Race to unseat out of touch Congressman begins Thursday

Kande Ngalamulume, a Democrat from East Lansing, officially kicks off his campaign for U.S. Congress in the 8th Congressional District at 11 a.m. Thursday on the lawn of the historic Livingston County Historic Courthouse in downtown Howell.

The incumbent, Republican Mike Rogers, has become even farther out of touch with voters in the 8th District that includes the counties of Livingston, Clinton, Ingham and parts of Oakland and Shiwiawasse counties. Rogers voted against health insurance reform, for more jobs in the district, a clean environment and reforms in college loans.

Kande will make the announcement in all five counties in the district on Thursday. He will make the announcement in Ingham County at 4:50 p.m. on the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing at the "Sparty" statute at Kalamazoo and Red Cedar. Events for the three other counties are pending.

Kande was just 10-years-old when his family migrated to the United States from Zaire - now the Democratic Republic of Congo. He grew up in Athens, Ohio where his father taught and completed his Master’s degree from Ohio University and East Lansing where his father earned a PhD from Michigan State University. Kande graduated from East Lansing High School and from MSU in 2002. Following graduation he worked mainly in the financial services sector, with the exception of the last four years where he worked in the health care industry for Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia as a senior business analyst.

Kande also worked with The Lost Boys of Sudan, an orphanage group of Sudanese children misplaced by war in their homeland. He also volunteered as a tutor through the Michigan State University Literacy Program, assisting students of Glencairn Elementary School in the areas of reading and writing. In the past two years he assisted middle and high school students of the Chester School District in reading, science and math through a program called Youth for Christ (YFC).

For information call the Kande campaign at (517) 999-3300 or email it via erin.fox@kandeforcongress.com to let the campaign know you're coming.

Local Strategy and Candidate meeting set

The Livingston County Democratic Party is holding its first Strategy and Candidate
meeting tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday March 16 at party headquarters, 10321 E. Grand
River, Suite 600, Brighton.

The meeting will focus on an overview of campaign planning and fundraising, as well as the voter statistics for all races. Part of the meeting will be devoted to a report on the party’s research on the issues and some ideas for campaign strategy.

All of the elected offices in the county are held by Republicans, with the exception of a couple of township board offices in the southern part of the county. But party officials are taking heart because the county is becoming more moderate and the Democratic vote is improving.

One of the main goals of the party is to field a candidate in every race, and to take a seat on the nine-member, all-Republican Board of Commissioners. There has not been a Democrat on the board since 1996. The goal is to make them accountable to voters and defend their dismal record over the last two years. Resources will be focused on the more vulnerable seats

The filling deadline is for the August primary is May 11. The Commissioners earn
$15,053 a year and have full health care benefits. Nominating petitions require 20-50
signature or a $100 filing fee.

Call (810) 229-4212 for more information, or if you are interested in becoming a
candidate.

Michigan GOP either hopes the electorate is stupid or they are stupid

Is the Michigan Republican Party and their mouthpiece really that stupid, or are they just hoping that Michigan voters are stupid?

They are obviously worried about Democratic Secretary of State candidate Jocelyn Benson, and Republican false smears against Benson are picking up. They put out a press release on Wednesday taking her to task for being endorsed by Democracy for America, the nation's largest progressive political action community founded by respected Gov. Howard Dean in 2004. The announcement cited her role as a “national leader” in election administration. She served as the Democratic National Committee's Election Protection Field Director in 2004.

Obviously, the Wayne State University professor’s impressive resume has the GOP scared.

Michigan GOP director of communications Jennifer Hoff had this ridiculous and misinformed quote: “Apparently Jocelyn Benson thinks this is a Democrat popularity contest,” she said.

Is she serous? Of course it is, and someone who works for state party knows that. The nomination for SOS comes from the party’s state convention and is voted on by party members, elected officials and precinct delegates on the convention floor. These are the people who do much more than just vote in elections, they are very involved in the party and politics. There is no primary election for SOS and Attorney General.

Of course it’s a Democrat popularity contest, and the three-way race for the Republican nomination is also a Republican popularity contest. That changes once the nomination is secured, but Benson is being challenged for the nomination by Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey.

