4A, 5A - Wednesday, November 5, 2014
After eight years_
Experts predict
worsening gridlock
in Washington
By SAM GRINGLAS
Daily News Editor
After eight years in the
minority, the Republican Party
has regained control of the U.S.
Senate.
Seven Republican candi-
dates have captured Democrat-
ic seats in Arkansas, Colorado,
Iowa, Montana, North Carolina,
South Dakota and West Vir-
ginia. The Republican majority
could widen, pending a Decem-
ber runoff in the Louisiana sen-
ate race.
For the first time since 1994,
Republicans will control both
houses of Congress with a Dem-
ocratic president in the White
House.
Both of Michigan's Senate
seats remain in Democratic
hands. In a race that was once
seen as a potential pick-up for
the Republicans, U.S. Rep. Gary
Peters (D-14th District)secured
a widening lead over Republican
challenger Terri Lynn Land,
former Michigan Secretary of
State.
With the turnover of the
Senate, Michigan's U.S. Senator
Debbie Stabenow (D) will lose
her chairmanship of the U.S.
Senate Committee on Agricul-
ture, Nutrition and Forestry.
Committee chairs wield consid-
erable powt
lative a
decreased s
ate and dini
Michigan's
Stabenoc
tors who x
the law
Republican
held a ma
ty in the u
house.
In an i
view with=
Michigan .
Political -
ence Prof.
Traugott
the tort
signals a ft
of increased
Congress.
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Ann Arbor Mayor elect Chris Taylor interacts with supporters at a watch party at the Ann Arbor Brewing Company Tuesday.
After 14 years of Hieftje, Taylor
claims victory inA2 mayoral race
Student turnout fal
Two incumbents As an independent candi-
date, Kelly's goal in the elec-
three newcomers tion was not entirely to win,
elected to Council but rather to spark debate and
turn an uncontested, one-party
election into an opportunity for
By EMMA KERR further discussion of the issues
Daily StaffReporter surrounding the city. Following
the announcement of his can-
Christopher Taylor was didacy in July, Kelly did little
elected mayor of Ann Arbor campaigning and focused on
Tuesday night in a landslide developing his position on the
victory, earning 84.21 percent issues themselves through his
of the vote. 'is competitor, website and' various mayoral
independent candidate Bryan debates.
Kelly, garnered 4,728 votes, Taylor said while his victory
approximately 15.34 percent of was not a surprise, Kelly took
the vote. initiative and showed a passion
Along with Taylor's assump- for local politics.
tion of the mayoral seat, City "I think that it is a democra-
Councilmembers Sumi Kailas- cy and people who want to run
apathy (D-Ward 1) and Chuck can and chose to run, and he did
Warpehoski (D-Ward 5) were make that decision and I hope
reelected as incumbents, in that it was an experience that
addition to the three coun- met his expectations," Taylor
cilmembers elect Julie Grand said.
(D-Ward 1), Graydon Kraphol Taylor is currently in his
(D-Ward 3) and Kirk Westphal third term as a city coun-
(D-Ward 2). cilmember representing Ward
"I am just so excited to have 3. As the first new mayor in 14
been elected mayor," Taylor years, Taylor has positioned
said. "It is a great honor and himself to follow in current
Ann Arbor is such a wonderful Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieft-
place; I am thrilled and hon- je's footsteps. His approach
ored. The city is really going to key issues in this election,
in the right track. I think we which include development,
are making progress just tak- University and city relations
ing care of the basics as well as and addressing infrastructure
improving people's way of life. needs, echo that of Hieftje's.
