Six candidates are competing for two eight-year seats on the University of Michigan Board of Regents on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The winners will help oversee a university with $16.8 billion in projected revenues for fiscal year 2027 and weigh in on contentious decisions, including a planned research computing center in Ypsilanti Township. Democrats hold a 6-2 majority on the board, and two of those seats are up this cycle, MLive reported.

The Democratic nominees are incumbent Paul Brown, managing partner at eLab Ventures who was elected in 2018, and Amir Makled, a Dearborn civil rights attorney and UM-Dearborn graduate. Makled won the nomination over incumbent Regent Jordan Acker. Before the convention, reports surfaced of explicit Slack messages attributed to Acker; Acker's lawyer disputed their authenticity.

Republicans nominated Lena Epstein, co-owner of Vesco Oil Corp. and a former Trump Michigan campaign co-chair who lost a 2022 regent bid, and Michael Schostak, the Bloomfield Township treasurer. Libertarian Andrew Chadderdon and U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate Kyle Maas round out the field.

Michigan is the only state where voters elect public university boards statewide, according to Michigan Public.

Forum showed sharp divides

Five of the six candidates appeared at a Sept. 24 Faculty Senate forum at University Hall, moderated by Faculty Senate Chair Kentaro Toyama. Chadderdon did not attend, according to the University Record.

Brown and Schostak clashed over Michigan Medicine's finances and the Textile Road data center, the Michigan Daily reported. Brown blamed federal pressure for Michigan Medicine's financial strain and criticized the Republican candidates for supporting the Trump administration.

"It's a little rich coming after me for something that I don't control," Schostak said at the forum, adding that Brown, as a regent for eight years, "voted for all of the controversial things, including the purchase of the land in Ypsilanti Township" for the planned data center.

That project, a planned $1.25 billion high-performance research computing center with Los Alamos National Laboratory on a 144-acre property off Textile Road, has drawn opposition from neighbors and local officials. The Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution declaring "strong and unequivocal opposition," MLive reported.

Budget transparency also surfaced as an issue. Makled, speaking at the forum, said U-M's budget document is so dense that even he struggles with it as an attorney. Epstein called for consistent free-speech rules regardless of political viewpoint.

Brown pointed to the Go Blue Guarantee, which provides free tuition to qualifying in-state undergraduates from families with incomes of $125,000 or less and assets below $125,000. He said more than 30% of Ann Arbor campus students, 40% of Dearborn students and 50% of Flint students attend tuition-free. Schostak countered that in-state cost of attendance has risen from $25,000 to $35,000 over the past decade.

Makled questioned over deleted social media posts

Makled faced questions after The Detroit News reported that he had reposted and later deleted social media posts, including one that referred to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a "martyr." Makled has disavowed antisemitism but declined to condemn Hezbollah when asked by MLive.

The Arab American Political Action Committee included Makled in an endorsement slate announced Sept. 30, according to The Arab American News.

Other candidates and voting details

According to an Ottawa News Network voter guide, Chadderdon advocates for First, Second and Fourth Amendment protections at the university. Maas, who graduated high school at age 10 and started college at 12, has said he wants to refocus curricula on job-market skills.

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. Voters can check sample ballots at Michigan.gov/vote.

The last day to register online or by mail is Monday, Oct. 19. In-person registration with proof of residency is available through Election Day.