Kilpatrick voted out by Democrats
By CHRIS JACKETT
Sunday Times Newspapers
Downriver residents came out to the polls in full force Tuesday to set the slate for November’s election.
The gubernatorial race is between Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, D-Lansing, and entrepreneur Rick Snyder, R-Ann Arbor. Unofficial state primary tallies show Bernero defeated state House of Representatives Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford, about 309,000 to 219,000. Snyder captured about 381,000 votes to defeat four other Republican candidates who combined for nearly 666,000 votes, indicating a strong push by the current minority party.
The races in the 13th and 14th districts for U.S. Representative each provided their own forms of commentary. In the 14th, which includes Allen Park, Dearborn, Detroit, Gibraltar, Grosse Ile Township, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Melvindale, Riverview, Southgate and Trenton, unopposed incumbent John Conyers Jr., D-Detroit, captured about 45,000 votes of 58,000 cast. He will square off with Don Ukrainec, R-Trenton, whose 7,400 votes edged out the 6,000 captured by Pauline Montie, R-Southgate.
In the 13th District, which includes Detroit, Ecorse, Garden City, Grosse Pointe, Harper Woods, Lincoln Park, River Rouge and Wyandotte, incumbent Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Detroit – mother of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick – was ousted for the Democratic nomination. She placed second of six Democratic candidates with about 19,500 votes, but Hansen Clarke, D-Detroit, captured 22,500 votes for the victory. Clarke will face off in November with unopposed John Hauler, R-Grosse Pointe Woods, who got about 10,000 votes.
In the 15th District, which includes Taylor, Brownstown Township, Flat Rock, Huron Township, Rockwood, Romulus, Woodhaven, west Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Inkster, Sumpter Township, eastern Washtenaw County and all of Monroe County, cardiologist Dr. Rob Steele was the big winner on the Republican side, taking more than 45 percent of the vote. Candidates from Dearborn Tony Amorose and Majed Moughni finished third and fourth, respectively, in the four-man race. Democratic incumbent John Dingell, D-Dearborn, ran unopposed.
The Michigan Senate 8th District saw a fairly even vote among the five candidates to replace term-limited Sen. Raymond Basham, D-Taylor. Hoon-Yung Hopgood, D-Taylor, was the overall front-runner, taking about 7,100 votes. He’ll face off with Ken Larkin, R-Lincoln Park, who got about 6,700. The district includes Allen Park, Ecorse, Lincoln Park, Melvindale, Riverview, Romulus, Southgate, Taylor, Wayne and Wyandotte.
Michigan House of Representatives races in the 13th, 14th and 16th districts brought out about 7,000 to 11,000 voters in each district.
Unopposed incumbent Andrew Kandrevas, D-Southgate, took 5,300 votes in the 13th (Riverview, Southgate, Trenton and Wyandotte). He will square off with Cynthia Kallgren, R-Trenton, who defeated three others by more than 1,000 votes, capturing nearly 2,800.
Paul Clemente, D-Lincoln Park, defeated four others for the open 14th District seat with 2,200 votes and will challenge unopposed Patrick O’Connell, R-Allen Park, who took the Republican nomination with nearly 3,000 votes. Residents of Allen Park, Ecorse, Lincoln Park, Melvindale and River Rouge will make that decision in November.
The three candidates for the 16th District State Representative seat all had a close run, but unopposed Michael Mullins, R-Allen Park, took 2,800 votes to set up a ballot with incumbent Robert Constan, D-Dearborn Heights, who took 2,600 votes to defeat Michael Greene, D-Inkster, who got 1,700 votes.
Susan Hubbard (Dearborn) captured 73,500 votes to win the single six-year, nonincumbent position in Wayne County 3rd Circuit Court, ahead of John Sullivan (Northville) at 51,500 and Gary Jones (Detroit) at 21,900.
County government
The Wayne County Transit Authority levy renewal seeking to keep the current transportation levy of 59 cents per $1,000 of taxable value on assessed property passed with a 73.68 percent vote of approval. The four-year tax assists the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation with its goal of serving the elderly, handicapped and general public throughout the county. Estimates expect the millage will generate more than $12 million when levied later this year.
Mario Fundarski, R-Inkster, and Robert Ficano, D-Detroit, were both unopposed within their parties as they vied for the four-year Wayne County executive position. Fundarski got 54,600 votes and Ficano had 113,200 votes.
Shelly Milton, R-Belleville, took 40,200 votes, nearly double that received by Taras Nykoriak, R-Hamtramck, in the Wayne County sheriff race. Milton will face off with Benny Napoleon, D-Detroit, who took 81 percent of the votes in a pool of five Democratic candidates with 102,600 votes.
Although the Wayne County Commission races for the 13th (Allen Park, Dearborn and Melvindale), 14th (Ecorse, Grosse Ile Township, River Rouge, Riverview, Southgate, Trenton, Woodhaven and Wyandotte) and 15th (Brownstown Township, Flat Rock, Gibraltar, Huron Township, Rockwood, Romulus and Taylor) districts were mostly unopposed, all three Downriver districts are slated for narrow victory margins in the November election.
Incumbent Gary Woronchak, D-Dearborn, got 5,900 votes and J. Scott Saionz, R-Dearborn, got 5,100 votes in a 13th District where both were unopposed.
Incumbent Joseph Palamara, D-Grosse Ile, got 6,900 votes and C.B. Clark, R-Grosse Ile, got 6,600 votes in a 14th District where both also were unopposed.
With incumbent Chairman Edward Boike Jr., D-Taylor, not seeking re-election, Jackie Jones, R-Brownstown Township, took the most votes with 5,100. Basham took 4,300 votes to defeat the 2,000 votes Edward Mulka, D-Taylor, got in the Democratic race.
Democratic and Republican candidates will square off at the polls for all positions on Nov. 2.
(Contact Chris Jackett at [email protected])