Teri Brinker (Sterling Heights City Council At-large, Michigan, candidate 2025)

Teri Brinker

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Nonpartisan

Candidate, Sterling Heights City Council At-large

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 5, 2025

Education

High school

Warren High School

Personal

Profession

Telecommunications

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Teri Brinker ran for election to the Sterling Heights City Council At-large in Michigan. She was on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.

Brinker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Teri Brinker provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on July 11, 2025:

• Birth place: Mt Clemens, Michigan
• High school: Warren High School
• Gender: Female
• Profession: Telecommunications
• Incumbent officeholder: No
• Campaign slogan: A Resident for the residents
• Campaign Facebook

Elections

General election

General election for Sterling Heights City Council At-large (6 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Sterling Heights City Council At-large on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Daniel Acciacca (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Teri Brinker (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Deanna Koski (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Rick McKiddy (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Robert Mijac (Nonpartisan)
		Michael V. Radtke Jr. (Nonpartisan)
		Jackie Ryan (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Maria G. Schmidt (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Liz Sierawski (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Moira Smith (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Henry Yanez (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Barbara A. Ziarko (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Sterling Heights City Council At-large (6 seats)

The following candidates ran in the primary for Sterling Heights City Council At-large on August 5, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Daniel Acciacca (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Teri Brinker (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Deanna Koski (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Rick McKiddy (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Robert Mijac (Nonpartisan)
		Michael V. Radtke Jr. (Nonpartisan)
		Jackie Ryan (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Maria G. Schmidt (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Liz Sierawski (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Moira Smith (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Johnnie S. Townsend (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Henry Yanez (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Barbara A. Ziarko (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Brinker in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Teri Brinker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Brinker's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have lived in Sterling Heights for almost my entire life. I had to move to Warren for 2 years because at the time they had a residency requirement to work there. Once it was lifted, I moved back. I attended Central Michigan University and Macomb Community College for legal assistance. I have been working in the city public sector most of my life. I worked in the City of Warren personnel dept as a co-op in high school and college, a planning aide and recently retired after 27 years from the Warren police department as a 911/police/fire/trainer dispatch Supervisor. I am so glad you reached out. I am not a politician, I am just a resident that loves the city I grew up in.

I think that my experience working in the public sector will be very beneficial, especially working for the 3rd largest city in Michigan. I have the knowledge and experience to help ensure that we have the best resources and staffing for the police and fire department.

I am also a homeowner, now a retired homeowner, and if they keep raising our property taxes, they are going to price is out of our homes.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am a resident, not a Politician. I will work for what is right for the City and it's residents, not for my own or a political party's agenda.
• I am the only one running that has worked in the public sector my entire career. Having 27 years experience in public service, I will ensure our Police and Fire departments have the best equipment and staff. I will be a great advocate for City employees having been one.
• I will work to stop the useless spending of our tax dollars and make the City Council more responsible to the residents. I will do my best to implement better ways to make sure residents are informed on what decisions are being made in the City and give them a bigger voice. They should be able to interact with council during the meetings and get their concerns addressed instead of dismissed.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about our residents voices being heard and stopping the wasteless spending and lowering our property taxes.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, humility and integrity. Elected officials need to remember just that, they are elected to do a job for their constituents, not for their own interests or the interests of their donors.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am a very loyal and passionate person. I am also a very strong person that cannot be bullied or bought.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Listen to your residents!!! And make sure every tax dollar is being utilized to benefit the City as a whole, not just for the few.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like people to think that I had a heart of gold. I enjoy helping others. That is why I loved being a 911 Dispatcher and Past President of the local VFW Auxiliary Post 6756.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The Challenger explosion. I was around 12 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was at Mr. Bulky's in Oakland mall. I was there for a year until I started co-op at the City of Warren Personnel department in High School.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

I will survive

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Dealing with loss. I have lost some very important people in my life, some at an early age. That is always so mething difficult for anyone to bear.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

I have not asked for any endorsements. I don't want to be obligated to anyone.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

I feel very strongly about financial transparency and government accountability. All records should be available for residents to view. It's not the elected officials money, it's the taxpayers money and they should know exactly how it is being spent.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Sterling Heights City Council At-large

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