And a good time was had by all...
It came down to a fight on the floor in the race for attorney general and secretary of state at the Democratic state convention Sunday, but the battle was tepid as Grosse Pointe attorney Amos Williams and Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh easily won the nominations.
Williams will face Republican Attorney General Mike Cox, and Sabaugh will run against Republican Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land.
Left in the dust after months of campaigning were Scott Bowen, a Grand Rapids attorney who has been running for the attorney general nomination for more than a year, and state Rep. Mary Waters of Detroit, who lost her bid for secretary of state, in part because of a very public spat with Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
The Bowen supporters had a very visual presence Saturday, but it looks like labor got behind Williams at the end.
The influential Labor Caucus set the nominations in motion Saturday when it got behind Williams and Sabaugh.
Although party officials would have preferred a settled ticket before the convention started Saturday, the floor fight kept delegates in their seats until the end of the two-day convention.
And the contested races didn't expose signs of weakness or divisions in the party, said Williams, a former Detroit police officer.
"We're all Democrats. We don't all have to think alike or march alike," he said. "We get to debate and jostle with each other, but when we leave this hall, we're all Democrats with one objective: to win in November."
And Bowen, who conceded defeat when it became clear that he was far short of victory, said the Democrats would stand united behind the entire ticket.
"Whatever happens today, I'll stand with you because Cox has got to go," he said.
Does this make my "Goin' with Bowen" t-shirt a collector's item? (hey- they were free. How could I resist.)
All along the roadside (very close to the highway) coming in to Detroit there were "Cox: Attorney General" signs. Is that even legal? Isn't that state property?
Cox, we might be able to take out. Terri Lynn Land will be a tougher battle.
Sabaugh emerged as a consensus candidate for secretary of state in the last few weeks. As Macomb County clerk for 14 years and Warren city clerk for 11 years before that, she said she was the better-qualified candidate.
"I know how to run elections, fair and open," she said. "I have a record of actions, not words. I know Terri Land and I can beat her."
Matt at Michigan Liberal has a great write up on Sabaugh here. Pretty impressive, but can she get the name recognition out there?
And once again- this election turns personal for me. Imagine my surprise to find one of my good friends from elementary school nominated for the MI Supreme Court.
DETROIT (AP) -- Democrats on Sunday nominated Grand Rapids attorney Jane Beckering for the Michigan Supreme Court.
Beckering, 41, is a partner in the Grand Rapids law firm of Buchanan & Beckering PLC, where she handles medical negligence cases.
She said she was surprised to be tapped to run for the state's highest court but has grown increasingly frustrated with the court's direction since former GOP Gov. John Engler filled four of the court's seven seats through appointments before leaving office in 2002.
"Ever since that time ... I have watched an erosion of the rights of Michigan people," Beckering said, adding that the court now favors the interests of big business and big insurance companies over the rights of individual plaintiffs.
The Michigan Trial Lawyers Association treasurer said she agreed to run when Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm "called on me to get off the sidelines and do something about it."
The Governor made an excellent choice. Jane is one of the smartest people I have ever known. We used to run with the "egghead" crowd when we were young- two of them went on to split the Valedictorian award for the Forest Hills Central Class of '83- and we were pretty good friends up until high school. At that point I set all the dials for "self-destruct" and joined the booze and rock-n-roll crowd; Jane went on to be a successful upstanding citizen. I always knew she would- some are destined for great things in life. That was Jane.
Jane was different from the other rich little brats that populated Forest Hills. She always had a sense of compassion for everyone- a heart of gold. She didn't act like she was "above" other people like the rest were so fond of doing. And funny. God, was she funny. We used to laugh quite a bit; she could always crack me up.
She will make an excellent judge.
The scales of justice need to be recalibrated," she told the more than 2,000 Democratic activists attending Sunday's state convention at Cobo Center.
Beckering is married to federal prosecutor Ray Beckering, who prosecutes health care fraud in the western district of Michigan. The couple has two daughters and a son. A native of Grand Rapids, she earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her law degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Congratulations Jane!
We now have the one of the best of FHC running for a position (Jane), and one of the worst of FHC running for a position (Dick).
One bought it, one earned it.