election

On second take, Benton Harbor voters approve “vital” operating millages

Lindsey Smith — Wed, 08 May 2013 02:31:57 +0000

People in Benton Harbor voted overwhelmingly to raise property taxes to support city services in Tuesday’s election.

That’s after voters rejected a similar set of proposals last November. The city is already running in the red and the millage represents around 20-percent of the city’s income.

“You just can’t see me dancing in the streets on the radio,” Mayor James Hightower said over the phone Tuesday night, “It’s a great day in Benton Harbor.”

Debbie Dingell decides against 2014 US Senate run

Associated Press — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 19:54:33 +0000

Democratic national committeewoman Debbie Dingell says she has decided not to run for the U.S. Senate seat that opened up with Carl Levin's impending retirement.

Stateside: Dark money in campaign funding

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 21:46:30 +0000

There is an ongoing trend of furtive campaign funding in Michigan.

Rich Robinson, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said voters should demand transparency from their elected officials and their funding.

Robinson called this undisclosed funding “dark money.”

And the two biggest sources of it are, according to Robinson, Michigan’s Democrat and Republican parties.

“My basic premise is that people don’t spend large amounts of money in politics for philanthropic motives. Essentially, they’re advancing their own interests in politics,” he said.

According to Robinson, citizens have a right to know where the money comes from.

New law requires Michigan voters to affirm US citizenship

The Associated Press — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Voters must declare they are qualified to vote before getting a ballot under a bill signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder.

The Republican governor signed legislation Friday containing that requirement and other election law changes.

Representatives for Snyder and Secretary of State Ruth Johnson say the leaders worked out concerns that led to his veto of similar legislation this summer. The new law doesn't include a citizen check-off box on ballot applications, which had been barred by a federal judge in the November election.

Stateside: Keeping an eye on China's elections

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 21:34:31 +0000

Communist Party leaders are meeting in Beijing for an important shuffling of China’s leadership, including the selection of a new president.

Tom Watkins is the former state school superintendent and has been closely involved in building ties between Michigan and China. Tonight, he’s flying to Beijing to be present for the selection of China’s new president.

Flint voters set to decide property tax hike on Tuesday

Steve Carmody — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:59:07 +0000

The man leading the ‘vote Yes’ campaign is optimistic Flint voters will approve a big millage increase on Tuesday.

Pastor Timothy Stokes says “at the end of the day, everyone’s concerned about public safety.”

Stokes is the chairman of the ‘Yes to Police and Fire Protection Committee’. The group has been campaigning for the passage of a six mill property tax increase that’s on Tuesday’s ballot.

The final push to election day in Michigan

The Associated Press — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 16:59:00 +0000

DETROIT (AP) - Michigan Democrats and Republicans are doing everything they can to make sure as many of their fellow state residents as possible show up at the polls.

GOP spokeswoman Kelsey Knight says campaign staffers and volunteers are knocking on 200,000 doors and making 500,000 calls in this final week alone to encourage voters to show up. And to vote Republican, of course.

Democrats are doing the same, but they didn't provide specific numbers.

It's not clear what voter turnout will be like in the state, though.

GOTV time: Michigan political campaigns shift into "Get Out The Vote" mode

Steve Carmody — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 05:01:01 +0000

Political campaigns in Michigan are turning their focus to getting out the vote.

In campaign offices across Michigan, a small army of volunteers is busy calling voters just to confirm who they’re voting for.

In the basement of the Michigan Republican Party headquarters, volunteers use telephones which automatically dial the telephone numbers of eligible Michigan voters.

When someone answers the phone, the volunteer’s first question is “If you are going to vote…are you going to vote for Mitt Romney…or Barack Obama?”

Foreclosure numbers tumble again in Michigan (but a September spike is possible)

Steve Carmody — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 05:01:01 +0000

Michigan’s home foreclosure rate continues to trend lower, but a spike in foreclosure filings may be coming this month.

August marked 22 straight months that Michigan’s year over year foreclosure numbers declined.

