The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Wednesday, November 5, 2008 - 3A Deitch, Ilitch win regents seats Board maintains current balance with six Democrats, two Republicans By CAITLIN SCHNEIDER Daily StaffReporter Two Democrats were elected to the eight-member University of Michigan Board of Regents last night, maintaining the board's current partisan balance. Incumbent Larry Deitch (D-Bingham Farms) was elected to his third term as regent and Detroit businesswoman Denise Ilitch (D-Bingham Farms) was elected to her first term. It was her second campaign for a spot on the board. Nine candidates vied to fill two open seats on the board. The other candidates were Republicans Susan Brown and John LaFond, Green Party candidate Ellis Boal, Lib- ertarians Eric Larson and Kerry Morgan and U.S. Taxpayers Party candidates Richard Ryskamp and Joe Sanger. Incumbent Democrat Rebecca McGowan (D-Ann Arbor) did notrun for re-election. After yesterday's election, the political makeup of the Universi- ty's main governing body remains the same, with six Democrats and two Republicans. Throughout the campaign sea- son, financial concerns dominated the regental candidates' rhetoric. Most vowed to combat annual increases to tuition costs and offered plans to increase Univer- sity revenue. The hopefuls offered similar stances on most of the Univer- sity's pressing political issues. With the exception of LaFond, all major party candidates said they backed Proposal 2, which passed yesterday and loosened the state's restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. Deitch, a corporate attorney at Bodman LLP in Detroit, has been a regent for 16 years. He has said maintainingthe caliber of the Uni- versity is a top priority as a means of strengthening Michigan's over- all economy. During his time as a regent, Deitch has garnered atten- tion for his stance against the Michigan Stadium expansion and involvement in adding sexual ori- entation to the University's non- discrimination statement. Ilitch is an entrepreneur and lawyer, familiar to many because of her family's prominence in Detroit. The Ilitch family owns Little Caesars Pizza, the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Red Wings, and Ilitch served as president of the company for a time. Ilitch said she will be focused as regent on keeping University education affordable and using her business experience to find new revenue streams. Regents serve eight-year terms and are not bound by term limits. CiF REEDER/Daily Kate Donovan, a grad student, greets a voter around 9:45 a.m. at the Community High School, where lines in the morning lasted for more than 45 minutes. Election Day anecdotes "It's just great to think that my kids will grow up to think it's normal to have a black president." Liz Peters LSAsophomore (Of the mob) "It's spontaneous, growing, utterly unplanned, and shockingly sober." John Bacon University lecturer "I feel this is the greatest moment of our lives..." Rose Balzar. LSA sophomore To tell your election storylog ontowww.michi- gandaily.com/story See more photos atwwwflickr.com/photos/ michigandaily THE CAM PUS VOTE Comparinglrunout andchoices in 14 Ann Arbor precincs near campus. BUSH OTHER McCAIN 19.11% 1.98% 14.99% OTHER 1.93% t REGISTERED VOTERS AND PARTICIPATING VOTERS NEAR CAMPUS Despite long lines, Mich. votes without major problems 35000 -KERRY 78.91% OBAMA 83.08% 39vts 15,483 votes 2004 2008 WASHTENAW COUNTY CLERK AND THE MICHIGAN DAILY 2004 2008 Democrats sweep City Council races Only challenged Democrat in the city wins seat By SARA LYNNE THELEN Daily StaffReporter The winners of Ann Arbor's City Council Democratic prima- ries in August made another clean sweep of yesterday's polls. With nearly all precincts reporting in Wards 1 through 4, the democratic candidates beat write-in candidates by an average 8,000 to 100 margin. Winning with 98.82 percent of the vote, Ann Arbor business owner Sandi Smith will succeed Ron Suarez's vacant Ward 1 city council seat. Ward 1 encompasses West Quad Residence Hall, Tower Plaza, the Law Quad, the Martha Cook Building, Betsy Barbour Residence Hall, Helen Newber- ry Hall, University Towers and Bursley Residence Hall. Ward 2, which covers North- wood Community Apartments, the Hill Living Area dormitories and many Greek houses, will be the charge of seasoned politician Tony Derezinski, who has worked as an Eastern University Regent, deputy sheriff and a state senator from Muskegon. He won 98.80 percent of the vote. Derezinski will replace Demo- crat Joan Lowenstein, who didn't run for reelection in order to focus on her bid for 15th District Court judge. From the 3rd Ward, 98.84 per- centvoted for AnnArbor attorney Christopher Taylor. The 3rd Ward stretches from the South Univer- sity area to East Quad Residence Hall and most of the neighbor- hoods between Washtenaw Ave- nue and Packard Street. Incumbent Margie Teall ran unopposed and enters her seventh year representing the 4th Ward. Ward 5 was the election's only two-party race. Ann Arbor attorney and business owner Carsten Hohnke defeated Repub- lican John Floyd, an accountant, 79.48 percent to. 20.08 percent with ninety percent of precincts reporting. The seat opened when current Councilmember Chris Easthope decided not to run for reelection, instead focusing on his campaign for 15th District Court judge. With Easthope gone, one of the two City Council-Michigan Stu- dent Assembly liaison positions is open. This committee works with MSA to discuss student issues. The Democratic primary in August was closely contested between Hohnke and local busi- ness owner Vivienne Armen- trout. Hohnke finally won a third recount 1,608 votes to 1,555 votes. Newly re-elected mayor John Hieftje had given endorsements to all of the yesterday's winning candidates. Yesterday's results will likely strengthen the mayor's support among the Council. Voters in Macomb and Detroit waited it out and cast their ballots By JACOB SMILOVITZ Daily StaffReporter