Mark Slavens (born December 31, 1954) is an American politician from

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He is currently a Circuit Court Judge. Slavens attained a BGS from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

. He received his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...

. He graduated from Ann Arbor Huron High School in Michigan.

Wayne County Third Circuit Court

On April 23, 2007, Michigan Governor

Jennifer M. Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-American lawyer, educator, author, political commentator, and politician serving as the 16th United States secretary of energy since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she previ ...

appointed Slavens to the Third Circuit Court of Wayne County. He filled the unexpired term of the Honorable Maggie Drake, who stepped down effective January 1, 2007. Drake, who had been re-elected during the 2004 general election, would have otherwise served until 2010. As a result, Slavens' term will be up for election during the 2008 general election for the remainder of the term. He was re-elected to the Wayne County Circuit Court in 2010 and 2016.

Plymouth-Canton School Board

Slavens was Vice President of the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools (PCCS) Board of Education. He previously served as President of the School Board for two years. He was first elected to the School Board in 1999 and elected to a second term with over 75% of the vote in 2003. In 2005, national attention was drawn to the districtFulton, Maureen. "When schools sell out." ''Toledo Blade.''
/ref> after the School Board voted to sell the naming rights of school buildings and athletics facilities to commercial interests.

2006 State Senate Race

Slavens was the Democratic nominee for State Senate in Michigan's 7th State Senate district. He was unopposed in the August 2006 Democratic primary and won the nomination. He opposed incumbent Republican Bruce Patterson. Slavens won the cities of Belleville, Flat Rock,

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, Rockwood, Trenton and Woodhaven. He also won the townships of Brownstown, Sumpter and

Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

. Slavens and Patterson exactly tied in

Gibraltar, Michigan Gibraltar is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,656 at the 2010 census. Gibraltar is a southern city of Metro Detroit and is about south of the city of Detroit. The city is bordered by the Detroit River ...

. Although Patterson won in Canton Township, Slavens took 48% of the vote in that community. Most Democratic candidates, especially for state legislative seats, have never come close to that margin.

Family

Slavens is married to Michigan State Rep.

Dian Slavens Dian Slavens (born March 12, 1958) is a Democratic politician from Michigan who served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2009 to 2015. Slavens represented the 21st House District, which includes Canton Township, Belleville and V ...

(née McCabe). They have three children and one grandchild. His parents, Tom and Cora Slavens, were librarians by profession. Tom Slavens is a retired Professor of Information at the

Quotes

* "I think the people supported my message for solving the many problems of the state. What I'm really proud of is that this proves grass roots works." (Plymouth Observer. November 16, 2006.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slavens, Mark 1954 births Living people Michigan state court judges Michigan lawyers People from Canton, Michigan University of Michigan alumni School board members in Michigan