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Polls Show David LaGrand Winning Primary and General Election LaGrand up 3 to 1 in Possible Democratic Primary Election
Grand Rapids, Mich. January 28, 2010 - Just three weeks after announcing his candidacy for State Senate, two polls released today show former City Commissioner David LaGrand winning a potential August primary and defeating both likely Republican candidates in November. The primary poll sampled 845 likely Democratic voters and places LaGrand 24 points ahead of his potential opponent. The general election poll sampled 1,325 likely voters and shows LaGrand defeating Dave Hildenbrand and Lori Wiersma by an average of 6 points.
Both polls were commissioned by the LaGrand campaign and were conducted by Main Street Strategies, a respected polling and consultant group. The primary poll was conducted on January 20 and the general election poll on January 26.
In the primary poll, of the 845 asked, 37% would vote for LaGrand, 13% would vote for potential opponent State Representative Robert Dean, and 51% were undecided. If the number of undecided voters breaks at a similar ratio, LaGrand would be up 74% to 26% against Dean. The poll has a 4% margin of error.
In the general election poll, LaGrand defeats both Dave Hildenbrand and Lori Wiersma by an average of 45% for LaGrand and 39% for the possible Republican candidates with 16% undecided. Dean, however, loses to both Republican candidates by an average of 38% for Dean and 46% for the Republican candidates, with 16% undecided. The poll has a 3.5% margin of error.
Joe DiSano of Main Street Strategies commented on the polls, "Dean's chances of winning a Senate primary are a very long shot at best. If the Democrats want to win the 29th Senate seat, then the primary voters polled are correct and David LaGrand is the best candidate."
LaGrand, a former City Commissioner, small business owner and father of four is enthusiastic about the results and looks forward to the campaign. LaGrand said, "The polls demonstrate people are responding positively to my message of using West Michigan values, common sense and a strong business background to reform Lansing and create jobs. The campaign is just beginning and there is a lot of work to be done in the future, but I am humbled that so many people in my community trust me to represent them. I will work hard and listen to citizens every day to continue earning the trust and support of the people of the 29th District."
Just after noon, now-former-Grand Rapids City Commissioner David LaGrand announced he was running for the Michigan State Senate in the 29th District (Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Cascade, Lowell, Vergennes and Grattan).
Special Announcement Party 5:00 pm - 6:30pm
at the home of Tom and Anne Logan
505 College Ave SE, Grand Rapids
in Heritage Hill
Come on over to this beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright home for cocktails and conversations
Just stop by and/or RSVP on Facebook.
David will speak at 5:45 pm
Rally Press Conference 12:15 pm
at the Wealthy Street Bakery
608 Wealthy Street SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Come out and be the first to hear the news.
City Commissioner David LaGrand will speek on "Pushing Public Policy on Environment - from the Local Level Up," to the Sierra Club West Michigan Group on Thursday, 17 December at the Sundance Grill at Pearl and Ottawa in downtown Grand Rapids.
This is a particularly timely topic given the current debate about funding the Purchase Development Rights program and the controversial proposal by the City to build wind turbines for powering the Grand Rapids water filtration plant. Discussion may be lively!
Come early, at 6:30 p.m., to enjoy dinner with Sierrans. Stay on for David's presentation at 7:30 p.m. And stay late for the introduction of 2010 WMG Executive Committee Members. All members and supporters are welcome! Please RSVP to Shirley Kallio.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was absolutely correct with his recent proclamation about the current condition of the Great Lakes State: "The State of Michigan,'' Reid declared from the Senate Floor, with a copy Time Magazine in his hand, "is in trouble.''
There's no arguing the point. Nor should there be any further argument among Reid's Senate colleagues about the value that passage of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act could offer to struggling states such as Michigan.
With expedited action on the part of the Senate, Michigan could add momentum to its goal to draw 10% of its overall energy demands from alternative source by 2015. To make that goal real, Michigan needs the means to support efforts like those of the alternative energy manufacturers that have begun to cluster in West Michigan. It's a growing list of companies and initiatives; but this burgeoning alternative energy corridor is being stalled by a Senate slow to seize its own power.
