Livingston County Democrats set realistic goals for 2008 election

It took more than a week, but the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus finally got around to covering something from the Livingston County Democratic Party’s 24th annual Edwin B. Winans Dinner held on May 5.

Matt Evans, chairman of the county Democratic Party, said the goals of the party in 2008 are to elect a Democratic county commissioner for the first time since 1996, elect five Democratic township trustees and have 51 percent of Livingston County residents voting for Democratic Sen. Carl Levin.

Those goals don’t seen to be all that lofty, and you have to have something to shoot for. To quote another unsuccessful and long gone Detroit Lions coach, “The bar is high.” We already have four Democrats on township boards, so one more doesn’t seem like all that much. The county commission may be tough. We have had Democrats on the board before, and we came close to having quality candidates for all nine seats last November. There are many seats that never get challenged, and even if Democrats never win any of those seats we are making the commissioners responsible to the voters, for the first time ever for some. Levin getting 51 percent is not all that far out of the question either. He got 46 percent of the vote in 2002. Getting an extra 5 percent based on his record in the past six years is possible.

I like the response of the alleged brain trust of the county GOP.

Allan Filip, chairman of the Livingston County Republicans, said the Democratic aims for the next election are unrealistic. I just hope he keeps on believing that.

Filip pointed out that the county is in better financial shape than most parts of Michigan, and "I don't think it is a coincidence that our county is governed by fiscally conservative Republicans."
"I think the values of tax and spend are not Livingston County values," he concluded.

They are not Democratic values either, but hording money and giving taxpayers nothing for the taxes they do pay is not much of a value either.

Of the five counties that share a border with Livingston County four have community college systems and park systems; Livingston does not, nor does it offer residents much more than basic services. It seems if you want a post secondary education or to take in some recreation you are encouraged to leave the county.