The Place Where Ludington Talks
November 2014 Local Election Guide
The election is on Tuesday November 4, and I can't recall an even-year election cycle in Michigan of recent years that has been so disappointing to the very concept of democracy. There is no presidential contest, the extent of the two state referendums deal with the hot topic of wolf hunting, and most positions are either uncontested, lack meaningful issues, or offer no stark contrast. Yet, the Ludington Torch recommends that you go exercise your right to vote, even if it is to vote for the candidates you dislike least.
This thread is to help preview and help Ludington area people decide who is the best candidate to vote for, given your own unique way of tabulating who will be best from your viewpoint-- or if you are altruistic, who is the best for the community in general. Our own biases will be minimized in our presentation, and the reader is welcomed to add their own constructive opinions and notes in the comments below. Links are provided to the candidates home or issues page so as to provide the reader further reference.
Issues:
State Proposal 14-1, Authorizing wolf hunting and 14-2, Authorizing a Natural Resources Commission power to designate wolves and other animals as game without legislative authority. This link gives some of the pros and cons of this question which effectively has 97% of Michigan's population decide on what is effectively an upper peninsula conundrum.
Proposal One is largely dependent on how you feel about hunting wolves, whereas Two is more tricky. Do we really want an appointive board of a state agency making the choices of what is game and what is not? Remember the MI DNR agency that tried to make domesticated pigs illegal ? Such committees and boards are unaccountable to anyone but their appointers. Vote no on Prop. 2.
Candidates, Federal and State
US Senate:
Carl Levin's seat is contested by Terry Lynn Land- R and Gary Peters- D, plus Green, US Taxpayers, and Libertarian Party candidates. Peters has a two digit lead in the recent polls and is the choice if you want a true replacement for Levin. Land would balance the state's representation in the US Senate, and be a change.
US 1st District:
Democrat Jerry Cannon goes against incumbent Republican Dan Benishek along with a Libertarian and Green Party candidate. This one should be interesting, Cannon sounds like a conservative Democrat with vast military and police experience who may take some of the base of Doctor Dan.
The Libertarian Loel Gnadt(left)would be my choice just on name alone, not to mention his vast experience with lathes.
US 2nd District: Incumbent Bill Huizenga- R faces Dean Vanderstelt- D plus a Libertarian and US Taxpayer candidate. "Our government must address climate change now" is one of Vanderstelt's key issues during this significantly cool year in Michigan. If you think so too, use your frozen fingers to darken his oval.
Michigan Governor: Incumbent Republican Rick "One Tough Nerd" Snyder faces Democrat challenger Mark Schauer, and Libertarian, US Taxpayer's and Green candidates. Snyder is far from an ideal governor, but Schauer offers fiscally vague policies which promise less taxes and more handouts, and seems to exaggerate on the numbers for Snyder.
Michigan Attorney General: Mark Totten- D faces incumbent Bill Schuette- R for the top attorney spot. Schuette has shown himself to be a politician who captures soundbites for himself and generally protects his own brethren; Totten commits to bringing balance and professionalism back to the position.
Michigan Secretary of State: Incumbent Republican Ruth Johnson faces Democratic challenger Godfrey Dillard. If you believe your SOS office is functioning better than four years ago, vote for Ruth, if you feel more needs to be done, vote for Godfrey.
35th District State Senate: Glenn Lottie- D faces incumbent Darwin Booher- R for this district which covers several counties directly to the north and east of Mason. Regionalism may matter as Glenn is from Manistee County, Darwin is from Evart. There seems to be no big issues of contention which should favor the incumbent, as well as it being a Republican territory.
101st District State Representative: Incumbent Republican Ray Franz faces Democrat challenger Tom Stobie in what has been among the most annoying campaigns of 2014. Every day for the last month, if you have a mailing address you have been getting glossy parcels touting or deriding either candidate depending on the sender. You have probably heard of the Stobie scandal involving him using his school E-mail for political fundraising. Franz has no comparable boner on his part, but has been regularly demonized for taking money from schools, when such rhetoric is misleading at best. Hold your nose and vote for the incumbent who doesn't miss a vote and keeps active.