Then there is this ludicrous quote from Hoff:
“Highlighting her national record won’t help her. Benson’s radical activities during the 2004 Presidential election are not the type of politics Michigan residents respect.”

Her “radical activities?” And what would those be? Simple, catching Republicans on their attempt to disenfranchise voters by the use of foreclosure lists to challenge eligible voters. Wow, no wonder they are so angry. Then Hoff pulls out the Coup de grace: she “held a fundraiser with an ACORN endorsed and Communist Party-affiliated official.”

Now, who was that complaining about a “popularity contest?” Talk about pandering to the base. Mentioning ACORN - the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now – is like a dog whistle to the Republican base. Despite repeated smears, attacks and outright frame ups, ACORN’s crime continues to be nothing more than trying to make a better life for the poor and empowering them.

As for the “ACORN endorsed and Communist Party-affiliated official” false smear, that is the second time they have used that lie. They appear to be following the GOP strategy of if you tell a lie often enough people will start to believe it. I debunked that smear once before, but I guess I will have to do it every single time they try that disgusting lie.

They are talking about Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), a major party in Minnesota. The party was created in 1944 when the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer-Labor Party merged. Former Vice-President Hubert Humphrey was instrumental in this merger. The party boasts some of the most respected liberals in the country, including Humphrey, Vice-President Walter Mondale, Sen. Eugene McCarthy and Sen. Paul Wellstone.

Push to end one party rule in Livingston County begins

BRIGHTON – The nine-member Livingston County Board of Commissioners has been all Republican since 1996, but that may change in November based on a meeting held Tuesday night at the Livingston County Democratic Party headquarters.

The party wants at least one Democratic candidate in each district, and it plans to focus its resources on one or two races that are winnable. The meeting was part pep talk and part strategy session with advice from a couple of candidate who have won in predominately Republican areas: Oakland County Commissioner Dave Woodward and Rep. Marc Corriveau, D- Northville.

Judy Daubenmier, chair of the Livingston County Democratic Party, said challenging incumbents simply keeps them honest and more accountable to voters.

“Incumbents have to defend their record, and it keeps them from drifting to the extreme right,” she said. “Opposition in elections protects the democratic process.”

The results of the last election indicate the party may have some success in November.

“We know our county is becoming more moderate,” Daubenmier said. “We know (Michigan Supreme Court Justice) Diane Hathaway took Livingston County; as well as stem cell research and medical marijuana.”

The Board of Commissioners has been less than stellar in the last couple of years, with gaffs such as a $16 million slush fund from the delinquent tax fund to pay for pet projects while cutting sheriff road patrols and refusing to support county veterans.
“They refused to levy a tiny, tiny tax for the vets they are required by law to do,” Daubenmier said.

Woodward said raising money to win a commissioner seat is not that difficult, and he should know. He was the chair of the Oakland County Democratic Party for six years. When he took over, Democrats only held a few seats on the 25-member Board of Commissioners, and it now has 12 seats.

The former state Representative said there are plenty of assets available to help Democrats win seats.

“Any campaign is based on three principals; reputation, communication and dollars,” he said. “With all three of those principals you can win in a Republican area.”

Corriveau agreed with that, and he said in his case, doors trumped dollars, and he knocked on thousands of doors.

“(Former House Minority Leader) Dianne Byrum was always saying, dollars and doors,” he said.

Corriveau first ran for the 20th District seat in 2004, but lost badly, 60-40 percent.

“I learned how to run a campaign,” he said. “I learned from my mistakes, and I never made them again.”

He went all out in 2006, personally knocking on thousands of doors. He won by a mere 900 votes out of 42,000 votes cast. Last year he won by 9,000. He is forgoing a third term in the House next year where many say he could be Speaker of the House to run for the open 7th District seat currently held by a Republican, in what some people are saying could be a tough year for Democrats.

“That’s just taking a long view, and people vote for the candidate who relates to them,” he said. “I think the voter is less enamored with the R and the D if you tell them what you will do for them.”

The party plans another meeting for potential candidates at 6:30 p.m. March 16 at party headquarters. 10321 E. Grand River, Suite 600, Brighton.

