0

It's Over

Left:
Carl and Barbara
Levin: Satisfied by
the incoming
results.

Local races added spice
to an otherwise predictable election year.

S

Below:
Voter turnout in
Oakland County
was particularly
high.

JULIE EDGAR SENIOR WRITER

teve Kaplan would have been the
first Democrat to win the Oakland
County prosecutor's post in almost
30 years and the second Jew ever
to hold the office.
And as late as 10 a.m. Wednesday,
he thought he had made a little histo-
ry.
Then the call came. The county clerk's
office caught Mr. Kaplan at home at 11
a.m. to let him know there had been an
18,000-vote miscount in Troy. Rather
than beating Republican David Gorcy-
ca by 12,000 votes, Mr. Kaplan had lost
by 7,000 votes.
Four years ago, Mr. Kaplan lost to
Prosecutor Richard Thompson by only
30,000 votes, a good showing consider-
ing that he had taken on an incumbent
in a Republican county.
"I'm disappointed in losing. We ran a
close race. I'm disappointed because I
wanted the honor and the opportunity
to run the prosecutor's office," he said.
He did not want to "delve into the fact"
that he had assumed he won and had
been taking phone calls all morning
from well-wishers.
Candidates in several close Oakland

County races spent Wednes-
day on the phone, either still
waiting for final results, or
taking congratulatory calls.
Kimberly Small's phone rang
23 times in an hour and a
half. Ms. Small beat Judge
Thomas Brookover in a hot-
ly contested race for the 48th
District Court. Ms. Small and
her opponent's supporters
agreed her aggressive door-
to-door campaigning helped
earn her the victory. The 48th
District Court serves West
Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield
Township, Birmingham, Sylvan Lake,
Orchard Lake and Keego Harbor.
By 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, Ms.
Small, who waited for the returns with
family and friends, walked away with
2,133 votes more than the incumbent.
"I always believed we could do it," Ms.
Small said. "We would have never got-
ten in the race if we didn't think change
was needed, or we didn't think it could
be done. They key, I think, was that we
stayed focused even though we got hit
a few times along the way."

Ms. Small drew criticism from some
members of the Jewish community
when she sent out campaign literature
suggesting Jews should support a Jew-
ish candidate. Ms. Small expressed sec-
ond thoughts over the mailing but
maintained it was taken out of context.
In another key judicial race, Nanci
Grant secured 53.7 percent of the vote,
beating John O'Brien for a seat on the
Oakland County Circuit Court. Ob-
servers of the race say finances and gen-
der favored Ms. Grant.
As expected, Oakland County voters

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PHOTO BY DANIEL LIPPITT

JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER

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ELECTION page 12

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