How
Gary Woronchak
became
a State Representative and
then
a Wayne County Commissioner
Gary Woronchak
was elected
Dearborn's State Representative in November of 1998.
He had run for
the office earlier, in 1996, after a long career
as editor of the Dearborn Press & Guide. He lost
in the 1996 election to then-incumbent Rep. Agnes Dobronski.
With Dobronski
unable to run again in 1998 because of term limits, Gary ran for and
won the open seat. He began a 2-year
term in January of 1999.
Gary won a second term in November 2000. That term began in January of 2001.
He was unopposed in his election for a third term, which began in January of 2003.
Gary was unable to seek re-election to the state House in 2004 due to term limits. He ran for the for the Wayne County Commission, winning the seat that represents Dearborn, Allen Park and Melvindale. He won re-election to a second term in 2006.
During the Jan. 2001 swearing-in ceremony for his second term, State Rep. Gary Woronchak is joined by Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Weaver (left) and his wife, Vivian.
Gary Woronchak, 53, was raised in Dearborn, educated in Dearborn, has raised his own family in Dearborn and has spent most of his career working in Dearborn.
Gary was raised on Alice Street on the city's southwest side, where his father, Alex, a Ford Motor Co. retiree, still resides.
Gary's education was entirely Dearborn-based. He attended Whitmore-Bolles Elementary and Edison Junior High, graduated in 1973 from Edsel Ford High School, attended Henry Ford Community College and then graduated with a B.A. degree in political science from the University of Michigan-Dearborn in 1978.
Professionally, Gary spent nearly 25 years in the newspaper business. Prior to his election to the state Legislature in 1998, he was the managing editor of The Daily Tribune, a 20,000-circulation daily newspaper based in Royal Oak and serving southeast Oakland County. He had held that position since May 1997. But his professional roots are deep in Dearborn. He was editor of the Dearborn Press & Guide, a twice-weekly newspaper serving Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, for 16 years (until April 1996) and worked at the newspaper for 23 years.
Also, he was host of Mayor Michael Guido's monthly call-in cable TV show, "The Mayor's Forum," for 10 years, and before that hosted "Capitol Connection," an issues-oriented call-in cable TV show with then-Rep. Bill Runco.
Gary is married to Vivian, a controller for a Downriver manufacturing firm. Their daughter, Diana Longsdorf, is a graduate of Henry Ford Community College; her husband is Mark Longsdorf. Gary and Vivian own a home on McMillan Street in northwest Dearborn.
Gary's sister, Suzanne Sena, is a news anchor for the Fox News Channel.
Gary is a member of the Dearborn Optimist Club and the Dearborn Elks.