Daubenmier said any candidate would have the support of the local and state party that includes a speech coach to the Voter Activation Network (VAN) as well as a campaign office open 365 days a year.

“The use of this office is a huge asset,” she said.

Election roundup looks bright

Thank God for Rachel Maddow.

I was not feeling too well about Tuesday’s election. But I tuned into her show on MSNBC on Wednesday, and she put it in proper perspective. Now, I’m looking forward to the election in 2010.

Despite losing governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, there are still more Democratic Governors than Republican. The northeast part of the country is even bluer than before, thanks to the race in New York’s 23rd congressional district. Not only that, it shows how much in disarray the Republican Party really is. The extremist, rightwing tea baggers are not just satisfied with hijacking the party, now they want to drive out all the sane, moderates out of the party. Hey, we have a big tent.

Here in Michigan, the news is not as bad either. I’m disappointed that Rep. Martin Griffin, D-Jackson, lost the special election for the vacant 19th District Senate seat. However, Michigan Democrats did very well in municipal elections all across Michigan on Tuesday. Mayoral and City Council candidates backed by the Michigan Democratic Party won 65 percent of their races, or 44 out of 68. Ballot questions supported by the MDP such as the Kalamazoo antidiscrimination ordinance and the Macomb County Charter passed.

But the loss in the 19th District really hurt. I personally knocked on doors, he lost by a 2-1 margin and it will be a little harder in 2010 to take back the Senate with a 22-16 GOP advantage. But, after reading some post-election reports I feel much better.

In subscription only Gongwers, Matt Miner, chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, was quoted as saying: “When Mark Schauer left, this was our number one priority.” That’s good to hear. Even though Griffin lost by a 2-1 margin, he was outspent by a 4-1 margin. The Republicans had to pay for volunteers, and if this is their best effort and number 1 priority, I feel very good about 2010. In a Republican leaning district, you had to outspend the opponents by a 4-1 margin?

That sure says a lot about the campaigning ability of Congressman Mark Schauer to win twice in that district.

It’s hard to explain how the Republicans are lying about the Michigan State Police HQ in just a sound bite, but we have almost a year to boil the truth down to a one or two sentence response. That’s their big issue.

It was gratifying for Mike’s Nofs own party to also call him out on his lie about the Cobo hall bills that saved the North American International Auto Show for Michigan. Nofs was making a victory lap in the Senate Wednesday, and, according to Gongwer, “He got a pat on the back and a handshake from his new boss, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop.”

“However, about 20 minutes earlier, in Bishop's first floor Capitol office, there was no back patting on the issue of Cobo Hall and the alleged corruption referred to in a widely seen Nofs TV commercial.”

"It is not the source of corruption," Bishop told WLNS TV-6, with Nofs standing to his left. "It is actually the one bright light in Detroit right now that we can all rally behind."

In fact, Bishop helped write some of the bills.

Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, got it right: "If you're willing to play those types of politics, it tells me what type of legislator you'll be,” he said. “That means that you are being divisive. You are going into the old playbook of dividing the state. You are trying to gin up fears . . ."

I can’t wait until 2010.

Brown tries to rescue SOS campaign with unnecessary bills

LANSING – Sen. Cameron Brown, R-Sturgis, introduced a package of bills Wednesday to address a problem that doesn’t exist and could decrease voter turnout, but more importunately it was a feeble attempt to jump starts his flagging campaign for Michigan Secretary of State.

Legislation usually does not single out one group or individual, but Senate Bills 690-694 targets the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, better known as ACORN. ACORN is nation’s largest grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people dedicated to building community organizations that are committed to social and economic justice, and ACORN it accomplishes that important mission through negotiation, legislative advocacy and voter participation. “ACORN helps those who have historically been locked out become powerful players in our democratic system.” Hence, they are hated by the Republican Party and a convenient whipping boy and scapegoat for the Republicans.

Brown’s bills law are unnecessary because penalties already exist for turning in fraudulent registration forms. In fact, in 2008 Attorney General Mike Cox brought charges against a single member of ACORN for basically padding his paycheck.

