Traverse City Record-Eagle

Election 2008

November 5, 2008

New Michigan congressmen 'very practical'

DETROIT (AP) -- Democrats Mark Schauer and Gary Peters, Michigan's newest members of Congress, bring resumes of focusing on job creation and economic issues to districts flush with Republican voters.

Schauer, a Battle Creek state senator, narrowly defeated freshman Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, in a rural district in southern Michigan where the Republican party blossomed more than 150 years ago.

Peters, a former state lottery commissioner and state senator, knocked off veteran Rep. Joe Knollenberg in a suburban Detroit district that has been hard hit by job losses in the auto industry.

Both Democrats portrayed themselves as moderate problem-solvers who would push middle-class tax cuts, seek trade policies that help preserve manufacturing jobs and improve access to health care.

"They have a good sense of how you get things done," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

Text Only
  • ELECTION DAY
    How Traverse City Voted

    Blue city, red county. Ballots cast in last week's general election reflected Traverse City's support of Democratic candidates and Grand Traverse County's backing of Republicans, with few exceptions.

    Continued ...
    Nov 11, 2008 9:43 am 1 Photo
  • Voters reject almost all area tax proposals

    School administrators in a few local districts soon will decide whether to put tax proposals back on the ballot after voters almost universally rejected millage requests.

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 11, 2008 9:35 am
  • Engler court loses top justice
    Supreme Court Hathaway

    John Engler spent 12 long, patient years as governor placing nearly 200 judges -- including three Supreme Court justices -- who supported his conservative judicial philosophy onto state courts. But a little-known Wayne County judge toppled one of those justices from his seat on Tuesday.

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 9, 2008 9:46 am 2 Photos
  • Op-Ed: Granholm in the spotlight
    images_sizedimage_314094701

    There, in close-up view just off the right shoulder of Barack Obama at his first press conference as president-elect in Chicago, was Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a member of his transition economic advisory board -- called an "All-Star Cast" on CNN. Obama in his opening remarks singled out Granholm, saying he was "glad to be joined" by her on a day of grappling with grim economic news of joblessness and Ford/GM loss figures.

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 9, 2008 9:47 am 1 Photo
  • Advocates: Obama will be Great Lakes friend

    Barack Obama's election as president and his appointment of Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff are hopeful signs for the struggle to heal the ailing Great Lakes ecosystem, advocates said Thursday. Obama and Emanuel, both from the Lake Michigan city of Chicago, have championed initiatives in Congress to protect the lakes.

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 7, 2008 9:57 am
  • Granholm to advise Obama on economy

    Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is one of 17 people appointed to help advise President-elect Barack Obama on the economy during his transition period.

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 7, 2008 9:57 am
  • Palestinian Muslim elected to State House
    Muslim Woman Politics

    Lawyer and community activist Rashida Tlaib, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants who never attended high school, becomes the first Muslim woman ever to serve in the Michigan Legislature. She said she wouldn't have run but for the repeated urging of her Jewish boss and predecessor, outgoing Democratic state Rep. Steve Tobocman.

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 7, 2008 9:57 am 1 Photo
  • Local voter turnout statistics

    Voter turnout in the 5-county area.

    Continued ...
    Nov 6, 2008 11:00 am
  • Wednesday, November 5, 2008
  • Local residents react to historic election
    POST ELECTION

    A late morning sun shone on this Antrim County village hours after a freshman Illinois senator became president-elect of the United States. Terry Miller talked politics with friend Wally Hibbard over coffee Wednesday at Java Jones in Elk Rapids, and called Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's solid win over rival Sen. John McCain "a breath of fresh air."

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 6, 2008 9:52 am 1 Photo
  • Environmentalists happy with court upset
    images_sizedimage_311095008

    The stunning upset defeat of Republican Chief Justice Cliff Taylor ends the Michigan Supreme Court's conservative grip and opens the welcome prospect that it will overrule one of its most controversial decisions -- the 2007 gutting of the state's widely acclaimed Michigan Environmental Protection Act.