(David, Thanks for writing. I think it's telling of the future of Democrats in Kent County (and yes, David is a non-partisan City Commissioner, but he's never been one to hide that he's a Democrat) that it was David that went to DC to protect our businesses and jobs in West Michigan. While local Republicans pushed for bankruptsy and flirted with a Second Depression for mostly political reasons, David bought a plane ticket and did the hard work of talking with Senators and Bush Administration officials to try to save our area from collapsing. - promoted by philgoblue)
As some of you know, I have now taken two trips to Washington to advocate for help for the Big 3, first in November for the first congressional vote on the issue, when the Big 3 were told to go away and come back with a plan, and then in early December for the second vote on the issue. I went as a City Commissioner for Grand Rapids, and certainly felt compelled to do so since Grand Rapids has about 10,000 supplier jobs at stake, and since the analysis by the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor concluded that if the Auto makers fail, suppliers fail too (more on that later). On a larger level I went as a parent who would like my kids to at least have the option of getting jobs in this state when they grow up. I also went as a Michigan citizen. I like living here. In fact I love it. My friends are here. The West coast of Lake Michigan in the summer is the most beautiful place I know. But to be here we all need jobs, and that means we need the Big 3. As it happens, I also went as the representative of the biggest Michigan city in the delegation that assembled. About thirty mayors, commissioners and city managers went, mostly from Michigan. Lansing went, but if Detroit went they didn't tell us about it.
So here are the stakes: the Center for Automotive Research did a study, and concluded that if one of the Big 3 failed, it would likely drag the others with it, because the failure of one would set off a cascade failure of suppliers, which would feedback and cause other auto makers to fail. Ironicly, the CAR study went so far as to conclude that for about a year no cars would be made in North America by anyone -- including Honda and Toyota. That's because the suppliers are operating on very tight margins, and usually have contracts with several auto makers- so if the company that builds wiper motors for GM loses that contract, it dies, and so does Honda's supply of wiper motors. The effect of this cascade failure would be horrific -- about 3 million jobs lost (about 500,000 in Michigan). Even looking at this simply from the perspective of lost taxes (and that's a really really crude way to look at it of course) the estimate is that govts would lose about 156 billion in taxes just in the first three years from a failure. The report further notes that it doesn't take into account the additional costs of masses of newly uninsured citizens, which we all pay for one way or another in the end.
There has been a lot of back and forth on this issue, some of it sensible, and some of it not from my perspective.
Update: Now with more on the flip ... and some style edits (phil)
City Commissioner David LaGrand is off to Washington on his own dime. As he bluntly tells WOOD-TV, "ten thousand jobs are on the line." Does make you wonder why other local politicos (Vern --wake up!) have been so silent.
The long and the short is this: the future of Michigan politics is being forged by this crisis. Win or lose, the question at hand for both parties will be, "what did you do when GM was slipping under?"
On a 5-2 vote, the Grand Rapids City Commission decided to hire Lauri Parks, a 37-year old who previously worked for four years in the city's Equal Opportunity Office. The majority picked her over Heidi Isakson, who has been the Whitehall or Wyoming City Clerk for the past 12 years and who was recommended for the job by the Michigan Municipal League consultant Paul Preston whom the commission hired to run the search process.
The Yes Votes: Walt Gutowski(W-1), Rosalynn Bliss (W-2), Elias Lumpkins (W-3), James B. White, Sr. (W-3), George Heartwell (Mayor).
The No Votes: David Lagrand (W-2), Jim Jendrasiak(W-1).
Now, there may be good reasons to hire Parks -- she is a Grand Rapidian and has an undergrad degree from the University of Michigan and a masters from GVSU. As Mayor George Heartwell said:
"Lauri Parks is bright and engaged, and she knows the city of Grand Rapids as a native daughter.... [She has] "deep ties to the community."