Brown’s bills would prohibit groups conducting voter registration drives from establishing quotas or paying bonuses to employees based on the number of registrations collected. Brown said voters registration forms were turned in around the country for “Mickey Mouse, Jimmy Johns, and the entire starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys.” ACORN provides jobs to people and many state chapters pay them for each registration form turned in.

Brown and the Republicans conveniently ignore the fact that most state laws require the organization to submit all registration forms filled out despite being flagged as fraudulent, and in fact ACORN flagged the forms with the names Brown points out. Plus, Mickey Mouse and Jimmy John never cast a vote in 2008.

Brown and the Senate Republicans need to stop playing politics and playing to the base in order to win the GOP SOS nomination and pass real election reform they are sitting on that was approved in the House, such as no reason absentee voting, early voting, allowing 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote and allowing any clerk to verify the identity of a voter who registers by mail.

Griffin set to run for Schauer's Senate seat

Rep. Martin Griffin, D-Jackson, officially filed to run for the 19th District Senate seat vacated by Sen. Mark Schauer's, D-Battle Creek, election to the U.S. House.

Griffin was elected to his second term in the House earlier this month representing the 64th District, which includes the city of Jackson, Concord, Hanover, Napoleon, Parma, Pulaski, Sandstone, Spring Arbor and Summit townships. Senate District 19 covers Calhoun and Jackson counties. Griffin won his House seat (Correction) by unseating incumbent Republican Rick Baxter in 2006, and he will need that experience to win the swing 19th District.

Griffin has an impressive resume of government service at all levels. He served as mayor of Jackson from 1995 - 2006. Prior to that, he was a staffer in the Michigan Legislature for 12 years, as well as a staff member for five years with former U.S. Congressman Carl Pursell.

So far, Griffin is running against Rep. Mike Nofs, R-Battle Creek, who is term limited. It's unclear if there will be a primary. Rep. Mike Simpson, D-Liberty Township, has been mentioned as a possible candidate, but he has not formally announced or filed a committee.

It's unclear when the Governor will call a special election, but the already short-handed Senate Democratic caucus will be even smaller after January when Schauer officially resigns to take his new seat.

General Election starts in earnest for me

TECUMSEH - Sunday was my first official door-knocking session of the 2008 General Election.

I have already knocked doors in the primary for a House candidate , but this is my first time for the General Election. I knocked on some 70 doors Sunday in Tecumseh for State Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, in his quest to unseat extremist conservative Tim Walberg in the race for U.S. House in the 7th District. It was more fun that the extensive walking I did in 2006 because my wife walked with me. She had walked when she was a teen for her dad, but he was a Republican.

The one thing I discovered Sunday was that not many people knew much about Schauer, but we will change that. I had a few people tell me they don’t need to know anything about Schauer they are just sick of Walberg. This is a guy who still thinks Saddam Hussein financed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He’s apparently not a man who will let facts get in the way.

The 7th District has been held by Republicans for many years with Nick Smith and moderate Republican Joe Schwartz. But Schauer has unseated an incumbent Republican before.

The large 7th district covers Branch, Eaton, Hillsdale, Jackson and Lenawee counties and parts of Calhoun and Washtenaw counties. That’s the name recognition battle he faces, but I believe he can overcome it.

The 19th Senate District Schauer represents as the Senate Minority Leader only covers Calhoun County and part of Jackson.

I hope to increase his name recognition in Walberg’s home county of Lenawee door by door. It was once briefly my stomping grounds. I worked as the education reporter for the daily newspaper in Adrian that covers the entire county, and I held that same position with the Blissfield weekly.

Basham endorses Brandana for State Representative

Jill Brandana, Democratic candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives from the 22nd District, continues to pick up endorsements, and one of the latest is from Democratic State Sen. Ray Basham. He represent the 8th Senate District that coves almost all of the Downriver area.

I am writing to offer my strong recommendation of the Honorable Jill Brandana in her primary election bid this August as your State Representative for the 22nd District. She has served her community well in her position on the Taylor City Council and other boards and commissions.