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 6, 2008 9:50 am 1 Photo
  • Dems add to lead in state House

    Democrats picked up nine seats in Michigan's state House, giving them one of their biggest majorities of the past three decades.

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 6, 2008 9:50 am
  • Schmidt wins 104th District House seat
    COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

    Wayne Schmidt spent part of the day reflecting on a successful state House campaign he viewed as upbeat and effective. But his defeated opponent, local attorney Roman Grucz, seethed over an at-times bruising battle for the 104th District, a territory that covers Grand Traverse and Kalkaska counties. It was a race Grucz described as "gutter politics."

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 6, 2008 9:53 am 2 Photos
  • Speculation swirls around Granholm
    images_sizedimage_311095037

    Gov. Jennifer Granholm can't run for president, but she could still end up in Washington next year.

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 6, 2008 9:50 am 1 Photo
  • Grand Traverse County board gets a new look
    images_sizedimage_311095318

    Christine Maxbauer may switch from a solo role in pushing and prodding a set-in-its-ways Grand Traverse County board to leading a newly constructed board. Maxbauer, who often found herself at odds with the board's old guard, could find some support in January from new commissioners-elect Beth Friend, Mike Stepka and Ross Richardson.

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 6, 2008 9:53 am 3 Photos
  • Local shop flies American flag upside down
    images_sizedimage_311095333

    Not everyone is excited about the nation's first black president. Some are downright hostile. Employees at Hampel's Key and Lockshop on Randolph Street in Traverse City flew an American flag upside down Wednesday in protest of Sen. Barack Obama's victory in the presidential election. And one employee directed a racial slur at Obama during a telephone interview with a Record-Eagle reporter.

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 6, 2008 9:53 am 1 Photo
  • Nearly 5.1M cast ballots in Michigan

    The secretary of state's office says nearly 5.1 million Michigan voters took part in the 2008 election.

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 6, 2008 9:50 am
  • Poll: Obama backed by prior GOP voters

    Barack Obama stitched together a winning coalition in Michigan in part by peeling away voters in groups that might have been expected to oppose him.

    Continued ...
    Updated Nov 6, 2008 9:50 am
  • 11 am: 1st Dem elected to GT board in 20 yrs

    TRAVERSE CITY — A Democrat will take a seat on the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners for the first time in 20 years.

    Continued ...
    Nov 5, 2008 11:32 am
  • 12:39 am: Schmidt holds big lead in 104th race

    Republican Grand Traverse County Commissioner Wayne Schmidt had a big lead over Democrat Roman Grucz in the race for the 104th District of the state House of Representatives.

    Continued ...
    Nov 5, 2008 7:52 am
  • 12:35 am: Heckman sheriff in Benzie, Israel in Kalkaska

    One regional sheriff’s candidate will become the top cop at his department after serving as second in command. Another fell by a wide margin to his own employee.

    Continued ...
    Nov 5, 2008 7:52 am
  • 12:30 am: GT incumbents running strong

    Incumbents led in all races for the Grand Traverse County board, but large turnouts slowed ballot counts and left several county commission races unresolved.

    Continued ...
    Nov 5, 2008 12:30 am
  • 12:27 am: Lile wins; heavy turnout delays other GT results

    East Bay Township Supervisor Glen Lile pulled out a win over challenger Gail Mason among the contested township races in Grand Traverse County. Other township races were still too close to call late Tuesday.

    Continued ...
    Nov 5, 2008 12:27 am
  • 12:07 am: Face of Leelanau, Elmwood to change

    Change is coming to the Leelanau County and Elmwood Township boards.

    Continued ...
    Nov 5, 2008 12:24 am
  • 12:11 am: Sheriff ousted in Kalkaska

    Another of the region’s incumbent sheriffs has fallen. David Israel, 60, ousted one-term incumbent Kalkaska County Sheriff William Artress by about 1,800 votes, both candidates said.

    Continued ...
    Nov 5, 2008 12:11 am