An Open Ballot

The private ballot is really about protecting against intimidation. I support the rights of those who choose to keep their voting private, but this is not a personal concern of mine. Being out in the open about who I will vote for and who I endorse is an attempt to promote political discourse. So right or wrong, here are my picks:

For President I endorse Barack Obama.
According to the statistically oriented poll-watching blog Five Thirty Eight gives Obama a greater than 95% chance of winning the election, and in Michigan Obama is up by over 15%. But in recent days Obama has slipped in the national polls (less so in the polls of the key states he needs to win.) The risk of McCain winning is unacceptable. So in Michigan I will still vote for Obama. I am confident enough about Obama in Michigan that I plan to go to Ohio to volunteer on election day.
Cynthia Mckinney has a less militaristic foreign policy, is generally more progressive, but she will not get elected nor will she even get 5% of the vote which would give the Green Party campaign matching funds. Most polls show her at 1%
Ralph Nader has polled as well as 6% but after jumping parties I lost interest in him. I don’t see an argument for building the Natural Law Party.

The Democrats in congress did not push legislation with teeth to end the war in Iraq. This was not the only place where they did not come through.

For Michigan Rep to the US Senate I endorse Harley G Mikkelson of the Green party. Carl Levin will win. Even in the very unlikely event that he didn’t the Dems will still control the senate. We may be reminded that Levin heads the Armed Services committee, but if Levin lost, Kennedy might assume the lead of this committee. That would probably count as progress.

For House of Representative for Michigan’s 15th district I am reminded of the slogan “don’t vote it only encourages them.” Like Levin, John Dingell will win, the district was drawn by Republicans to concentrate Democratic voters in one area. His performance has been so so on foreign policy, and he is a bit too close to the auto industry which is Michigan’s surrogate for the oil industry. Whether to vote for the Green party candidate Aimee Smith is a more difficult question. She is a grassroots activist, I know several activists who find her to be a difficult person to work with. I believe that her often antagonistic approach to activism has been counter productive in Ann Arbor’s progressive community. My tendency is to vote for policy regardless of personality. She holds a pro Palestinian position, and this is a position that has no voice in congress I understand those who share my position on Dingell but still can’t vote for Smith. In the end I will vote for her, I only wish this would encourage her to change her approach towards other activists (not her positions on issues).

I will vote for Matt Erard, the Green candidate for the Michigan state legislature 53rd district. This is a hard one to call as Rebekah Warren is a progressive Democrat. But since she won 2 years ago with 80% of the vote, a little competition from an old school socialist might be healthy. Erard calls for state ownership of all major industries. This is not exactly how I would approach building socialism. My point is to build the Green Party when possible. Erard’s campaign shows that Greens can run “fusion candidates.” Erard is also running as a Socialist Party candidate although they don’t have ballot access.

Vote tallies in the smaller statewide races are what determine if a third party stays on the ballot. So voting Green Party is important in terms of maintaining an independent political voice in the electoral system. I will also vote for Libertarians some times. I would vote for Natural Law Party candidates if there were any at this level. The US Taxpayers Party and their candidates often represent a fundamentalist christian political perspective that I can’t vote for.

For State Board of Education, I endorse Dwain Reynolds III, the Green party candidate
There is nothing exciting in either of the Democratic Party candidates, but I will pick one at random (League of Women Voter web page has some info on each of them)

For Board of Regents of the University of Michigan I endorse Ellis Boal the Green Party candidate and Denise Ilitch from the Democratic Party. Ilitch acknowledges the importance of renewable energy development.


For Board of Trustees of Michigan State University I endorse Therese Marie Storm, the Green Party candidate and I will vote for Joseph Rosenquist, the Libertarian Party candidate. I’m not excited about Rosenquist but I think there is a place for Libertarians in politics, and he comes across as less corporate oriented than some of his comrades.

For Board of Governors of Wayne State University I endorse Margaret Guttshall, the Green Party candidate and I will vote for Gary S. Pollard, Democrat. Poland seems to understand the importance of class issues regarding who gets a college education.

County office races are predominately unopposed. My position in such races is that if there is no choice there is no democracy. I think that this is in fact the case, but because I believe in having a vision of the future I would like I use the write-in option. I pick candidates from friends or people I know who exemplify the qualities I would like in that office holder. Since I have not asked anyone if I could promote them I will not. Two county races I will say something about are Sheriff and my county commissioner the 10th district.

