Larry Kestenbaum wins in what the News calls “the only surprise in Washtenaw County races Tuesday.” His opponent blames “a lot of new voter registrations who probably have no idea of what the county clerk does.” They probably have access to sophisticated technology too.
The only surprise? really? Am I the only person who was totally floored by the passing of Prop 2?
Congrats Larry! I voted fer ya.
posted by Annie on November 3rd, 2004 at 4:10 pmCongratulations, Larry! You know, Peggy Haines used to come into our restaurant occasionally, and she always seemed pretty nice, but that strikes me as a rather snotty thing to say. Glad I voted for you, especially as it was one of the few bright spots of… well, let’s face it, everything else pretty much sucks, doesn’t it?
posted by Lazaro on November 3rd, 2004 at 5:05 pmSorry, Annie, but I believe Prop 2 was always polling at around 60%. I’m not sure who to blame for that. The fact is, we’re never going to change people’s minds about what’s “fair” in Michigan or what’s not. The people that voted yes for Prop 2 don’t really care about “fair” for homosexual couples (and heterosexual domestic partners for that matter with the wording) because, as one person told me today, “Gays have just as much of a right to marry someone of the opposite sex as we do!”
I think, perhaps, too much time was spent trying to appeal to them on a moral level, my parents, staunch Catholics, didn’t even KNOW that gay marriage is ALREADY illegal in Michigan and that this added amendment was just…well the icing on the icing already on the icing of the cake. More time should have been spent appealing to the “more government bad!” camp many of these people already belong to. That may have helped, at least decreased the spread. As it sits now, I am ashamed to be a part of Michigan.
The best quote I heard today was, “Well, I know it’s illegal, but we need something more than just a law, something that can’t be changed like an AMENDMENT.” Then again, I don’t know much, so I’m probably wrong.
But I did get 3 Republicans to vote for Kestenbaum. So go me I guess.
posted by beth on November 3rd, 2004 at 5:14 pmI do like Larry’s quote in the news–”he voters of Washtenaw County have rejected George W. Bush and along with that, a lot of Republicans. Peggy has the burden of having to bear Bush with her.” Will this election affect the willingness of people to run as Republicans in the County in future years? (I suspect no; as long as there’s straight-ticket voting, a Republican candidate will get more votes than a Republican-but-better-in-every-way Independant, even in an Anybody-But-Bush county.)
posted by Murph on November 3rd, 2004 at 5:28 pmSince Prop 2 received 58% of the vote, and Kerry 51% of the vote, there is some overlap between Prop 2 voters and Kerry voters. I wonder who those people are.
posted by tom on November 3rd, 2004 at 5:50 pmTom, to answer your question please refer to this article.
posted by beth on November 3rd, 2004 at 6:23 pmI’m curious as to whether Hieftje did better or worse than Kerry in A2.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on November 3rd, 2004 at 7:23 pmDon’t wonder, AAIO, find the answer!
Here are the breakdowns for AA City in the pres and mayoral races:
Bush: 22.30% (13,137 votes)
Kerry: 76.51% (45,062 votes)
Lumm: 31.23% (17,270 votes)
Hieftje: 68.77% (38,028 votes)
So we can safely hypothesize that there were a fair number of people who went into the voting booth and voted for Kerry at the top and Lumm much further down.
In AA City, Kestenbaum got 64.72% in his race and Haines got 35.28%.
Kerry and Hieftje won every AA City precinct. Kestenbaum lost only in 4-7 and 4-9, and in both of those by less than 50 votes.
posted by Dan on November 3rd, 2004 at 8:50 pmThanks Dan, I’d been curious about the pres. vs. mayor numbers in the city.
posted by Brandon on November 3rd, 2004 at 8:59 pmJeez.
As someone who watched gay couples celebrate the happiest days of their lives this summer at City Hall in Boston, it sickens me that this ban (or whatever they’re calling it) got passed all around the country. Is Massachusetts insane, or is it the rest of the country?
In any event, congrats Larry! You have no idea who I am, but I have ever confidence that you’ll do a great job and I’m awfully glad you got this.
posted by art student on November 3rd, 2004 at 10:10 pmI went to the Democracy for America meetup at Arbor Brewing Co. this eve. I didn’t think I could get myself off the couch today in my post-election torpor, but I went and I feel much better after having a beer with like-minded progressive folk.
Washtenaw County has nothing to feel bad about, we gave the margin of victory to Kerry in Michigan, we elected a number of democrats (including Larry, congrats!) and were one of only two counties in Michigan to vote down Prop 2 (the other being Ingham). Michigan also was the closest to shutting down proposal 2 in comparison to the 11 other states with similar proposals (not exactly consolation with a 60-40% result). We even beat out Oregon, woo-hoo!
So, even though it’s over-rated, I’m glad to be in the bluest city in the bluest county in a blue state.
posted by OFW insurgent on November 3rd, 2004 at 10:10 pmWell, I know for sure that Wayne was the bluest county, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Detroit or somewhere else is actually the bluest city, but yeah, we’re up there.
posted by Brandon on November 3rd, 2004 at 11:17 pmI doubt that AA is the bluest city, instead of the purplest city with the most vocal blue contingent. At any rate, congrats to Larry.
posted by Laura on November 4th, 2004 at 1:10 amThere may be a silver lining regarding Proposal 2–if conservatives try to apply it to domestic partner benefits I think there is a good chance it will be declared unconstitutional because of the extremely vague language. I was talking to one of the ACLU lawyers in Michigan and he told me they think it is vulnerable, although the state courts are very conservative.
posted by Matt on November 4th, 2004 at 1:37 amDepressed, but then caught a breath of fresh air and some new ideas to keep me inspired:
http://firmage.org
Joe Firmage who has been working on projects intended to help address the deepest crises we all face. He invites you to check out drafts of some of his writings, available at http://firmage.org. Some are easy to read, others are more difficult to absorb. Right or wrong, they all reflect my view of the potential solutions we must explore.
and
http://integralnaked.org
posted by petunia on November 4th, 2004 at 8:04 amIntegralNaked is a series of unedited, uncensored, live, and taped live conversations among the most influential, provocative, and important thinkers and leaders in today’s world. These intense, raw, straightforward discussions — delivered by audio streaming — cover a comprehensive sweep of issues relevant in today’s world — from business to personal growth, from public education to meditation, from politics to ecology, from sexuality to spirituality.
