Jews Faring Well
Jewish candidates advance to general election in November.
SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
StaffWriter
jr ewish candidates did well in the Aug. 6 pri-
mary election in state legislative and judicial
races.
Winners will advance to the general elec-
tion on Nov. 5.
Michigan Legislature:
• Democrat Gilda Jacobs, who ran unopposed in
the primary election, will vie against Republican
Marc Wilkins for the four-year
term as 14th District state senator
in southeast Oakland County. The
job pays $79,650.
• Democrat Andy Meisner beat
out three opponents in the race for
Democratic candidate for the two-
year term as 27th District state
representative in southeast
Oakland County. He will run
against Republican Keith Sanford
Andy
in November for the $79,650 seat.
Meisner
Meisner took 52 percent of the
vote, despite negative mailings,
including one that Meisner said had distorted his
views on prison sentencing for drug offenders. In
answer to the literature mailed by the Oakland
County Quality of Life organization based in Orion
Township, Meisner says the solution for stopping
non-violent drug offenders is often through drug
treatment and drug testing programs that also
include life skills training — at less than one-tenth
the cost of a single year of incarceration. Even with
the negative tactics aimed against him, Meisner
found it important not to attack back.
"I resisted the temptation to attack the very cold,
calculated and sarcastic attacks," Meisner says.
"There was ample opportunity for the candidates to
discuss issues openly. Hiding and hurling vicious
attacks is something the people of the 27th District
spoke out against loud and clear. I hope my victory
sends that message."
For Meisner, a perk of running his campaign was
the time and support of family and friends. "The
GAZA from page 16
Monday. Israeli tanks cut off the
southern town of Rafah, often a flash:-
point of violence, and an adjacent
refugee camp from the rest of Gaza.
Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer said
restrictions would be tightened further
and the army was planning operations
to "maintain a much bigger closure
than what we are doing now."
8/ 9
2002
18
campaign allowed the opportunity for my family to
rally together," he says. "The whole thing was a great
family effort," says his mother, Marian McClellan of
Oak Park. "Working together with Andy, his stepdad
and sister was the nicest thing about it."
Being Jewish plays a large role in the way Meisner
campaigns and in the way he sees politics. "There is
a huge connection between my faith and the politi-
cal ideology of the Democrats," he 'says. "I see a lot
of parallels between the Democratic Party and
Judaism. Both have a high focus on education and
compassion."
• Running unopposed in the primary, incumbent
Republican Marc Shulman now
will run for the two-year term as
39th District state representative
in the West Bloomfield-
Commerce area against Democrat
Stuart Brickner, the only Jew
who ran against two others on
the Democratic side in the pri-
mary.
• The only Jews running in the
primary for the two-year term as
Michelle
Friedman Appel Bloomfield-area 40th District state
representative both won.
Republican Shelley Goodman
Taub, who paced a field of six, will vie against
Democrat Shelli Weisberg, who topped one oppo-
nent, for the position in November.
Judiciary
• The top two vote recipients of nine contenders,
including six Jews, for the two positions as Oak
Park-based 45B District Court judge were Jewish
candidates. David Gubow and Michelle Friedman
Appel will be on the November ballot along with
Gil Whitney McRipley and Angela Diggs Jackson,
vying for two six-year-term positions that pay
$138,272. The positions were left vacant by retiring
Judges Marvin Frankel an _ d Benjamin Friedman,
who is Friedman Appel's father.
Thrilled about gathering so many votes in the
diverse district where she ran, Friedman Appel is look-
ing ahead to the November election. "I look toward
repeating this win," she says. "I hope to take the legal
The announcement appeared to be
an about-face from the decision a day
earlier to continue.. easing restrictions
on Palestinian civilians.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and
Ben-Eliezer made the decision to ease
the restrictions Sunday, even after the
Cabinet learned of Sunday's bus
bombing in northern Israel.
experience I've gathered in more than 20 years of prac-
ticing law and combine it with my current position as
county commissioner in Pontiac," she says.
"I know what people want and expect in a court-
room and I know what they want outside of it," she
says of her county commission experience.
There, she created and funded programs to divert
first-time offenders toward solving underlying prob-
lems, and programs to allow an open court system
to mediate without the cost of an attorney.
• Incumbent 48th District Court Judge Kimberly
Small is unopposed for a six-year term in the
Bloomfield Township-based court.
• In the 47th District court race representing the
Farmington area, the five Jewish candidates — Barry
Brickner, Larry Leib, Paul Blizman, Alan Vosko and
Sidney Kraizman — came up short against Jim
Brady and Annette Raczkowski, who will square off
for the six-year term.
• Incumbent Judge Bryan Levy, the only Jewish
candidate in the race for 46th District Court judge,
led four candidates for a six-year term in the
Southfield-based court. He'll face challenger Shelia
Johnson in November..
•
SMART Bus Service
Oakland County voters approved a tax increase to
continue a public transportation system to serve the
elderly, disabled and general public. The new .6 mill
for 2002-2005 will allow continued support to the
Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional
Transportation (SMART). It replaces the .33 mill
levied by the Oakland County Public Transportation
Authority in 1998. ❑
Jewish primary winners for two-year terms as
county commissioners include:
• 14th District (Farmington Hills area):
Democrat Ryan J. Gesund will face
Republican Michael Rogers.
• 16th District (West Bloomfield area):
Democrat Maxine Brickner will face
Republican Greg Jamian.
• 17th District (Bloomfield-West Bloomfield
area): Democrat Ruth Fischel Fuller will face
Republican Thomas Law
• 21st District (Southfield-Berkley area):
Republican Milton Dzodin will face Democrat
Vincent Gregory.
• 22nd District (Oak Park area): Democrat
Helaine Zack will face Republican Eurick
Crayton Jr.
County commissioners receive $28,615 a year.
The attack, claimed by Hamas, killed
nine Israelis and wounded more than 40,
several critically. Many of the passengers
were soldiers traveling to their bases.
The measures to help the Palestinian
population include permitting up to •
12,000 Palestinians to work in Israel,
lowering the age of Palestinians
allowed to enter Israel, increasing the
number of Palestinian merchants
allowed to trade in Israel and easing
travel restrictions on Palestinian med-
ical and aid teams operating in
Palestinian-controlled areas.
Sources in the Prime Minister's
Office were quoted as saying the meas-
ures were intended to stave off interna-
tional condemnation of Israel in a
report issued this week on the plight of
the Palestinian population.
❑