Jill earned both her Bachelor's degree and her Master's degree in Public Administration (M.P.A.) from the University of Michigan. Jill serves the people of Taylor on the City Council, where she has worked diligently to ensure that public safety and fiscal responsibility are priorities on the Council in their oversight of city business. She has also worked steadfastly to protect our land, air, water and quality of life by helping to defeat the Environmental Disposal Systems attempts to place a hazardous waste well in our community. She is a dedicated and effective public servant, currently serving as Chairwoman Pro-Tem on the Taylor City Council, and is involved in every level of community service. Besides her public duties on the council, Jill also works as an Administrative/Legal Assistant in a successful law firm, where she has worked for over 26 years. Her education and administrative experience are excellent preparation to represent the 22nd House District.

I have known Jill personally for several years and in that time I have come to have only the highest regard for her personally and professionally. She shows great integrity and compassion in fulfilling her duties as an elected official and it is with great enthusiasm that I recommend her for election to the State House of Representatives.

I encourage you to vote for Councilwoman Jill Brandana in the Primary on August 5.

Youtube ad shows why Brandana is the best candidate for the 22nd District

ROMULUS – Knocking on doors in near 90 degree weather for almost five hours is not my idea of a fun way to spend a day off, but keeping a Democratic majority in the Michigan House of Representatives and putting the best Democrat there is worth it.

I walked for Jill Brandana , one of the Democratic candidates for the open seat in the 22nd District that represents the Downriver cites of Romolus and Taylor. She is a solid Democrat who will represent the district well.

She holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Michigan, and she is currently serving as the Chairwoman Pro-Tem of the Taylor City Council. She is running against fellow Taylor City Councilman Doug Geiss for the Democratic nomination. Now, Geiss seems to have all of the qualifications for the job, but I believe Brandana is the best candidate. A recent statement he made regarding the controversial new runway proposed for Detroit Metropolitan Airport makes my decision easier.

It’s obviously a hot issue for Romulus residents, as well as Taylor residents, but a master improvement plan that includes a 10,000-foot landing strip will displace business, schools and up to 800 homes in Romulus.

There have been numerous town hall meetings on the issue, and at a meeting in Romulus on March 3, in response to a question from a Romulus on whether Taylor would provide financial help to fight the expansion, Geiss said yes, to loud applause from the crowd.

Just a month later at a Taylor City Council meeting, a resident objected to Taylor tax dollars being spent in Romulus, and Geiss said that would not happen and then said that he never made the remark on March 3.

The Brandana campaign has put an excellent ad together on it that can be seen on Youtube. Some might call this a negative ad, but I find it hard to call pointing out someone’s own inconstancies to them a negative ad. Now, if you were to compare Geiss to Brittany Spears or Paris Hilton, that’s another story.

Vote for Jill Brandana on Tuesday and in November.

The race for the 9th Congressional District features confrontations, videotape and Dr. Death

The U.S. Congressional race for Michigan’s 9th District may be a microcosm of the presidential election in Michigan, and it will also be an interesting race to watch that has already seen confrontations, videotape and now a guy with the nickname of Doctor Death as a candidate.

U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R- Bloomfield Hills, is seeking his ninth term in the U.S. House, and he will be challenged by Democrat Gary Peters, a professor at Central Michigan University and a former state Senator, and Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the well-known assisted suicide doctor, who plans to run as an independent.

The district’s boundaries are contained entirely in Oakland County, the second largest county in the state with 1.2 million residents. The county has long been known primarily as a Republican county, but that is fast changing as it trends Democratic. The Republicans maintain a 13-12 edge on the county Board of Commissioners, and the county executive, L. Brooks Patterson, is very active and well known in state and national Republics politics.

“Oakland County has been considered Republican, and most of the county commissioners are Republicans,” said Glenn Clark, the Republican Chair of the 9th Congressional District and a Troy resident. “However, it has gone blue at the top of the ticket since 1992.”

Michigan itself has been blue since 1992, and the last time it went for a Republican presidential candidate was for President George H.W. Bush in 1988. However, the decision by Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama not to campaign here for the primary, coupled with the decision by the Democratic National Committee not to seat Michigan’s presidential delegation in retaliation for moving up the presidential primary in violation of party rules, makes Michigan vulnerable to going red.

