Metro

A Different Look

West Bloomfield voters opt for new leadership.

Bill Carroll
Special to the Jewish News

primary.)
Trustee Robert
Spector, who would have
ichigan townships were cre-
been the last surviving
ated in 1787 with election laws
incumbent board mem-
that are now a bit archaic. They
ber, got 2,340 votes and
require the three township officers and
was ousted by Steven
four board members to run for election at
Kaplan, 5,999, Gene
Kaplan
the same time, with no overlapping terms
Farber, 4,342, Larry
to provide continuity — and apparently
Brown, 4,206, and Howard Rosenberg,
making it easy for voters to sweep them
3,824. Also running was Scott Winnick,
all out of office.
2,278. All are Democrats. Trustees
That pretty much happened in West
Deborah Macon and Robert Sher didn't
Bloomfield in the Aug. 5
seek re-election.
primary.
The four nominees
Clerk Sharon Law
will run against the
and Treasurer Denise
unopposed Republican,
Hammond didn't seek
John Cyrus Mohyi,
re-election anyway after
2,677, a 19-year-old
20 years in office.
Wayne State University
Supervisor David
political science major.
Flaisher was upset after
-
Cathy Shaughnessy,
Economou
Shaughnessy
two terms by newcomer
51, with 3,528 votes,
Michelle Economou, 39, a business con-
defeated Sheryl Mitchell, 2,742, and
sultant and journalist, in the Democratic
Heddie O'Connor, 661, in the Democratic
race, 4,855 to 2,676; she achieved 64
clerk battle. With no Republicans in the
percent of the vote. She will run against
race, Shaughnessy's nomination is tan-
Republican Jeff Matte, 2,944, a West
tamount to election (barring a write-in
Bloomfield police officer, in the Nov. 4
campaign).
election.
The results were mixed for Jewish can-
Trustee Stuart Brickner, trying to
didates. Flaisher, Brickner and Spector
replace Hammond, was beaten by Teri
leave office, but Weingarden, Kaplan, 54,
Adelberg Weingarden,
an assistant Macomb
38, a lifelong West
County prosecutor,
Bloomfield resident, in
Farber, 61, an attorney,
the Democratic con-
Brown, 63, a retired
test, 4,633 to 2,659; she
CPA, and Rosenberg,
received 63 percent of
56, a chiropractor, head
the vote. She will face
into the November fray,
Republican Jason Feld,
along with treasurer
Weingarden
2,912, a corporate con-
Rosenberg
candidate Feld.
troller, in November.
Two Jewish
(Matte and Feld were unopposed in the
women will clash in November for the

M

Crossing the Line

August 14 • 2008

$109,347 a year.

Economou, who
isn't Jewish, also cam-
paigned at the Meer
and Hechtman resi-
dences on the Eugene
▪ and Marcia Applebaum
Jewish Community
Farber
Campus "where I'm now
an unofficial granddaughter to everyone
there," she quipped. "And I met Jerry
Iskow, a Temple Israel member, who sent
me matzah ball soup every week to keep
me going, and invited
my family [she's mar-
ried with three children]
to his house for chicken
dinners!'
Economou has a
master's degree in
public administration.
If elected, she plans to
Lisa Brown
keep Flaisher's staff with
their expertise, but real-
izes that costs must be reduced in many
areas.
Flaisher commented: "I conducted my
campaign with dignity, and I am very
proud of the job I have done for the town-
ship."
Weingarden, who has a master's degree
in industrial relations, also cited the union
endorsements as key to
her victory.
"I waged a positive,
refreshing campaign,
and met a lot of friendly
people who want a
change. My finance and
business background
Peterman
will help — but I'm tak-
ing nothing for granted
in November." ❑

In Other Races...

A whopping 728 ballots were spoiled
by absentee voters who crossed over
and voted for a mixture of Democratic
and Republican candidates in the
Aug. 5 West Bloomfield primary.
Crossing over is allowed in a general
election (Nov. 4), but not in a primary.
Residents who voted at the polls
spoiled 151 ballots for the same

A28

39th District (West
Bloomfield and
Commerce) State House
of Representative seat.
Lisa Brown, a realtor, got
58 percent of the vote
to beat John Kuriakuz,
4,649 to 3,370, in the
Feld
Democratic contest.
Amy Peterman, a family-law attorney, gar-
nered 50 percent to top David Wolkinson
by 87 votes, 3,004 to 2,017 in the GOP
contest.
Endorsement by the
West Bloomfield Police
Officers Association
was an important fac-
tor in the victories of
Economou, Weingarden,
Shaughnessy, Kaplan
and Brown. Many off-
duty police and fire-
Larry Brown
fighters campaigned for
them, distributing flyers outside of polling
precincts. The five also were endorsed by
the Detroit Metropolitan AFL-CIO and the
American Federation of Teachers.
"They had a big impact on our cam-
paigns, but I worked pretty hard and did
a lot of door-to-door campaigning. I put
signs [the largest of any candidate] on
the lawns of 600 residences and many
businesses; David
Flaisher hardly had any
signs anywhere said
Economou.
She said she raised
$41,000 for her cam-
paign, $24,000 of her
own money — out-rais-
ing Flaisher by a 4-to-1
margin, according to
filed reports. The supervisor job's salary is

Ay

reason, but were allowed to re-vote.
There was a 27-percent voter
turnout in West Bloomfield
(population 65,000), with 13,704
ballots cast from 50,222 registered
voters; 8,552 by Democrats, 4,125
by Republicans, and 1,027 by non-
partisan voters.

Other national, state and countywide
races with Jewish contenders include:
• U.S. Senate – Democratic
incumbent Carl Levin will face
Republican Jack Hoogendyk Jr.
• Congress – 12th District,
Democratic incumbent Sander Levin
will face Republican Bert Copple.
• State House – 27th District, Ellen

Cogen Lipton will face Republican
David Micola; 37th District, Democrat
Vicki Barnett will face Republican Paul
Welday.
• County – Treasurer, Democrat
Andy Meisner will face Republican
incumbent Pat Dohany; Probate
Court, Mark Frankel will face Daniel
O'Brien.

