DEARBORN HEIGHTS – Two applicants for the November 2011 city
clerk race have announced their candidacy as Dearborn Heights Councilwoman
Janet Badalow and current interim City Clerk Walter Prusiewicz have both
expressed their intentions to run.

Prusiewicz replaced Judy Dudzinski in the position after she
retired on March 31, where he will remain until November’s election.

Prusiewicz is a 21-year resident of Dearborn Heights who
worked with Wayne County for 30 years before retiring. He holds a Master’s of
Business Administration in Finance from Wayne State University and a Bachelor’s
Degree in Accounting from WSU as well. 
He began his career as a laborer for Wayne County Roads at the age of 19
and worked full time while also attending college and obtaining both his
undergrad and master degrees and worked his way up through the ranks at Wayne
County being promoted to aequipment operation and foreman positions. In 1996,
Prusiewicz was promoted to the personnel office where he eventually became a
department manager. He subsequently was given the title of Assistant to the
Commission Liaison and Contract Manager where he developed a system to track
the many contracts that go before the Board of Commissioners. After his
retirement, he was rehired on a contractual basis to continue performing those
duties and eventually became a legislative research assistant and was a clerk
for subcommittee meetings for the board of commissioners.

Badalow is a 32-year resident of Dearborn Heights who has
served as a council member since 2011. She has been endorsed for the position
of city clerk by retiring clerk Dudzinski. Badalow holds an MBA in Finance from
Wayne State University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Lawrence
Technological University and is considered an “outside-the-box”
thinker.  She is a 1988 graduate of
Divine Child High School in Dearborn. 
With the exception of a brief family move to Florida during her early
childhood, Badalow is a lifelong resident of southeast Michigan.  She is active in several service and
civic organizations, including a member of the Dearborn Heights CERT (Community
Emergency Response Team), a member of the Dearborn Heights Goodfellows, an
ex-officio member of the Dearborn Heights Library Advisory Board, SEMCOG
(Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments) Budget & Finance Committee
member, and the current president of the Dearborn Heights Kiwanis Club.