In fact, the number of foreclosure filings in Michigan in August fell 41 percent compared to August a year ago. Also, none of the 20 U.S. cities with the highest home foreclosure rates are located in Michigan.

But Daren Bloomquist with Realty Trac says there are signs that the trend may soon end.

Biden rallies labor workers in Detroit

Kate Wells — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 20:16:41 +0000

Vice President Joe Biden took the spotlight at Detroit’s Labor Day parade. It's one more sign that the auto bailout is shaping up as a central theme of the Obama-Biden campaign.

Last week Republican nominee Mitt Romney asked Americans if they were better off today than four years ago. Now comes part of the Democrats’ response: you sure are if you’re an auto worker.

Democrats call for House inquiry into actions by Schmidt, Bolger

Rick Pluta — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 19:06:09 +0000

Democrats are calling for a special inquiry into whether House Speaker Jase Bolger and state Representative Roy Schmidt are guilty of ethics violations. A report by the Kent County prosecutor determined the two did not break any laws as they plotted Schmidt’s switch to the Republican Party, but the report says they did attempt to undermine the integrity of an election.

Their scheme included recruiting and paying a fake Democrat who would appear on the ballot against Schmidt. The idea was, the decoy would not campaign.

Commentary: When the law is an ass

Jack Lessenberry — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 14:16:52 +0000

If you need proof that our system is sometimes irrational, consider this: Westland, a mostly blue-collar Wayne County community of about 80,000 people, is short of cash, like most cities these days. But Westland is apparently going to have to spend $60,000 to hold an unexpected and virtually meaningless primary election on a Wednesday in September.

This is the first step in replacing Thaddeus McCotter, the congressman whose bizarre meltdown ended with his sudden resignation last week. Not to replace him for a full-term, but for just the few weeks remaining in his current one.

Commentary: Drowning in Democracy

Jack Lessenberry — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:51:21 +0000

I hate to sound alarmist, but if all the proposals whose backers submitted signatures make it on the ballot and are approved by the voters, the result will destroy representative democracy in Michigan. Not only that, our economy will probably be destroyed as well, and we will enter fully into the era of government of special interests, by special interests, and for special interests.

Voters in Genesee and Oakland Counties fill vacant state house seats

Steve Carmody — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:07:04 +0000

Tuesday’s election did not change the balance of power in the state house.

Two vacant state house seats were up for grabs.

Voters in Genesee County filled a vacant state house seat on Tuesday. The seat was made vacant last fall by a union-backed campaign that succeeded in recalling Republican Paul Scott.

Last night, Republican Joe Graves defeated Democrat Steve Losey to serve out the final year of Scott’s unfinished term.

Graves says his message of jobs lead to the victory.

How often should the Lansing city council meet?

Steve Carmody — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:25:00 +0000

The Lansing City Council will talk about the benefits of meeting less often tonight.

The city charter requires the council to meet 50 times a year. City Clerk Chris Swope says, with that schedule, the council is wasting money.

“It’s not just a matter of that cost but…we should be more efficient. People shouldn’t have to watch 50 times a year to keep an eye on what the city council is doing," says Swope.

Low voter turnout in off-year elections

Jennifer White, Jack Lessenberry and Zoe Clark — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:45:04 +0000

Local elections are underway across the state today. Among other votes in Michigan, two mayors of large cities will be elected, Detroiters will vote on changes to their city charter, and a state representative is up for recall. But, despite the fact that there are important issues on today's ballots, very few voters will actually make it to the polls.

Michigan Radio's Jennifer White spoke with Jack Lessenberry, Michigan Radio's Political Analyst, about why voter turnout is historically low in local elections that are held in so-called "off-years."

Local elections take place next week as fewer tax dollars flow to Michigan's cities and towns

Steve Carmody — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 05:01:01 +0000

Jackson, like other Michigan cities, will hold an election next week. And like in other cities, those elected will face the reality of how they will choose to spend a declining amount of tax dollars.

Both candidates for mayor of Jackson are realtors. And both bring a ‘realtor’s optimism’ when they talk about their city’s future.