WARREN, Mich. - Despite con- cerns over the potential for mal- functioning voting machines and erroneous challenges to voters' eligibility, clerks, poll workers, and voters throughout southeast Michi- gan said they experienced a smooth Election Day with almost none of the anticipated problems. Those at the polls yesterday in Detroit and Macomb County said that despite long lines in some plac- es and some minor problems with voting machines, the day went off without a hitch. In Macomb County, poll workers reported unprecedented turnout and a willingness on the part of vot- ers to wait in the longest lines the county has ever experienced. As of early Wednesday morning, nearly 80% of registered Macomb voters went to the polls Tuesday. Poll workers throughout the county said they saw no evidence of political operatives from either party using foreclosure lists to chal- lenge the eligibility of some voters. In September, the Michigan Messenger quoted James Cara- belli, chair pf the Macomb County Republican Party, as saying "We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren't voting from those addresses." Carabelli later said those quotes were falsified and has filed a lawsuit against the Messenger. Macomb had federal poll moni- tors watching its election precincts. The Department of Justice chose Macomb as one of 59 jurisdictions in 23 states where federal workers would monitor the polls. It was the only county in Michigan chosen. By mid-afternoon Tuesday, Dep- uty City Clerk Sonja Buffa said the use of foreclosure lists to challenge voter eligibility hadn't been a prob- lem. The only problem she cited was the -"gigantic" turnout in her county. "This is the busiest election in history," she said. Ron Hood, a building engineer at Warren Woods Tower High School in Warren, said people started lin- ingup at his polling place as early as 6:15 a.m. and that by 6:30 a.m. the line was out the front door. "Before 7:00, there was 150 people waiting in line, easy," Hood said. The lines continued through the morning, according to poll workers at Warren Woods Tower. At3:00p.m., onepollworker,who wouldn't give his name because he See VOTING, Page 7A Incumbent mayor crushes 'U' student Easthope edges out Gutenberg for seat of 15th District bench Heiftje routes Liberterian Plourde to serve fifth term ' By SARA LYNNE THELEN Daily StaffReporter An 18-year-old high school student * became the mayor of Hillsdale, Mich. when he defeated Hillsdale's incumbent mayor in 2005. More recently, a 22-year- old student from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania ran unopposed and won his city's mayoral election last year. But LSA senior and Libertarian Eric Plourde had no such luck last night. Plourde, 20, fell short yesterday in an effort to unseat popular incumbent Demo- crat John Hieftje, who was elected for a fifth two-year term. Hieftje received 84.73 percent of the vote, while Plourde received 14.72 percent. "I'm ecstatic with those results," Plourde said. Plourde, 20, founded the University's chapter of College Libertarians as a fresh- man. During his campaign, he has cited a lack of variety and libertarian voices in gov- ernment as his main reasons for running. "I always knew it was going to be tough to overcome the mayor's electoral advan- tage," he said. "But as far as getting ideas out there, talking about the things I want- ed to talk about, I really think this cam- paign was a success for me." Washtenaw County Libertarian Party representatives approached Plourde last year with the party's nomination because of Plourde's political presence on campus. He received Ron Paul's public endorse- ment in April. Plourde's platform included looser pen- alties for alcohol violations and lobbying for the drinking age to be lowered to 18. This drew skepticism from current councilmembers. "He'd have to teach the city council that there was a real benefit to a slap-on- the-wrist as opposed to a stop-in-your- tracks punishment, which is the current goal," said Councilmember Sabra Briere (D-Ward 1) to the Daily in October. Hiefjte's platform concentrates on envi- ronmental initiatives including contin- ued Greenbelt preservation, expanding of biking and walking paths and improving options for alternative transportation in the city. In his next term, Hiefjte said he hopes to continue the financial plan that he has said saves the city $10 million in operating fees each year. EarlyWednesdaymorning,headdedthat he looks forward to working with the newly elected City Council in his upcomingterm. "I'm pleased to have a strong group of councilmembers as we go into what could be an uncertain future financially," he said. Defense attorney has been, on City Council since 2000 By SARA LYNNE THELEN Daily StaffReporter Democrat Chris Easthope, alocal defense attorney, was successful yesterday in his bid for election as 15th District Court judge. He has served as a 5th Ward councilmember since 2000. He was Ann Arbor's mayor pro tempore from 2003 to 2007. He also owns and manages the Law Office of Chris Easthope, handling civil infractions, misdemeanors and preliminary hearings for felony charges. Easthope narrowly defeated Eric Guten- burg, first assistantcprosecuting attorney for Washtenaw County, by a 18,952 to 16,996 margin with 89 percent of precincts report- ing. From 1991 to 1998, Gutenburg worked in the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office. He has gained most of his experience with felony cases since becoming the assistant prosecuting attorney for Washtenaw Coun- ty in1998. Gutenburg had many endorsements, including some from former mayors, coun- cilmembers, current county commissioners and the past two 15th district court judges. State of Michigan Rep. Pam Byrnes (D-Chelsea), City Councilmembers Joan Lowenstein and Stephen Rapun- dalo (D-Ward 2), Leigh Greden (D-Ward 3), Margie Teall and Marcia Higgins (D-Ward 4) and Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje were among those backing East- hope.