New Baltimore voters will choose among three candidates in the race for one open, two-year city council seat in the primary election Aug. 2.

Candidate Laura Lynn Szymanski Boyles has her eye on the open council seat in hopes of making the city’s goals a reality and bringing new ideas to the table.

“I’d like to certainly support the current administration and work toward achieving goals that they have in mind,” she said. “I’d like to introduce some new ideas like recycling garbage and renewable energy. I’m supportive of those types of things.”

Boyles grew up in St. Clair Shores and has lived in New Baltimore for the past 13 years. She said she ran for city council about 10 years ago, but wasn’t elected.

She decided to run this year after serving on the planning commission for nine years. She currently serves as secretary of the commission.

“I’ve gained a lot of experience sitting on the commission and have been involved in the community,” she explained. “I feel that (community involvement) along with my planning experience would make me a better candidate.”

Boyles is an active member of the community. She is a catechist and Eucharistic minister at St. Mary’s Queen of Creation church and serves as assistant cheer coach for the Anchor Bay Tars Youth Football League.

“I’m enchanted by (the city’s) uniqueness,” she added. “I’m a friend of the Farmers Market and involved in the church. I’m really enchanted by the Christian community as a whole. Gathering with different churches together really binds the community together.”

Boyles is an associate member of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 122, located on 24 Mile Road. She also attends county and state conventions in her role as a Republican Precinct Delegate.

Boyles attended Macomb Community College and Ross Medical Education Center, where she became a certified medical assistant. She has been employed by Beaumont Health System for 21 years and currently works as a medical records specialist in the surgical center at Beaumont Medical Center in Macomb Township.

“I’m very committed to the community and very committed to the city and its citizens,” she noted. “In decisions that I have made or votes cast on the commission, I try to take the information in and make the best decision for the citizens. I am committed to people of all ages and groups and I try to service them all.”

Check back with New Baltimore-Chesterfield Township Patch throughout the week for profiles on the other City Council candidates--Jim Morisette Sr. and Karl Rutledge--running in the Aug. 2 primary election.