Time running out for recall drives against state lawmakers

Laura Weber — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 20:16:06 +0000

Recall campaigns against the state’s elected officials have until the end of the week to hand in petition signatures to be considered for the November ballot. There have been more than two dozen recall campaigns against Republican lawmakers, and just three against Democratic lawmakers.

Two of those lawmakers – State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer and state Representative Barb Byrum – are in the clear after an elections panel in Ingham County rejected petitions language against them.

May 3rd Election

Jack Lessenberry — Wed, 04 May 2011 15:34:34 +0000

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/michigan/local-michigan-966993.mp3

The voters sent an important message yesterday, to themselves and their communities, and indirectly to the politicians in Lansing. It’s a message the governor and legislature need to hear.

Specifically, the people said that they are willing to pay more for services important to them. They aren’t necessarily happy with the way things are going or with the people running things. In West Michigan area, they tossed out a boatload of school board members.

Yet the same voters renewed a number of millage proposals, often by wide margins. Sometimes they even voted to increase their taxes, when they were convinced services were necessary.

Grand Rapids narrowly voted to increase a rapid transit millage. Hudsonville voted millions to upgrade the school system.

This trend was especially strong in Southeast Michigan. Struggling, older blue-collar suburbs like Ferndale and Hazel Park have been hard hit by declining property values and a steep drop in state revenue sharing.

Yesterday, they asked their hard-pressed citizens for new money to keep up services.

These aren’t people who have a lot of money, and many no longer have jobs. But they said yes. In tiny Clawson, the people voted more money for their library, a year after the voters in the neighboring and more affluent city of Troy voted to close theirs.

By far, the biggest story was in Southfield, a city of office towers and mostly well-maintained split-level and ranch homes north of Detroit. Seventy percent of its seventy thousand residents are African-American -- mostly middle-class families.

City leaders laid it on the line. They needed a five mill property tax increase, mostly for police and fire services, and they needed it now. Otherwise, they would have to lay off half the city’s police and firemen. Residents knew what that could mean.

They voted the additional taxes by a margin of five to one. Now, these results do not mean that the voters are in a wildly spending mood. They seemed discerning. In Flint, they voted money to keep policemen on the job, but turned down a request for new funds to reopen it the city jail. In blue-collar Garden City, home of iconic rocker Mitch Ryder, officials asked for a twelve-mill increase. Voters said that was too much. They also were reluctant to combine services, such as police and fire. They said no to that in cities as different as Jackson and Harper Woods.

In this morning's news...

Zoe Clark — Wed, 04 May 2011 12:06:29 +0000

Election Results

Voters went to the polls across Michigan yesterday to decide a variety of issues, from school millages, to funding for public safety, transportation, and libraries.

In Flint, voters renewed a millage that pays for more than a dozen police officers. Flint has struggled with a rising violent crime rate for the past few years. City police have investigated about ninety homicides in the last sixteen months, Steve Carmody reports. But, as Carmody notes, “Flint voters narrowly rejected a millage request that would have reopened the city jail. Budget problems have meant the jail has only been used sporadically since the late 1980’s.”

Lansing city residents voted no on a millage that would have kept public safety services from facing deep cuts. The millage would have increased city residents’ property taxes about four percent to raise about $8.5 million over five years, Sarah Alvarez reports. Lansing faces a $20 million dollar budget shortfall next year.

Voters in Washtenaw County passed a special education millage renewal in yesterday's election. That means local school districts and charter schools in the county will receive about $14 million dollars for special education services. According to unofficial election results released by Washtenaw County, 76% of voters approved the millage renewal.

Supporters of a millage to fund and expand bus services in the Grand Rapids metro area celebrated a narrow victory last night, Lindsey Smith reports. More than 34,000 people cast ballots and the millage passed by just 136 votes. The bus system, known as The Rapid, will now be able to serve riders later at night, on the weekends, and more frequently during the workday.

Jackson voters decided not merge their city police and fire departments. The proposal to create a single public safety department lost by a wide margin.