MI-Dems: We Just Had an Interesting State Convention
Mon Aug 28, 2006 at 07:18:48 PM PDT
I spent most of the weekend in Detroit at the Michigan Democratic State Convention and the rest of it catching up on lost sleep.
In a nutshell, parties hold conventions in August because our state constitution requires them to nominate candidates for the following 13 offices:
Three statewide offices: Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State; and
Two seats for each of the Supreme Court of Michigan, the University of Michigan Board of Regents, the Michigan State University Board of Trustees, the Wayne State University Board of Governors, and the State Board of Education.
I have no idea why the 1963 Constitutional Convention came up with this Rube Goldberg contraption, but that's what we have to work with.
Most of the time, the party elders draw up a slate of candidates before the convention, and the delegates rubber-stamp them by acclamation. But Michigan Democrats had not just one, but two, floor fights over statewide issues.
The first was over the Attorney General nomination. The establishment favorite was M. Scott Bowen, a former district judge from Grand Rapids with a solid resume and fund-raising ability, and who stepped down from the bench in the expectation that he'd get the nomination. However, a Detroit attorney named Amos Williams with quite a story to tell--decorated Vietnam veteran, former Detroit police officer, and now a trial lawyer--had other ideas. He worked the state for months and picked up endorsements from county and district organizations.
By the time the convention opened, the labor leaders who largely call the shots counted noses, realized that Williams was in the lead, and put him on their slate. Bowen, however, decided to stay in the race--he had nothing to lose, really--and we had a roll call vote. Roll calls are rare, and the people who ran the convention seemingly didn't anticipate one. The hundreds of extra delegates who showed up for Sunday's vote filled the hall almost to capacity, and the 15 congressional districts were forced to hold impromptu caucuses on the floor itself. The party also has a proportional voting system, which produced strange vote totals like 195.2 to 6.87. By my unofficial count, Williams was ahead, 1,750 to 398, when Bowen stepped up to the podium and moved to make the nomination unanimous.
The Williams-Bowen race created a domino effect on the Secretary of State race. Mary Waters, a term-limited state representative from Detroit, expected to be the nominee, but both she and Williams are African Americans and the party establishment threw its support behind Carmella Sarbaugh, the Macomb County Clerk. Waters refused to drop out, and there was another roll call. The vote was almost as lopsided as that for AG--I had Sabaugh in front, 1,991 to 542--and was followed immediately by the traditional end-of-convention unity tableau.
A few observations about the convention:
The outcome of the AG race was a surprise, but it wasn't a real case of "crashing the gate." Michigan didn't experience a big invasion of newcomers in the 2006 primary, and any effort to remake the state party will take several election cycles.
The stereotypical delegate is still a white, middle-aged man or woman who carries a union card. There were a considerable number of African Americans but not many Asian Americans, Latinos, and Arab and Muslim Americans. Notably lacking: young people. That might be because state conventions are usually scripted, run by party lifers, and two days of political inside baseball.
Despite the dominance of old-timers, most of the delegates seemed adamantly opposed to the Iraq war and in favor of single-payer health care and a woman's right to choose (many delegates found Bowen, a self-described "pro-lifer," unacceptable for that reason).
The star of the convention was Governor Jennifer Granholm. The Republicans attacked her as a "failed actress" (and for having been born in Canada!), but she's a dynamic speaker and first-rate campaigner. In her speech to the convention on Saturday, she read off an A-to-Z list of companies that have come to Michigan or expanded--more than 50 in all--and brought the delegates to their feet.
Does any other state have two talk-show hosts running for the U.S. House? In my district, Tony Trupiano is taking on dweeby rock-star wannabee who sponsors extreme legislation Congressman Thaddeus McCotter, and in the 9th District, Nancy Skinner is challenging Congressman Joe Knollenberg.
Best quotes of the weekend:
"Look around you. This is the world according to Republican values."--Senator Debbie Stabenow.
"Dick DeVos and George W. Bush are two peas in a diamond-studded pond."--Governor Granholm.
"It's a great time to be in Detroit. The Tigers are the best team in baseball and the Lions are still undefeated in regular season play."--Senator Carl Levin.
"We will fight for economic policies that lift all boats, not just the yachts."--Senator Levin.
"I don't care if you don't like me."--Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
"I had a dream that I can count."--Scott Bowen.
"We're done playing defense, folks."--Tony Trupiano.
"I'll give the governor an Attorney General who will guard her flanks and watch her back instead of lusting after her seat."--Amos Williams.
Here's a link to Sharon RB's photo album from the convention, and a link to the Quicktime version of Governor Granholm's speech to the convention.
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