The Sheriff race is a two candidate race, Democrat and Republican. I endorse Jerry Clayton the Democratic Party candidate. Some of my readers know that I ran for this office as a write-in candidate in 1996 and as a Green in 2000. 2000 was the year that Minzey the Democrat beat Ron Sheible the standing Sheriff and Republican. I have often said that my biggest regret is that I did not take more votes from Minzey. Minzey may well have run to dismantle the study on racial profiling and traffic tickets that Sheible was conducting. Clayton is the other end of the spectrum from Minzey, he understands the problem of racial profiling, and we can anticipate that he will work to stop it.

Finally at the county level, I invite anyone in the 10th district of Washtenaw County to write me in for county commissioner. No offence to Conan Smith, he is a progressive Democrat. But there is the issue of democracy requiring choices. Of the available unopposed offices the county commissioner is the only office I would be interested in and willing to hold (still no expectations of winning).

All right turn your ballot over

For Mayor of Ann Arbor I endorse John Hieftje. He is very popular in Ann Arbor,(the Republicans know this and aren’t wasting any resources running against him). Over all he is doing a good job and deserves to keep at it.

In ward 5 I will vote for Carsten Hohnke (what is it with these candidates with multiple adjacent consonants). I wish there were a Green Party candidate to vote for here. In my opinion, at this point in the development of the Green Party this is a more appropriate level for Greens to run than congress or the presidency.

Then there are the judges:

For Supreme Court I endorse Diane Marie Hathaway. Cliff Taylor is the incumbent and is a right wing extremist. Hathaway is progressive and has a good chance of winning.

For the 22nd District Circuit Court, I support Douglas Shapiro and Donald Shelton (when you go the poles don’t just remember initials as all three candidates initials are D.S.) a vote for Shapiro is a message to the incumbents that they don’t just get a free ride. Shelton is the better of the incumbents. At one point he presided over second gay parent adoptions until this practice was stopped by a higher judge, Shelton deserves credit for trying.

Among the unopposed judges I generally continue my practice of writing in alternatives. This includes when there are 2 candidates running for 2 spots. But I make an exception for Nancy Francis, not only is she a fine and fare judge but I still appreciate the time when she was a legal aid lawyer and she defended me and others in a non-violent anti war demonstration civil disobedience case. Politics has its favors.

For the 15th district cort I endorse Chris Easthope. although his opponent has gotten some progressive support, his opponent has worked as a prosecuting attorney, meaning he's too friendly with the police and he is likely to see cases through the eyes of a prosecute. Easthope will be more balanced. He has progressive credentials, He supported the building of the homeless shelter when running for city counsel in the ward where it was planned to be built, in other is not a NIMBY.

One can vote for up to three candidates for the Board of Trustees for Washtenaw Community College I endorse and recommend voting for two:

Graeme Rogerson
Most importantly he refers to partnership with the alternative energy industry. He is a recent graduate of WCC. Nonetheless he has a master’s degree from another institution
He also has a UAW endorsement

David E Rutledge
Is presently on the board, He appears to be community oriented, and he carries an AFL CIO endorsement.

Now don’t forget the proposals.

State Proposal 1 is for medical marijuana. This proposal receives my full endorsement and deserves unequivocal support. There are many medical conditions where marijuana can be beneficial. Some will point to the existence of marinol a drug derived from marijuana but if you’ve ever talked to those with experience with the drug it is clear that this drug is far harsher than marijuana.

State Proposal 2 expands stem cell research. Again, a clear Yes. If anything it is too limited in its scope, but it is a move in the right direction. Even though medical science is too often controlled by Big Pharm, this science is important and should be allowed to progress.

County Proposal A will get my vote, although the wording is funny, a renewal of an increase comes down to continuing to tax for park services and development at the present level.

City Proposal B gets my endorsement on 2 counts, first it provides greater protection for park land, but an additional benefit is that it promotes a more participatory democracy.

Finally Proposal H Washtenaw Community College Mileage Restoration is also a tax renewal. I endorse this proposal. Community Colleges are wonderful institutions; Washtenaw Community College is a fine example of this. For working class people in an economy as messed up as ours is WCC can be an essential life line.