We've got a lot to do, we're not For Kelly, he said the race
perfect, but I think these areas was a good experience, generat-
are going in the right direc- ingthoughtful debate about the
tion." issues in Ann Arbor while keep-
Since the declaration of his ing a lighthearted atmosphere.
candidacy in December 2013, On top of that, Kelly said he was
Taylor spent more money than happy to see his work didn't go
any other candidate in this unnoticed.
highly contested race. Though "I did not know what to
hiscampaigncameto ascreech- expect and it feels really good
ing halt in August, he raised a when you're an independent
total of $75,698 in the months to see 5,000 people vote for
preceding the primary. Fellow you because that means 5,000
Councilmembers Stephen Kun- people took the time to bubble
selman (D-Ward 3), Sabra Bri- in your name," Kelly said. "I
ere (D- Ward 1) and Sally Hart feel like even as a newcomer to
Petersen (D-Ward 2) all ran in politics, this is a very welcome
the Democratic Primary along- development. Chris obviously
side Taylor, who carried 47.57 received a lot more, and that
percent of the vote. makes sense, but I'm thrilled
with this."
Kelly added that he is still
interested in city government.
"I'm going to keep an eye
on how the city council Ward
1 race and see if I agree with
the people who are running for
that," he said.
For Kelly, he said the race
was a good experience, gener-
ating thoughtful debate about
the issues in Ann Arbor while
keeping a lighthearted atmo-
sphere. Kelly added that he was
happy to see his work didn't go
unnoticed.
"I did not know what to
expect and it feels really good
when you're an independent
to see 5,000 people vote for
you because that means 5,000
people took the time to bubble
in your name," Kelly said. "I
feel like even as a newcomer to
politics, this is a very welcome
development. Chris obviously
received a lot more, and that
makes sense, but I'm thrilled
with this."
Kelly added that he is still
interested in city government.
"I'm going to keep an eye
on how the city council Ward
1 race and see if I agree with,
the people who are running for
that," he said.
Taylor considers himself to
have a balanced and practi-
cal approach to development,
considering each construc-
tion opportunity individually
and seeking to amend current
zoning to better represent the
needs of the city.
Attending the University as
an undergraduate and a law
student, his perspective on
town-gown relations centers on
communication. Taylor said he
expects to meet with Univer-
sity President Mark Schlissel
next week to discuss issues sur-
rounding the University's rela-
tionship with the city.
Furthermore, Taylor rec-
ognized infrastructure to be
one of the key issues following
last winter's harsh conditions.
He said this is in many ways
already being addressed by the
county as a whole, which voted
last month for a one-year mill-
age that would be levied on
Washtenaw County residents
for the explicit purpose of fix-
ing roads. While Taylor said his
experience has prepared him to
become mayor, there will still
be new challenges.
"I'm well-versed in present
issues having been a coun-
cilmember, but there are natu-
rally a lot of things a mayor does
that I have never done that will
be new," Taylor said.
Taylor said a private swear-
ing in will occur next Monday
and the public event will come
at his first council meeting as
mayor Nov. 17th.
New councilmembers Grand,
Kraphol, and Westphal all ran
unopposed in the general elec-
tion, but Grand said they used
this time between the primary
and the time when they will
take their seat on council to get
an early start learning the ropes
of city council.
"There are three of us who
are all running unopposed, so
we have started orientation
early. There is going to be a
learning curve," Grand said.
"We've had a couple meet-
ings with the city attorney, but
things like legal details can't be
learned in just a brief orienta-
tion."
Westphal said in the next
few weeks, communication will
be key as he begins his time on
city council.
"There are some clear signs
that Ann Arbor is going through
some evolution," Westphal said.
"I encourage collaboration and
coming together to see what
Ann Arbor will look like in the
future, so to the extent that we
can keep everythingthatis spe-
cial about Ann Arbor and yet
welcome more people here and
more opportunity, the better."
Daily StaffReporter Jack
Turman contributed reporting.
Watch parties
poorly attended
across campus
By ALLANA AKHTAR
Daily Staff Reporter
Results are in across the
country for the midterm elec-
tion - historically known for
lower voter turnouts than presi-
dential years. However, Univer-
sity students braved the rain to
casttheir ballots atpollingloca-
tions throughout campus.
According to a poll by the
Harvard Institute of Politics;
only 26 percent of young voters
said theywould "definitely vote"
prior to the election, similar to
the 27-percent proportion in the
2010 midterm elections.
Of college students, 31 per-
cent said they would definitely
vote.
