The Democratic Party in Ward 5 Precinct 4 Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Hohnke Barely Wins the 5th Ward Democratic Primary for City Council Votes Percentage Vivienne Armentrout 1552 48.99% Carsten Hohnke 1610 50.82% More info. Our Best Picnic to Date! The clouds tried to scare us on the morning of the 26th, but the day turned out beautiful, and about fifty people came to Waterworks Park, a great place for a neighborhood picnic. We fired up the grills, talked with neighbors, played some croquet, and listened to the two Fifth Ward city council candidates. They actually debated at times! Then three of the judicial candidates for the 15th District Court spoke about their qualifications and records. We did pretty well with our goal of zero waste during by using silverware, reuseable plates, and cups. Not bad for the third edition of our annual picnic. Rain Postpones Our Picnic to Saturday July 26 1-4 PM at Waterworks Park It started to rain, and the radar looked terrible, so we decided to postpone. We'll try again on Saturday July 26 -- but the same time, same place, same food, same candidates, and the same croquet. This time, no rain. We hope. We'll hear from Fifth Ward candidates for City Council, 15th District Court candidates, and an organizer from the Obama Campaign. Precinct 4 is forming a team to help elect Obama. The P5-4 Democratic Committee endorses Vivienne Armentrout to represent the 5th Ward in City Council. Vote in the Tuesday August 5th primary election. We met with both candidates, and then the Democratic Committee chose to endorse Vivienne because we like: her experience and knowledge her ability to do the work and her Ann Arbor values She has been a County Commissioner, so she has a good grasp of the issues, especially as the City and the County seek to work more closely together. More information at her web site. Note that the Democratic Party does not endorse candidates in primary elections, but the P5-4 Democratic Committee is an ally, and is not part of the Democratic Party. Councilperson Sabra Briere spoke on the proposed court and police building. Spending $47 million for an annex to city hall is not justified. The speech. Our next meeting is Saturday 24 May, 1-3 PM We'll be discussing the news, and discuss our canvass of the precinct. All Democrats and independents living in the precinct are welcome. For more information, email us at p54people@gmail.com Our next meeting is Saturday 19 April, 1-3 PM 5th Ward City Council candidate Carsten Hohnke will be there to answer questions. The meeting is at Kathy's house at 1726 Charlton. Questions? Email us at p54people@gmail.com 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary Tuesday 15 January -- 7 AM to 8 PM Slauson School Here's what we can tell you. Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, Mike Gravel, and Dennis Kucinich are on the ballot. Dodd has withdrawn from the race. The rest, including Barack Obama and John Edwards, are not on the primary ballot, which has annoyed people to no end. They withdrew when Michigan was penalized by the Democratic Party for moving its primary to January 15th against its rules. Here's what the Democratic State Central Committee wrote: Voters will vote at their regular polling places between 7 A.M. and 8 P.M. Voters can vote by absentee ballot if they meet one of the requirements - out of town, age 60 or older, disability, etc. The deadline to register to vote is 30 days before January 15, 2008 or December 17, 2007. In order to vote at a polling place, a voter must show a photo ID or sign a statement that they do not have a photo ID with them. Absentee voters do not have to produce a photo ID. Voters will be asked whether they want a Democratic or Republican ballot, and a record will be made of which ballot they take. The voter's choice of candidate will be secret as in all public elections. The Democratic ballot will have six choices Hillary Clinton Christopher Dodd Mike Gravel Dennis Kucinich Uncommitted Write-in A vote for "uncommitted" is a vote to send delegates to the Democratic National Convention who are not committed or pledged to any candidate. Those delegates can vote for any candidate they choose at the Convention. Supporters of Joe Biden, John Edwards, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson are urged to vote "uncommitted " instead of writing in their candidates' names because write-in votes for those candidates will not be counted. 2007 Fifth Ward City Council Election Results Mike Anglin was elected on November 6th. More info. Votes Percentage Mike Anglin 711 92.70% Write-In 56 7.30% Election November 6th In Ann Arbor's 5th Ward, only Mike Anglin is on the ballot because he won the Democratic primary in August. Since the 5th Ward is solidly Democratic, it's a pretty good bet that he will be elected to be our next city councilperson. More information. Voter ID law now in effect The Voter ID law will be enforced in this election. You must either bring photo id when you vote, or sign a form saying you are not in possession of picture id. What does "in possession" mean? Good question. It could mean that you left it at home, or that you never had picture id, or that you've lost it. In any case, you can just sign the form -- it's called an affidavit -- and then vote. There should be an affidavit on the back of the little form you sign when you first walk in. The mayor was in the running for a state job. Unfortunately, the Ann Arbor News has deleted the article from their web site. Challenger Mike Anglin defeated Wendy Woods in the August 7th primary election.   Votes Percentage Wendy Ann Woods 671 40.42% Mike Anglin 989 59.58% Here is the county's report. Our July 14th picnic was great! Good food, good croquet, good conversation, and a couple of quick umbrellas kept the candidates dry while they told us about their favorite candidate. Precinct 5-4's Second Annual Summer Picnic! Saturday July 14th, 12-3 pm in our own Waterworks Park on 8th Street between Washington and Liberty All 5th Ward Democrats and independents are invited.   We'll have hot dogs, veggie burgers, croquet, frisbee, conversation, and no rain. The rain date is July 28.   Bring a blanket or chair. Bring a dish to pass if you like. Meet your neighbors and bring your neighbors. Elections You must be registered to vote 30 days before an election, and 5-4 residents can register to vote at the Clerk's office at City Hall, 8-5 pm, 994-2725, or any Secretary of State's office.   More info at the Clerk's web page.   Still more info at the County's web site.   Check your registration at Michigan.gov/vote. Precinct 5-4 votes at Slauson Middle School at Washington and Ninth Street.   More info on that at Ann Arbor's web site.   Enter your address, validate it, and then switch to the Voter tab. Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice Congratulations to Senator Debbie Stabenow for co-sponsoring a bill to restore habeas corpus just one day before nearly 100 Michigan citizens traveled to Washington to meet with her about this. Senator Stabenow had voted for the Military Commissions Act, a law that damaged habeus corpus and allowed torture, and her vote motivated the group to seek the meeting. Now if we can just get the bill passed. You can see the rally at the June Action web site. If you have the right of Habeus corpus, then the government cannot just arrest you and hold you forever, but must charge you with a crime or release you. It is one of our fundamental liberties, and one the Bush administration has sought to reduce. The rally and meetings were organized by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Amnesty International, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. Who we are We are some of the Democrats in Ann Arbor's Precinct 4 of Ward 5. We think Democrats can get the people in the USA out of the mess we're in if we work together. If you're a Democrat, or leaning that way, and live the precinct (see the map), we invite you to join. You can reach us at p54people@gmail.com We're interested in the Greenway, affordable housing, the Greenbelt, the development of downtown Ann Arbor, the City's budget, and enhancing that certain something that makes Ann Arbor a good place to live.