LOCAL The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 6, 2002 - 5 Proposals to eliminate straight ticket voting, bargaining rights fail. By Rahwa Ghebre-Ab Daily Staff Reporter Yesterday voters headed to the polls to voice their deci- sions on straight ticket voting, the sale of state bonds for infrastructure improvements and the collective bargaining rights of Michigan government employees. Only one of the three proposals met success at the polls while the other two failed to earn the votes needed to pass. Proposal 02-1: FAILED. With a 60/40 split, the proposal for straight ticket voting, which stated that voters would no longer be able to choose a party's slate of candidates with only one mark on their bal- lots, did not pass. This decision backs the petition drive, which put the law of banning straight ticket voting to a referendum. Since the proposal failed, voters will still be able to use straight ticket voting. "We know people wanted a chance to vote it down and they did," said Party spokesman Ben Kohrman, who stated that Democrats opposed the proposal. Kohrman noted that after the Republican-controlled Leg- islature approved the law ending straight party voting, Democrats were able to easily collect enough signatures to put the referendum on the ballot. ""We collected 350,000 signatures in the dead of winter in only 60 days," Kohrman said. Proposal 02-2: PASSED. This proposal was expected to pass and did so by a com- fortable margin of about 10 points. The proposal asked the voters to approve the sale of $1 billion in state bonds for the purpose of funding sewage treatment infrastructure improvements. "There will be less sewage going into lakes and it will fix what has become a serious water quality problem in Michi- gan ... people will see a marked improvement in the quality of the water, especially near urban areas," said Anne Woi- wode, director of the Michigan chapter of the Sierra Club, America's largest, oldest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. The distribution of the funds is dependent on the commu- nities that require funding. "The communities will have to access their own funds Brater scores majority vote, 18th District overDarr Former Ann Arbor mayor, abortion rights supporter gains Senate seat By Karen Schwartz Daily Staff Reporter Democratic candidate Liz Brater declared victory in the 18th District State Senate race last night, taking almost 70 percent of the vote in'a victory over Republi- can opponent Gordon Darr, a Scio Township Trustee from Dexter. Brater takes the Michigan state Senate seat left vacant by Democrat Alma Wheeler Smith, who was unable to run for re-election because of term limits. A former Ann Arbor mayor, Brater served in the House from 1995 to 2000 and as an Ann Arbor City Council member. She said she looks forward to return- ing to Lansing to work on the issues that are important to her constituents. "I'm really looking forward to going back and work- ing for you," she told the cheering crowd gathered last night at Arbor Brewing Company on East Washington Street as the numbers rolled in. "I'm very delighted. I'm very grateful for the confi- dence the voters of Washtenaw County have placed in me and I'm going to work hard to represent them in Lansing," she said. Issues including education, environmental issues, health care and rebuilding the Michigan economy top her list of priorities, Brater said. She added that regardless of who controls Congress, Jennifer Granholm's position as governor will help assure Democrats of a voice in state government. "Having a Democratic governor will definitely give us more leverage than we've had in the last 12 years because in the last few years we've had complete Republican control of Lansing," she said. "There will be less sewage going into lakes and it will fix what has become a serious water quality problem in Michigan ... people will see a marked improvement in the quality of the water, especially near urban areas" - Anne Woiwode Director of the Michigan chapter of the Sierra Club and take advantage of them ... they need to be willing to go ahead and do that," Woiwode said. According to the non-partisan state Senate Fiscal Agency, the proposal would cost Michigan taxpayers $334 each over the next 30 years, or $11 per year. Proposal 02-3:TOO CLOSE TO CALL. The votes were split nearly down the middle for Proposal 02-3. It proposed amending the state Constitution to guaran- tee Michigan government employees the right to collective bargaining. With 29 percent of precincts reporting, 51 percent of those who cast ballots, or 401,580, had voted against the measure, while 49 percent, or 378,877, had voted in favor as of 2 a.m. The proposal was placed on yesterday's ballot by the Michigan Employee Rights Initiative - calling itself MERIT - which submitted about 400,000 petition signa- tures. The proposal allowed for Michigan employees to initi- ate binding arbitration through a third party in case bargaining fails. "The proposal was meant to give us a chance to have a level playing field and to have our disputes be settled by a neutral party and not a politically appointed service com- mission," said Alan Kilar, president of the Michigan Employee Rights Initiative, which supported the proposal. - The Associated Press contributed to this report. EMMA FOSDICK/Daily Democratic Mayoral incumbent John Hieftje speaks to one of his supporters at a victory party at Arbor Brewing Company yesterday evening following a victory against Republican Councilwoman Marcia Higgins. Hieftjoe attiutesvictoryo city's undertakings, takes cear victory over Higgns By Christopher Johnson and Erin Saylor Daily Staff Reporters Possibly a sign of approval of the mayor's restructuring of the city government in his last term, voters in Ann Arbor by an overwhelming majority renewed Democrat John Hieftje's term as mayor in yesterday's election. Hieftje, a real estate agent, ran against Republican Councilwoman Marcia Higgins, an executive assistant for Ardesta L.L.C. "This election is a huge affirmation of the project we have undertaken," he said, emphasizing the city's work in balancing the budget and protecting the