Parks is the granddaughter of Lyman Parks, the city's first black mayor.
However, Isakson was by far the more qualified and Mayor Heartwell seemed to be looking for some reasons to hire Parks:
"If it's a passion for being clerk, Heidi Isakson has that passion. The other is a passion for the community and the city that would employ her -- Ms. Parks has that passion."
Second Ward Commissioner David LaGrand retorted:
"Elevating risk-taking to a virtue is not good policy. I don't think we're hiring passion for the city. That's our job as commissioners."
LaGrand was also less than impressed with Parks' interview in front of the Commission. After Parks gave a presentation on the state's new voter ID law, LaGrand showed her several pieces of his own identification and Parks seemed stuck when he asked if they would qualify him to vote.
Now, I'd have to agree with David LaGrand. What we need is a competent bureaucrat, given that we have a major presidential election just months away and we know from past experiences in Florida and Ohio that local clerks -- who are in charge of elections -- can play major roles in who becomes the President of the United States of America.
So, the Commission majority hired someone with no experience in any clerk's office, over someone who gave a great interview, has 12 years of experience, and was the choice of the consultant hired to help run the search.
This, of course, leads us to the truth that Lauri Parks is African-American. And this leads us back to the controversy over the hiring of the new Police Chief back in February when Mayor Heartwell stated that the African-American candidate James Farris, should have been hired because since he was Black he could have "helped to restore racial harmony in our city."
Now, with the mayor making hiring decisions on the clerk, it wouldn't be hard to say that this hire was based more on the racial identity of the candidate (and, perhaps, nepotism, or raw poltics) rather than hiring the best clerk. One thing is for sure, and I hate to say this, if Heidi Isakson wants to sue the city for racial discrimination Mayor Heartwell's pubic quotes on the chief of police certainly would suggest that she has a case.
In other hiring news, the Press reports: City commissioners also have narrowed their search for a new city attorney to three candidates. The finalists for the job include two internal candidates, Assistant City Attorney Catherine Mish and Assistant City Attorney Bernard Schaefer, and Walter Downes, an Ionia lawyer who represents several small municipalities. The full City Commission plans to conduct final interviews in late April.
Sorry, I just don't have the time to write on this in detail, I have to catch a plane to Kansas.
I'd also love to hear from or see if someone can find quotes (I only used the Press for this post)from the four commissioners who voted with Heartwell.
So, here's the first of the "Reports from X County Democratic Party Meeting." I hope that my colleagues will write about their county meetings -- Kalamazoo and Manistee -- and that other users from throughout West Michigan will write about their county meetings. You might want to check with your Chair to make sure they're OK with information being made public and you might want to come to some sort of an arrangement (this is all for the best of the parties after all). I hope that this series informs members that don't normally make the meetings and encourages them to become more active in their local grassroots. And this doesn't need to be simply for Democratic County Parties, this can be for your progressive group or organization. It's all about staying informed.
Of course, these are unofficial reports by Party members, not official minutes or records. -- Phil
The March meeting of the Kent County Democratic Party took place this past Wednesday (12 March) at Woodcock Hall.
After the preliminaries, we heard an address by Tony Baker, who is running for the Grand Rapids Board of Education in elections scheduled for 6 May. Tony introduced himself as a father of kids in GR schools for the past five years since he moved from Big Rapids to Grand Rapids. Baker is a sociology professor at Ferris State University. In his talk and literature he pointed out that he's running to improve district-community communication and partnerships, provide teachers with high quality resources, and expand early childhood education. Tony noted that he is a MEA member and has been endorsed by the GREA. He is running to finish Jim Rinck's term and is running against Senita Lenear who was appointed when Rinck resigned.
David LaGrand gave the report on the City Commission. He noted that the Commission would be making two important and rare hires in the next weeks, for City Clerk and City Attorney and was interested in getting input from everyone. LaGrand argued that wind power and alternative energy sources should be part of the long-term future of the region and the city and urged everyone to contact their legislators and ask them to pass the Renewable Portfolio Standard legislation in Lansing. Finally, he invited everyone to the fundraiser for Dillon and Hennessey and noted that the city needs friends on the County Commission and therefore it was important to hold those two new seats and expand the Democratic caucus on the County Commission.