Larry Kestenbaum, Washt-
enaw County Clerk and Reg-
ister of Deeds, said relatively
low voter turnout among young
people could be attributed to
campaigns and advertising that
wasn't targeted toward them.
A change in the Michigan
voter laws 10 years ago mandat-
ed that first-time voters must
either vote in person or pick up
an absentee ballot in person.
Kestenbaum said this law was a
hindrancetostudentswholived
away from their home districts,
and politicians believed that it
was futile to attempt to market
toyoungvoters.
At Pierpont Commons, Ann
Arbor resident Lisa Jibson, a
poll volunteer, said many stu-
dents tried tovote Tuesdaywho
could not. They were registered
in a district outside of Ann
Arbor or had moved from their
original registration address
withinthe city.
"We've had to redirect quite
a few," Jibson said. "We hate to
have anyone feel like they didn't
get the chance to vote."
LSA freshman Cole Zingas
voted for the first time Tuesday
morning. Zingas said he wanted
to vote regardless of party lines,
and voted for mostly Democrats
save Republican Gov. Rick Sny-
der.
"I just didn't believe Mark
Schauer had any kind of real
plan for the state," he said. "I
liked what Rick Snyder did the
lastfewyears in Michigan."
Kestenbaum said he antici-
pated larger-than-average par-
ticipationinWashtenaw County
in this midterm election, to the
tuneof140,000voters.The2010
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SNYDER
From Page 1A
unemployment rate rate is its
lowest since 2008, though it is
still above the national rate of
5.9 percent.
Last year, Snyder pushed
through Medicaid expansion
under the Affordable Care
Act against the wishes of the
Republican-led legislature.
More than 400,000 people
have enrolled in the Healthy
Michigan Plan since its April
launch. Despite Republi-
can opposition, Snyder also
secured an agreement with
Canadian officials to go for-
ward with the New Interna-
tional Trade Crossing, a new
bridge connecting Detroit and
Windsor.
The Medicaid and bridge
decisions were indicative of
Snyder's willingness to break
with his party, and followed
the principles laid out in his
first campaign. A former chief
executive of computer com-
pany Gateway and a venture
capitalist, Snyder entered
the 2010 gubernatorial race
as a relative unknown and a
political novice. His pledge to
put politics aside and instead
use his business acumen to
improve the state appealed
to voters, as he sailed to an
18-point victory over Demo-
crat Virg Bernero.
"It's time to drop the labels
of party, of ideology, of geog-
raphy," Snyder said in his 2010
victory speech. "To make this
work there is only one label
that matters. That label is
Michigan
Sny ~
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PETERS
From Page 1A
really got her message across."
In remarks to the media
Tuesday night, Peters charac-
terized his win as the result of
months of traveling the state
and building out grassroots
efforts.
"I take the job of being a
representative very seriously,
which means being in the com-
munity, being accessible, lis-
tening to folks, and I think that
paid off today," he said. "I think
they were looking for someone
who is out there working to
earn the right to represent the
people of Michigan in Wash-
ington D.C."
Peters found success running
on a platform focused on his
record on the economy, climate
change and women's issues.
Early in the general election
campaign season, he hosted a
"Great Lakes Job Tour," high-
lighting the role that the state's
businesses played in support-
ing the Great Lakes and vice
versa. Throughout his tenure in
Congress, he was also involved
in legislation to support small
businesses, namely his co-spon-
sorship of the Small Business
Jobs Act, which gave states
funding to create lending pro-
grams for small businesses and
manufacturers, and he called
repeatedly duringthe campaign
for an increase to the minimum
wage. His campaign also'sought
to create a distinction between
him and Land on pay equity
and pro-choice policies, both of
which Peters has supported.
"What folks want, I found
was all common, regardless of
where you are in Michigan," he
told the crowd during his vic-
tory speech Tuesday evening.
"People want to have a fair
wage for a fair day's work. They
want to have quality health care
for their families, they want
to be able to send their kids to
good schools and live in safe
neighborhoods. And when it is
all said and done, people want
be able to retire with dignity.
And as Democrats, that is what
we have stood for since day one
and we will continue to stand
for days in the future."
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