“It is definitely a swing district,” said Rochester Hills resident and Democratic activitist Bruce Fealk. “The district went for (Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John) Kerry in the last election”

Fealk, who operates the blog “Vote no on Joe,” is a story himself. He has been a vocal anti-war critic, and he began following Knollenberg around at events, as well as appearing at parades, wearing a huge papier-mâché likeness of Knollenberg. Fealk tried repeatedly to get Knollenberg to meet with him and other anti-war protestors to talk about the war, as well as the veto of the bipartisan SCHIP legislation. When that failed, Fealk began following Knollenberg around with a video camera.

That led to a confrontation last October between Fealk and Knollenberg’s then chief-of-staff, Trent Wisecup, in a convenience store. The incident made state and national news, and Wisecup called Fealk “un-American,” “not a citizen” and “blinded by” his “hatred of this country.” Fealk made more news when he was arrested in February in Troy while attempting to videotape a panel discussion on Black History Month, hosted by the Oakland County Republican Club.

But Peters also has a person trailing him with a video camera. CMU student Dennis Lennox has been following Peters around for months claiming Peters should not be teaching at a public university while running for Congress. That also led to a confrontation that made state news, although it was with a CMU dean and not Peters. Lennox has used that publicity to launch a bid for the Republican nomination for the 110 District seat in the state House.

The 9th District consists of the townships of Bloomfield, Oakland, Southfield, West Bloomfield, and pats of Orion and Waterford Townships, as well as the cities of Auburn Hills, Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Clawson, Farmington Hills, Farmington, Keego Harbor, Lake Angelus, Orchard Lake, Pontiac, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Sylvan Lake, Troy and Royal Oak. It is the home of many whiter collar engineers, the headquarters of Chrysler and the home of a major Division I university, Oakland University. It has elements of both suburban life and urban life.

“This is a working class area with lots of white collar workers; kind of middle of the road,” Clark said. “It’s a great district to live in, and Troy was ranked as one of the safest places to live in the nation.”

Knollenberg – a U.S. Army veteran - owned insurance offices before going into politics, and used his connections as the former chair of the Oakland County Republican Party to run a successful congressional campaign in 1992. He has the makings of a political dynasty, and his son, Marty, is a member of the Michigan House. Knollenberg is the ranking member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.

Peters was born and raised in Oakland County, and he was a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve in a Construction Battalion unit (Seabees). In the private sector, Peters had taught at Oakland University and Wayne State University. He was the vice president of investments at UBS/PaineWebber. Peters also served as a vice president at Merrill Lynch.

His first foray into politics was serving on the Rochester Hills City Council. He was elected to the Michigan Senate in 1994 and served two terms before he was term limited. In 2002 he ran for the Michigan Attorney General and lost a close race to current AG Mike Cox by just 5,200 votes among more than 3 million votes cast. In 2003 Peters was appointed by the Governor to run the Michigan State Lottery. Last year Peters was named the Griffin Chair in American Government at Central Michigan University.

Kevorkian earned his reputation and nickname of Dr. Death by assisting in the deaths of nearly 100 terminally ill people. He ran afoul of the law in Michigan many times because it does not have an assisted suicide law, but he also managed to stay out of jail with the help of his attorney, Geoffrey Fieger. The cases earned so much media attention that Fieger parlayed that name recognition to win the Democratic nomination for Michigan governor in 1998, but he lost to the incumbent in the general election.

Without Fieger’s guidance, Kevorkian made a mistake that proved to be his downfall. On September 17, 1998, Kevorkian himself administered a lethal injection to 52-year-old Thomas Youk, who was suffering from terminal Lou Gerhig’s Disease. In past assisted suicides, the person committing suicide had injected themselves or used the machine Kevorkian designed. Kevorkian compounded his mistake by allowing the videotaped suicide to be broadcast on “60 Minutes” and then daring authorities to try to convict him or stop him from carrying out assisted suicides.

Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder by a Michigan jury in 1999 and sentenced to serve a 10-25 year prison sentence. Kevorkian, 79, is terminally ill with Hepatitis C, which he contracted while doing research on blood transfusions in Vietnam, and he was paroled on June 1, 2007 due to good behavior. He has indicated he plans to run as an independent. Many people have dismissed his run as insignificant, including many Democrats. Veteran Michigan journalist Jack Lessenberry, who was one of the first reporters to cover Kevorkian, dismissed it as just one more attempt at the publicity he craves.