Michigan Supreme Court/ Court of Appeals: Two eight year positions are open on the MSC, with five candidates including incumbent Brian Zahra, Richard Bernstein (below), Doug Dern, Bill Murphy, and James Robert Redford. Bernstein would be a great choice if you believe justice is blind (he is legally blind) and could use more defense attorneys on the court to ensure justice is served. If you value judicial experience, vote for Zahra and Murphy, if you want fresh opinions vote for Dern and Bernstein.
Michigan Board of Education, MSU Trustees, Wayne State Board, and UM Regents: On each of these academic boards there are two openings and 10, 11, 11, and 9 candidates respectively. Vote for the two that best suit your political philosophy, as most parties have two representatives therefrom.
Local Candidates
51st Circuit Court (Mason, Lake Counties): Judge Richard I. Cooper's forced retirement has led to a nonpartisan battle between former Republican Prosecutor Susan Sniegowski and former Democrat/current prosecutor Paul Spaniola. Unfortunately, the softball debates between the two before the primary and general election haven't uncovered much about how these two would be different judges, which they probably would be.
Spaniola has the edge on experience, but Sniegowski has the edge on judicial temperament and fairness. A victory by Spaniola would leave a vacancy in the prosecutor's office, which would have to be filled because he didn't resign before running. If he loses, then the circuit court looks to become very interesting in the next couple of years, as she will be the judge for most of his prosecutions. Let's not forget their testy exchanges back when they were running for prosecutor back in 2008.
19th Circuit Court (Manistee, Benzie Counties): Another Judge retires, and two locally raised attorneys vie for the post, David Thompson and George V Saylor III. Thompson bills himself as having the right experience, Saylor would rather make us cry and extort money from the Ludington taxpayers. Saylor has the wrong experiences.
Mason County Commissioners: All open seats were decided in the primaries except for:
4th District: Incumbent Republican Curt Vanderwall faces Democrat Ron Smith (no website). Anybody that can advertise as Mole man would have my loyalty, unfortunately I wish he was more of a mole for the people on the county board.
7th District: Democrat Aldon Maleckas takes on long term incumbent Republican hair-clipper Tom Posma. Maleckas' change in party fro the last election is no doubt geared to have him in the race until November. Aldon is the smart man and would serve the people of the rural district better, but must contend with Posma's seeming invulnerability.
Scottville City First Ward: Edward Hahn opposes incumbent Denise Dongvillo. Hahn has almost absolutely no internet presence at all which should cause you to vote for him if that fact impresses you. Otherwise, Denise's long term residency should give her a good advantage, absent any critical issue brought up by the challenger.
Democracy's Future?
The following contests are undisputed or the number of seats are equal to or smaller than the amount of candidates registered for the spot, most are incumbents:
Michigan Court of Appeals (2 spots/ 2 people), 79th District Court (1/1), Mason County Board (5/5), Custer: President (1/1), Clerk (1/1), Treasurer (1/0), Trustees (3/3)
Fountain: President, Clerk, Treasurer (1/1 each), Trustees (3/3)
Freesoil: Clerk, Treasurer (1/0 each),
Scottville: City Board (3/3)
Amber (2/2), Custer (1/1), PM (1/1), and Sherman Townships (1/1) have president and trustee uncontested races (none are contested).
Views: 425
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by XLFD on
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Be sure to exercise your right to vote today, and remember: your civic duty in keeping these officials accountable and their actions transparent is more than just going to your polling place every other year. Thanks to Willy and everyone else who is paying more than scant attention to the details and making informed choices.
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Permalink Reply by AQUAMAN on
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Looks like late nite results are still coming in. Snyder is keeping his good work going, so is Franz, and a host of other R's. Thanks for the input on the two proposals too X, looks like both are going down too. Finally, looks like Susan is winning against Paul too. First female judge we'll have around here, hope she can do it well, and with impartiality and fairness in the mix.
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Sniegowski had a commanding 53% to 47% lead with about 2/3 of the precincts in. Snyder for governor and Peters for Senate is also being called at this point. The calls are also saying that Republicans now have control of the US Senate.
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Sniegowski wins with 54% of the vote.
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David Thompson wins with 60% of the vote over ethically-challenged George V. Saylor III for the Circuit Court judgeship in Manistee and Benzie Counties.
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