Editing Saginaw County, Michigan (section)

==Government and politics==
The county government operates the [[County jail|jail]], maintains rural roads, operates the
major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains [[vital records]], administers
[[public health]] regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and
other social services. The [[county commission|county board of commissioners]] controls the
budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local
government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street
maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

From 1988 to 2012, Saginaw County was a consistently [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] county at the Presidential level. However, in recent elections it has become increasingly competitive, with [[Donald Trump]] narrowly winning the county in [[2016 United States presidential election in Michigan|2016]] by slightly over 1,000 votes while narrowly losing it in [[2020 United States presidential election in Michigan|2020]] by about 300 votes. Trump won it back in [[2024 United States presidential election in Michigan|2024]], this time by a margin of about 3,400 votes and taking an outright majority in the county too.

{{PresHead|place=Saginaw County, Michigan|source1=<ref>{{cite web | url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS | title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections }}</ref>|source2=<ref>The leading "other" candidate, [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]], received 5,664 votes, while Socialist candidate [[Eugene V. Debs|Eugene Debs]] received 1,291 votes, and [[Prohibition Party|Prohibition]] candidate [[Eugene W. Chafin|Eugene Chafin]] received 175 votes.</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|52,912|49,515|1,573|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|2020|Democratic|50,785|51,088|1,610|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|45,469|44,396|4,915|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|42,720|54,381|1,191|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|42,225|60,276|1,782|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|47,165|54,887|800|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|41,152|50,825|1,779|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|31,577|47,579|8,638|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|32,103|43,819|20,983|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|42,401|45,616|549|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|51,495|38,420|501|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|45,233|41,650|6,916|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|46,765|36,280|1,026|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|47,920|29,424|1,177|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|38,070|32,266|7,087|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|28,146|45,309|127|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|41,351|32,715|206|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|43,470|25,681|210|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|38,604|20,983|513|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|22,923|16,995|815|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|27,289|20,383|730|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|27,042|22,490|221|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|15,527|22,592|3,291|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|17,794|22,643|977|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|22,467|11,555|220|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|23,618|6,206|4,914|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|20,425|8,494|1,013|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|9,544|8,434|483|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|5,032|5,845|7,130|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|9,447|7,019|898|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|10,146|5,330|1,251|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|8,413|7,610|746|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|8,361|8,792|294|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1892|Democratic|6,737|7,601|844|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1888|Democratic|6,723|8,923|379|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1884|Democratic|5,939|7,047|305|Michigan}}
{{PresFoot|1880|Democratic|5,207|5,304|621|Michigan}}

===Elected officials===
* [[Prosecutor|Prosecuting Attorney]]: John McColgan Jr.
* [[Sheriff]]: William Federspiel
* [[County Clerk]]: [[Vanessa Guerra]]
* [[Treasurer|County Treasurer]]: Timothy M. Novak
* [[Register of Deeds]]: Katheryn A. Kelly
* [[Drain Commissioner|Public Works Commissioner]]: Brian Wendling
''All countywide officers are elected for four-year terms. The next scheduled election for these offices is November 2024.''

<small>(information as of April 2021)</small>

===Parks and Recreation Commission===
Saginaw County Parks and Recreation Commission is a county-wide government organization founded by [[William H. Haithco Sr.]] in 1969. Haithco then served as chairman from 1972 to 1999.<ref name="mlive311">{{cite news | url=http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2011/03/a_life_remembered_william_h_ha.html | title=A life remembered: William H. Haithco Sr., father of parks and recreation in Saginaw County | work=MLive | date=March 20, 2011 | access-date=July 10, 2014 | author=Johnson, Bob}}</ref> The organization operates six parks throughout the county - Imerman Memorial Park, Veterans Memorial Park, Ringwood Forest, Price Nature Center, [[William H. Haithco Recreation Area]], and The Saginaw Valley Rail Trail. These parks comprise over 550 acres, including 18 miles of hiking trails, two boat launches, four fishing access sites, a swimming beach, picnic shelters, and recreation programs.<ref name="sagco-parks">{{cite web | url=http://www.saginawcounty.com/Parks/About-Us.aspx | title=Parks and Recreation Commission - About Us | publisher=County of Saginaw, Michigan | access-date=July 10, 2014}}</ref><ref name="weyi710">{{cite news | url=http://www.minbcnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=483768#.U77Lsa7ZXz0 | title=Children's Fun Day is Tuesday at Haithco Park in Saginaw Twp. | work=WEYI | date=July 16, 2010 | access-date=July 10, 2014}}</ref>