Paul Mayhue (with some help from Jim Vaughn) gave the County Commission report. Mayhue noted that he believes the Downtown Development Authority out to hold public meetings, preferably covered on public-access TV, since it is spending taxpayer money. Vaughn and Mayhue discussed the 63rd District Court issue stating that they believed that court consolidation was a cost effective measure for a county with a future of population growth. He noted that a magistrate judge would remain in Rockford and that the old court house would remain in use. He mentioned the new 911 surcharge. Finally Mayhue and Vaughn invited everyone to the Grand Rapids Black Elected Officials Townhall at the Ford Middle School (the old Madison school at Franklin and Madison) on 10 April from 5:30 - 7:30 pm.
Bob Synk announced that they would be running for the 19th District seat to the County Commission, currently held by Republican Nadine Klein (south-east Grand Rapids).
Pete Hickey announced that they would be running for the 12th District seat to the County Commission, currently held by Republican Harold Mast (Kentwood and Wyoming).
Chairperson Sue Levy and Doug Nyman (chair of the Candidate Recruitment Committee) mentioned that candidates for other districts, especially Wyoming (District 8 currently held by Republican Boelema) and Kentwood (District 13, which also includes a section of southern Grand Rapids, currently held by Vander Molen), were still to be recruited and everyone was urged to nominate someone in that district. Levy noted that the KCDP and MDP were ready to help committed candidates with training and fundraising and other assistance. So, y'all got any good nominees - smart folks who are willing to work hard to get elected and then govern the county well?
In New Business, Levy announced that Kent County had the chance to host a Camp Millie training workshop. The officers put forward two resolutions to sponsor Camp Millie and to support KCDP members who attend the workshop. After some discussion, both resolutions passed on voice votes without opposition.
Camp Millie will take place over two days from on 17 and 18 May, at the UAW Region 1-D Building off the East Beltline, just north of Meijer Gardens.
I encourage everyone who is thinking about helping a campaign or organization or is interested in running for office or just being a better activist, to attend this rare workshop (Sue noted that the tri-county area hadn't had such a campaign training workshop in about 2 years).
With the long winter this year, marked by a prolonged season of thaw-and-refreeze, the pothole situation in Grand Rapids has reached a crisis. Part of the problem, you guessed it, lack of funding (thanks Engler). The wet weather also made it difficult to patch the holes. So, in a search for some solutions, during a recent City Commission meeting, the head of the Grand Rapids Street and Sanitation Department suggested city commissioners get a better perspective on patching potholes by watching his workers in action.
Recently elected Second Ward Commissioner David LaGrand took up the challenge. He donned a safety vest, grabbed a shovel and headed out with city pothole crews twice in the last two weeks.
LaGrand told WOOD-TV that the city needed more funding from Lansing and also had to come up with creative solutions:
"If we can get more revenues from the state locally, that would be good. If we can get involved in more public-private partnerships on things, and be efficient about everything we're doing, I hope that's part of where we're going to get more money from."
Unfortunately, David, didn't call me to let me know he was going out with road crews for a second time, so I can only get a screenshot off the video, but you can see the News Channel 8 video report here.