But Republicans are hoping the lifelong Oakland County resident can drain off liberal vote for Peters.

“He’s a household name here,” Clark said. “It will be very hard to ignore him.”

As the incumbent, Knollenberg has had little trouble winning reelection over the years. He has had little trouble against a list of relatively unknown Democratic candidates, winning easily: winning 55 percent to 40 percent in 2000, 58-39 in 2002 and 58-39 in 2004. But 2006 was different. He had a close race with relatively unknown liberal radio talk show host and political activist Nancy Skinner. Knollenberg won by his smallest margin ever, 51-46 percent. Skinner indicated she was going to run for the seat again, but she got of the race early, deferring to Peters.

Ironically, she has ties to a candidate who many say may be a factor in this race. In 2004 she was living in Chicago and was a Democratic candidate for an open U.S. Senate seat in Illinois, losing in the Democratic primary election to one Barack Obama.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee took notice of that race after 2006, the current candidate and the trend of the district to designate it one of two targeted seats in Michigan.

“He is definitely on the edge,” Fealk said. “If we are ever going to unseat him this will be the year. Gary Peters is an excellent candidate and has done an excellent job of fundraising, and he has the DCCC and the unions behind him.”

Knollenberg votes with President Bush on most issues, and many people think he is vulnerable there because of the president’s low approval ratings, as well as Knollenberg’s position on the war in Iraq.

“He is very vulnerable on the war,” Fealk said. “If you look at his campaign web site, the war is not even listed as an issue. He is also very vulnerable on health care and the economy. People really need to look hard at his votes.”

Clark disagrees, and he said most people in Oakland County do not want the U.S. to leave Iraq before the mission is complete.

“That will be just one of many issues,” he said. “The fact is most people don't want to be there forever, but hey want to win. Most people I talked to who are against the war are not in favor of an immediate withdraw.”

There is also speculation on the effect the top ticket candidate will have on this race. Fealk says the historic nature of the potential Democratic nominees is sure to increase voter turnout for the Democrats, but he thinks Obama’s nomination will have a larger effect on turnout in the more urban Pontiac area and benefit Peters.

“I don’t want to make it a race issue, but I expect to see more turnout if he is the nominee,” he said. “I definitely think Obama will have a positive effect on turnout.”

Clark thinks Republican nominee Sen. John McCain will rally the district's many independent voters.

“John McCain is a candidate that will send a strong message to independents, and I think John McCain is the type of candidate we need to carry Michigan and Oakland County,” he said. “Michigan will be very important, specifically Oakland County, and I think we can win.”

Minor political parties hope to move up to the big leagues

The race for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees has captured the nation's attention and taught us some new words, such as caucus, delegate counts and super-delegates.

But what about the nomination process for the so-called minor parties such as the Green Party, the Libertarian Party and the Natural Law Party? Each political party sets their own nomination process, and that may include an election, a caucus or a convention. Each state sets the standard for how the party appears on the ballot. Just gaining access to and getting on the ballot is often the biggest hurdle for most third parties, and rarely does the party gain ballot access in every state.

In Michigan, the Republican and Democratic parties are designated major parties, and as such they are the only parties that will appear on the ballot for the Aug. 5 primary election when the two parties will choose their candidates to run in November for local partisan offices and state representative. The standard for a major party to appear on the primary ballot is to have at least 5 percent of the votes received by the winning Secretary of State candidate in the election, which is held in even-numbered years. The hurdle from the Nov. 7, 2006, election was 186,096 votes.

For the minor parties to appear on the ballot for the Nov. 4, 2008, general election, the top-of-the-ticket candidate – whether it’s a presidential candidate or a hopeful for a statewide office such as a university trustee position – must receive at least 1 percent of the vote the successful Secretary of State candidate received in the Nov. 7, 2006, general election. The parties qualified for this November are the Green Party of Michigan, the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan, the Libertarian Party of Michigan and the Natural Law Party. That only applies to Michigan, and even though the Green Party, for example, may have a strong presidential candidate, the candidate may not be on the ballot in a more conservative state.