environment. Hieftje joined his fellow Democrats in celebrating vic- tory at the Arbor Brewing Company on Washington Avenue last night. He said he would commemorate his victory by participating in a fishing trip with his family in northern Michigan. Although all precincts had yet to report as of last night, the city tallied Hieftje's victory against Republican Coun- cilwoman Marcia Higgins by a margin of 24,092 to 7,849. Democratic Councilman Chris Easthope, who ran unopposed in the election, said the continued Democratic leadership in the city places more accountability on its officials. "Thursday night we're going to get to work," he said. "We've got a lot of responsibility with a 9 to 2 majority (on city council)." Higgins, among Republican supporters at the Cottage Inn on William Street, was disappointed by the loss but tried to focus on the positive aspects of her campaign. "I think that we did what we set out to do ... and we got a lot of issues out there," she said. "From there it's the people's choice." Many Republican supporters blamed straight ticket voting for the election results. "It's a shame that what's at the top of the ticket has such an effect on what happens to us locally," said Ingrid Sheldon, former Republican mayor of Ann Arbor. Polls show DeRossett edging out Byrnes in 52nd District EMMA FOSDICK/Daily Democrat Liz Brater speaks about her victory against Gordon Darr at Arbor Brewing Company yesterday evening. Brater said that either way, Democrats will have the chance to make an impact this term. "I think no matter if you are in the majority or minority, you have the ability to make an impact. You can use your office to educate people about issues, to hold task forces and to propose legislation that makes a difference," she said. With regard to higher education, Brater emphasized the importance of maintaining funding. "Eastern (Michigan University) and the University of Michigan are very important to me and we need to pro- tect dollars for higher education and try to help keep tuition costs down," she said. Shabina S. Khatri and Kylene Kiang Daily Staff Reporters In a tight race, incumbent GOP Rep. Gene DeRossett led the polls over Democratic opponent Pam Byrnes last night with a 9 percent margin out of the 67 percent of precincts tal- lied at 2 a.m. DeRossett led with 1,393 votes or 54 percent, with Byrnes at 1,206 as of 2 a.m. Only three precincts had reported their tallies. After learning of early wins in Lodi Township and Saline, DeRossett supporters remained optimistic throughout the evening. Despite holding the incumbent advantage, the newly redistricted lines - drawn to include a largely Democratic section of northern Ann Arbor and much of western Washte- naw Country - posed a significant challenge to DeRossett. But DeRossett attributed his success to the strong connec- tion he has maintained with his constituents. "I've been to every community meeting I've been invited to. I think it's about being active in the community. I've found it makes a difference,"he said. Angela Randazzo, a staff member in Lansing, said DeRos- sett used a grassroots strategy to reach as many voters in the newly redrawn district as possible. "(One tactic) he used was to go door-to-door to get to know who these people are," Randazzo said. Peter Wills, DeRossett's legislative assistant, said his boss's willingness to cross party lines helped him win over bipartisan support. "(DeRossett) can be categorized as an independent moder- ate Republican who has worked both sides. The Michigan Education Association endorsed him because of his public stance against vouchers ... and he fought with other Republi- cans against his party to make sure the waiting week for unemployment benefits did not occur," Wills said. Michigan State University senior Mike Comonaco, DeRos- sett's campaign manager, emphasized the congressman's dedi- cation as the defining element of his success. "I've never seen someone as unique as Gene. To him, it's about good public policy," Comonaco said. "He's very con- stituent-oriented. It's the little things, like (putting up) his own signs, which don't have his office number on them, but his home number." Despite clear hopes of unseating the Republican incumbent, challenger Pam Byrnes of Lyndon Township fell short of a Democratic victory. Though she lends her success in Ann Arbor to bipartisan support, Byrnes expressed distaste for par- tisan politics. Democrats gain Ann Arbor City Council seats Spousal support By Jeremy Berkowitz and Christopher Johnson Daily Staff Reporters Democrats won a landslide victory in the Ann Arbor City Council race yesterday, winning every seat open for election. The party will now enjoy an 8 to 2 majority on the city council, in addition to the vote of the mayor. Celebrating his party's victory at the Arbor Brewing Company on Washington Avenue, State Rep. Chris Kolb announced the victory of his fel- low Democrats with unrestrained enthusiasm. "It' a great night for the City of Ann Arbor." She partially attributed her win to greater voter turnout. While she said only 25 votes were cast for her ward in total at Mary Markley Residence Hall in the election she lost last year, she received more than 200 votes this year at the Markley polling place alone. Retired teacher Jean Carlberg, who ran as the incumbent in the 3rd Ward, said she was elated by her victory, but realized more work demanded her attention. "It is sort of business as usual because there's a lot of work ahead of me and I know what it is," she said. "I'm the longest serving (city council mem- ber) and I love my job." to 2,422. It was not a good night for Republicans hoping to gain a bigger role on the Ann Arbor City Coun- cil. Claiming they were victims of a Democratic city and straight ticket voting, Washtenaw County Republican Chairwoman Marlene Chockley said she was perplexed by the "stupidity" of the voters and their unawareness of the issues. "We have a lot of ignorance going on out there," Chockley said. "They vote straight ticket." DeBoer said he was not surprised due to the large amount of Democrats in his district, but was happy about his efforts to bring out the relevant issues. I I. I