District 20 Kalamazoo Robert Jones District 21 Berrien, Cass, Van Buren
Scott Elliott District 24 Allegan, Barry, Eaton
Michelle DiSano District 28 Kent (part)
Robin Golden District 29 Kent (part) David LaGrand District 30 Ottawa
John Chester District 34 Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Newaygo Mary Valentine District 35 Northwest LP Roger Dunigan District 37 Grand Traverse & north Bob Carr
Michigan State House Candidates
District 59 (St. Joseph & Cass Counties)
Carol Higgins District 60 (Kalamazoo) Sean McCann District 61 (Kalamazoo) Thomas Batten District 63 (Kalamazoo)
David Morgan District 70 (Ionia & Montcalm Counties) Mike Huckleberry District 72 (Kentwood & Cascade)
Brian Bosak District 73 (Kent County)
Jerrod Roberts District 74 (Ottawa County)
Leon Chase District 75 (Grand Rapids) Brandon Dillon District 76 (Grand Rapids) Roy Schmidt District 77 (Wyoming)
Scott Baron District 78 (Berrien County) Cindy Ellis District 79 (Berrien County) Julee Laurent District 80 (VanBuren) Tom Erdmann District 86 (Kent County)
Frank Hammond District 87 (Barry & Ionia Counties)
Greg Grieves District 89 (Ottawa County)
Donald Bergman District 91 (Muskegon)
Ben Gillette District 92 (Muskegon)
Marcia Hovey-Wright District 100 (Newaygo, Lake, and Oceana Counties)
Donald Bergman District 101 (Northwest) Dan Scripps
County Commissions Candidates
Allegan County Commission
9 Fritz Spreitzer (I)
10 April Carvalho
Barry County Commission
1 Bob Dickinson
Benzie County Commission
3 Kristin Hollenbeck (I)
4 Anne Damm (I)
6 Donald Tanner (I)
Berrien County Commission
3 Marletta Seats (I)
4 Mamie Yarbrough (I)
10 Andrew Vavra (I)
11 Jess Minks
12 Michael Ringler
13 John Klimek (I)
Cass County Commission
1 Ed Goodman (I)
7 David Taylor (I)
9 Judy Helpingstine
11 Clark Cobb (I)
12 Minnie Warren (I)
13 Johnie Rodebush (I)
14 Debbie Johnson (I)
Grand Traverse County Commission
1 Bernol Soutar
Ionia County Commission
1 Lynn Mason (I)
4 Mark Vroman (I)
Kalamazoo County Commission
1 Jack Urban (I)
2 Carolyn Alford (I)
3 Robert Barnard (I)
4 John Taylor (I)
5 Brian Johnson (I)
6 Mike Seals
7 David Buskirk (I)
9 Chuck Vliek
10 Michael Quinn (I)
11 Barb Hammon
12 Scott McCormick
13 Harvey Hanna
15 Leroy Crabtree
16 Thomas Post
17 Jerry Rudolph
Kent County Commission
1 Mary Lauka
2 Patricia Kramer
3 James Black
4 Fred Clowney
6 James Rinck
7 Al Nielsen
8 Keith Courtade (I)
9 Duane Sprague
10 Albert Abbasse
11 Russell Duffin
12 Pete Hickey (I)
13 Kyle Hinton
14 Carol Hennessy (I)
15 Dick Bulkowski (I)
16 Jim Talen (I)
17 Candace Chivis
18 Richard Tormala
19 Bob Synk (I)
Leelanau County Commission
3 Jason Harrall
6 David Marshall (I)
7 Karl Dungjen
Manistee County Commission
2 Marlene E. Wood-Zylstra
3 Glenn Lottie (I)
4 Ervin A. Kowalski (I)
5 Karl R. Waitner
6 Jim Krolczyk (I)
7 Carl Rutske (I)
Montcalm County Commission
1 Ronald C. Blanding (I)
Mason County Commission
5 Jerome Rybicki (I)
8 David Fonnesbeck
Musekgon County Commission
1 Kenneth Mahoney (I)
2 Charles Buzzell (I)
4 James Derezinski (I)
5 Carl Wentzlof
6 Lew Collins (I)
7 Scott Plummer
8 Anthony Longmire
9 Rillastine Wilkins
10 Benjamin Cross
11 John Jurkas
Newaygo County Commission
1 Barbara Geno (I)
5 Rick Werkema
Oceana County Commission
1 David Spitler
5 Evelyn Kolbe (I)
Ottawa County Commission
3 Jeff Williams
Van Buren County Commission
1 Claudia Maddox
3 Al Hughes