Is it just me that thought you were going in a totally different direction with that http://integralnaked.org? A little hardcore porn to cheer us all up?
posted by Anna on November 4th, 2004 at 8:28 amCongratulations Larry!
My only thought on the election results (specifically the presidential and Prop 2) is that it’s more important than ever now to keep fighting the good fight.
posted by Nick on November 4th, 2004 at 9:16 amFor the record, Wayne County may be more consistently supportive of democratic candidates, but they passed Prop 2, which takes ‘em out of the running for “bluest” county, in my opinion.
posted by OFW insurgent on November 4th, 2004 at 9:29 amIf anyone else has any AA voting pattern questions, post ‘em here. It’s my day off and I play with spreadsheets and statistics for fun.
My wife still gives me weird looks for that.
It should also be noted that in my extremely unofficial and unscientific pool, Kestenbaum has the highest ratio of signs up on Nov 2 to signs down on Nov 3. It’s only the finest campaigns that collect their signs after a victory.
Further proof that Larry is a class act.
posted by Dan on November 4th, 2004 at 10:13 amCorrection, that should be signs up on Nov 2 to signs still up on Nov 3.
And I meant poll, not pool. And for the record, it includes signs outside polling places in AA city, AA twp, Dexter, Lyndon, Saline, and Chelsea.
But I’m sure you all got the idea.
posted by Dan on November 4th, 2004 at 10:16 amCongrats to Larry. I had him as a prof for Preservation Law at EMU and he was excellent. He’ll do a great job.
As a dreaded (and dreadful?) Republican visitor to this site I’m looking forward to getting back to some good non-partisan bitchin’ and complainin’ about the vagaries of life in this here fair city.
posted by Thomas Cook on November 4th, 2004 at 10:17 amAA can’t be the bluest CITY because it’s NOT a city. Lest we forget!
I voted Kerry, Lumm, Kestenbaum. So I got to feel celebratory in at least a small way. Mainly I take solace in the fact that the ballot initiative in Churchill County, Nevada to rescind legalized brothel prostitution failed at the polls 2-to-1. There may be hope for America yet.
posted by Alex(andra) on November 4th, 2004 at 11:27 am… and pot, for the sick and suffering.
posted by placebo junkies on November 4th, 2004 at 11:58 amHere’s the story about Haines’ concession. The story is headlined “Haines gracious in loss to Kestenbaum,” although she does say, “I lost to Kerry. I didn’t lose to my opponent.” I don’t blame her for being upset about the straight ticket thing, but she could at least name the opponent. Although maybe she did and the News just didn’t quote that part. I thought Larry was extremely gracious: “Running against an incumbent and running against Peggy Haines are two different things. It was very difficult to run against someone you like and respect.”
posted by ann arbor is overrated on November 4th, 2004 at 3:51 pm“While Washtenaw County frequently votes Democratic, Haines had been able to survive the Democratic coattail effect until Tuesday when 64 percent of county voters went straight-ticket Democratic and 35 percent voted straight-ticket Republican.”
So 99 percent of the county voted a straight ticket? Yeah, right.
posted by Dale on November 4th, 2004 at 5:13 pmIf you’re going to be a republican, better get used to how people respond to you.
posted by OFW insurgent on November 4th, 2004 at 9:14 pmI always thought that a good law would be to have the winner of whatever race have to collect all of the signs for that race after the election. I mean, obviously some proxy work could be done, but that would make sure everything was clean and not force the loser to wander around glumly…
posted by js on November 4th, 2004 at 9:27 pmOh, and congrats Larry. You’re now the guy that I go to when I want to marry gays, right?
What (to me at least) is sad is that 43.50% of the county did vote straight ticket. The actual numbers are that 27.94% of the county voted straight ticket Democrat and 15.22% voted straight ticket Republican.
Of course, I could have marked “straight ticket Democrat” and then filled in for Lumm, Stankowski, and Anderson and it would have been the same as the ballot I cast, but I do have a not-at-all-well-thought-out objection to voting party line. It seems to be that voting should be a deliberate act, which is why I like to go line by line.
And if Haines lost to Kerry, does that mean that Kestenbaum beat Bush? Rock on!
posted by Dan on November 4th, 2004 at 9:32 pmThanks to everyone for all the kind words and good wishes. And special thanks to those of you who volunteered. It’s all very much appreciated.
It’s a bit disconcerting to be congratulated wherever I go, by random passersby I don’t recognize. Running for office transforms your relationship with the community: from then on, more people know you than you know.
From Political Graveyard and my past small-time political work, that was already somewhat true, but now I’ve moved from the dim periphery of public life to a more conspicuous place.
In any case, the busy transition period is underway (I take office January 1st), and it provides a welcome distraction from the bleak national political scene.
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on November 4th, 2004 at 10:47 pm