A coalition of the state minor parties have partnered with the Michigan Third Party Coalition (MTPC) to try to end public funding of primary elections and to push a Voters Bill of Rights to end political discrimination against independent voters.

“We are calling it discrimination,” said Will Tyler White, a member of the Libertarian Party of Michigan executive board. “If you are not a Republican or Democrat, you are discriminated against.”

White said the presidential primary fiasco in Michigan really illustrates their point, especially in light of talk that the Democrats are considering holding a caucus because the national Democratic Party refuses to seat Michigan delegates.

“This is a waste of millions of tax-payer dollars for a private entity,” he said.

Those parties that did not meet the necessary threshold in November 2006 can still qualify to be on the general election ballot with a petition drive. They must first file as a new political party even if they have been around for many years. The party must collect petition signatures equal to 1 percent of the votes cast for the governor. That comes out to 38,013 signatures, and the deadline for turning in petitions is 4 p.m. July 17, 2008.

The U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan will choose its candidates at its state convention on May 3 at the Okemos Christian Center. Party Treasurer Joe Sanger said more than 50 people have expressed an interest, and the party hopes to have more than 100 candidates from county commissioner to state representative on the ballot.

“We have a nominating committee, and they will be nominated at the convention,” he said. “We try and get them vetted before the convention.”

The U.S. Taxpayers Party is part of the conservative Constitution Party. The official name of the party was changed from Taxpayers Party to Constitution Party in 1999, but many states still carry the Taxpayer name. The Constitution Party advocates a Bible-based platform, which it claims reflects the original intent of the U.S. Constitution and the principles of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Sanger said some tenets of the platform include eliminating the federal income tax in favor of a tariff. The national party will hold its convention April 23-26 in Kansas City to choose its presidential candidate.

“We expect to have a large delegation from Michigan,” Sanger said.

One of the largest third parties in the country is the Green Party, and it has reached major-party status in some states, meaning its candidates are on the primary ballot. The party attracts many liberals and environmentalists. The party had a big effect on the 2000 presidential election between former Vice President Al Gore and former Texas Gov. George Bush. Many Democrats claim Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader siphoned off Democratic votes for Gore in many states, helping Bush win.

Green presidential candidates took part in four primaries on Super Tuesday, and former Democrat U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney from Georgia won in Arkansas and Illinois. Nader took California. The Green Party will hold its 2008 national convention in Chicago from July 10-13.

A party that has the potential to drain voters from the Republican Party is the Libertarian Party. Republican presidential candidate Texas Congressman Ron Paul was the party’s presidential candidate in 1988, and he garnered 432,179 popular votes. The Michigan group has a message on its Web site inviting Paul supporters to join the Libertarian Party. However, Paul said he plans to concentrate on his presidential campaign as a Republican, but that could always change by convention time in Denver.

“He brought a lot of visibility to the party,” White said. “There are a lot of Libertarians supporting him.”

The Libertarian Party has a strong conservative bent, and its traditional platform includes minimum regulation, strong civil liberties, open borders and non-interventionism in foreign policy that respects freedom of trade and travel to all foreign countries.

The party will hold its national convention to choose its presidential nominee May 22-26 in Denver. The Libertarian Party of Michigan will hold its state convention June 7-8 at the Best Western Gateway Hotel in Romulus.

The Natural Law Party was founded in the United States in 1992 in Fairfield, Iowa, by a group of educators, business leaders and lawyers who practiced Transcendental Meditation. Despite growing ballot access, the Natural Law Party officially disbanded its national organization on April 30, 2004, although a few state parties still remain active. The state party does not have a Web site, and the party chair did not return repeated phone calls.

There are numerous other smaller third parties in the country, but only four in Michigan - the Green Party, the Libertarian Party and the Natural Law Party - have ballot access. Currently, there are no parties seeking ballot status, according to the Michigan Secretary of State. One party not on the ballot in Michigan is the Reform Party of Michigan, and the party stands for a balanced federal budget. However, party officials in Michigan said they do not plan to try to get on the ballot this election.

“It takes a major effort to get on the ballot,” said Matt Johnson, of Ironwood, the vice chair of the party in Michigan. “It generally takes a big name and lot of money to do it.”