Vicki Barnett's spot when she was done," said Brickner, who ran for House and Senate seats in the 1990s. "When one of the other candidates sent me a letter asking for money, I knew it was time to do something." 

Brickner, an attorney, ran unopposed for his last term as mayor on Nov. 5 and has served in city government for 14 years. He points out that the Farmington area's last two state representatives, Barnett and the late Aldo Vagnozzi, were also Farmington Hills mayors. 

"In my position as councilman and mayor, I have a lot of information about what the legislature is doing to us," Brickner said. "They're doing fine balancing their budget, but they're unbalancing ours."

Issues that concern him include elimination of the personal property tax without replacement funding for local governments and changing laws affect attorneys and the judiciary. 

One thing Brickner said he has learned that will be helpful in the State House is "how to get along with other people." Although the city council is nonpartisan, he said, "I don't know why (legislators) can't start doing that." 

Brickner and his wife, Cheryl, have been Farmington Hills residents for 30 years and have two daughters, Kelly and Shawn.