Michigan Elects
Jewish Politicos
Larry Deitch was somewhat
baffled when he got con-
dolence phone calls the day
after the election. A Detroit
News list of winners and
losers inaccurately listed the
Bloomfield Hills attorney
among the losing candidates
in the University of Mich-
igan board of regents race.
Mr. Deitch, a Democrat,
did win his race.
In fact, 15 members of
metropolitan Detroit's Jew-
ish community prevailed in
local, state and national
races.
The other winners are:
U.S. House
Sander Levin, D-
Southfield, 12th District
State House
Burton Leland, D-Detroit,
13th District
David Gubow, D-
Huntington Woods, 35th
District
Maxine Berman, D-
Southfield, 36th District
Oakland County Com-
mission
Lawrence Pernick, D-
Southfield, 20th District
Lillian Jaffe Oaks, D-
Southfield, 21st District
Shelley Goodman Taub, R-
West Bloomfield, 12th
District
Helene White
Dennis Aaron, D-Oak
Park, 23rd District
West Bloomfield Trustee
Marc Schulman - R
Michael Alan Schwartz - R
State Board of Edu-
cation
Kathleen Straus, D -
Detroit
Levin Joins Senate Minyan
After Jewish Election Victories
F
Kathleen Straus
State Court of Appeals
Helene White, Detroit, 1st
District
Martin Doctoroff, Birm-
ingham, 2nd District
47th District Court
Marla Parker, Farmington
Hills.
Jewish Vote
Favors Clinton
The American Jewish corn-
munity voted more than 6 to
1 in favor of the Clinton-
Gore Democratic ticket, ac-
cording to an American Jew-
ish Congress election day
exit poll.
Of 3,076 voters polled in
over 100 election precincts
across the country, 85.5 per-
cent opted for the Democrat-
ic ticket. The last candidate
who secured such a high
percentage of Jewish sup-
port was Franklin Delano
Roosevelt with 90 percent.
The Republican team of
Bush-Quayle took 10.5 per-
cent and the independent
Perot-Stockdale ticket won 4
percent of the Jewish vote.
About 18 percent of those
Jews who voted Democratic
said they voted for the
Republicans in 1988. And 70
percent said they voted
Democratic in 1988.
Of those Jews who voted
for H. Ross Perot, 27 percent
previously voted Democrat-
ic, 52 percent voted Repub-
lican in 1988 and 18 percent
did not vote in the last presi-
dential election.
Jewish voters were polled
in California, Florida, Il-
linois, Maryland, Massachu-
setts, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania and Washing-
ton, D.C. AJC estimates that
or the first time ever,
Michigan's Jewish
senator, Carl Levin,
might have the chance
to participate in a Senate
minyan (egalitarian) on
Capitol Hill.
When the 103rd Congress
convenes in January, Mr.
Levin, the state's junior
senator, will be among 10
Jewish senators in Washing-
ton. Across the country, the
Jewish community gained
two Senate members — br-
inging the previous total of
eight to 10 — 10 percent of
the entire U.S. Senate.
This indeed was a
historical year for women,
especially for two Jewish
women from California —
Barbara Boxer and Diane
Feinstein. Ms. Boxer, a
former U.S. representative,
and Ms. Feinstein, a former
San Francisco mayor, won
their respective campaign
bids, becoming the first
female duo to represent a
state in the U.S. Senate.
(Regarding a bit of confu-
sion over Ms. Feinstein's
religiosity, Ms. Feinstein's
father's side of her family is
Jewish; her mother's side is
not. Her husband is Jewish;
and she considers herself
Jewish.)
84 percent of the American
Jewish population resides in
these areas.
Responding to the heavy
Clinton-Gore support,
leaders of the National Jew-
ish Coalition, of which
Detroit's Max Fisher is an
honorary chairman, said the
Jewish community failed to
recognize President George
Bush's accomplishments on
issues of concern to them.
"Had the electorate judged
George Bush solely on his
record rather than on the
tone and rhetoric of the
campaign, we believe the
results would have been
different," said Matt Brooks,
The Clinton Gore team had a Jewish coattail effect.
-
Because of Russell Fe-
ingold's victory over Sen.
Robert Kasten, Wisconsin
also will send two Jewish
senators to Washington. Mr.
Feingold joins Sen. Herbert
Kohl on the Potomac.
Though the House lost
some key players for the
Jewish community — Steven
Solarz, D-New York, who
lost his primary bid; Howard
Wolpe, D-Michigan, who
retired; and Ted Weiss, D-
New York, who died — there
will be 11 new Jewish faces
and 33 Jewish memberS in
total.
executive director for the
NJC.
Inauguration
Fever?
Political consultant and
Jewish activist Faylene
Owen and her husband, at-
torney and former East Lan-
sing Mayor Larry Owen,
raised $1.5 million as co-
chairs of the Clinton-Gore
Michigan campaign. That's
the most money ever raised
in Michigan for a Democrat-
ic presidential candidate,
Ms. Owen says.
But now what?
The couple plans to take a
little vacation to Las Vegas.
The new members are:
Democrats Herb Klein of
New Jersey, Marjorie Ne-
zeinsky of Pennsylvania,
Jane Harmon of California,
Sam Coppersmith of
Arizona, Peter Deutsch of
Florida, Bob Filner of
California, Eric Fingerhut of
Cleveland, Dan Hamburg of
California, Jerry Nadler of
New York, Lynn Schenk of
California; and Republican
David Levy of New York.
Former Michigander
Morry Waksburg, a Repub-
lican in California, lost his
congressional bid.
And then, Ms. Owen says, it
will be time to do some work
on the inaugural ball. So far,
the couple plans to stay in
East Lansing.
Not much time to rest.
Lanie Pincus, who helped
EMILY's List raise hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars
for pro-choice female Dem-
ocratic candidates, next
week begins work on a pre-
inauguration gala in honor
of the Democratic women
the PAC helped elect to the
House and the Senate.
In total, Congress will
have 57 women next year —
47 in 'the House (up from
28)— and six (up from two) in
the Senate.
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