August 2012 Election - Ann Arbor

Several communities in the area are holding highly contested elections this cycle. They include:

(All races are Democratic Party, unless otherwise noted. In Washtenaw County, it is difficult to find one Republican for any given position, let alone two.)

The Ann Arbor Democratic Party has a list of primary candidates for the August 2012 election, complete with links to candidate web sites where available.

Washtenaw County

County Commission

The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners will see some shakeup in the 2012 elections, as the post-2010 Census redistricting process reduced the number of seats from 11 to 9. Incumbents Barbara Levin Bergman and Leah Gunn have previously announced their intent not to seek reelection.

District 1:
- Democrats Eric Borregard v. Kent Martinez-Kratz
- Republican Rob Turner
District 2: Republican Dan Smith (inc.)
District 3: Republican Alicia Ping (inc.)
District 4:
- Democrat Felicia Brabec (inc.)
- Republican Richard Conn
District 5:
- Democrats Rolland Sizemore Jr. (inc.) v. Michael White v. Rick Roe
- Republican Richard Deitering
District 6:
- Democrat Ronnie Peterson (inc.)
- Republican David Raaflaub
District 7:
- Democrats Andy LaBarre defeats Christina Montague (AnnArbor.com)
- Republican David Parker
District 8:
- Democrat Yousef Rabhi (inc.)
- Republican Joe Baublis
District 9:
- Democrat Conan Smith (inc.)
- Republican John Floyd

Sheriff

Jerry Clayton (inc.)

Drain Commissioner

Longtime Drain Commissioner (aka "Water Resources Commission") Janis Bobrin is not running.

Evan Pratt v. Harry Bentz

Prosecuting Attorney

Brian Mackie (inc.)

Clerk

Larry Kestenbaum (inc.)

Treasurer

Courts

Several judicial positions are elected to 6-year, non-partisan seats.

22nd Circuit Court Judge: Timothy Connors (inc.) v. Michael Woodyard
22nd Circuit Court Judge: James A. Fink, Carol Kuhnke, Douglas G. McClure, Erane C. Washington (August 7 primary will select 2 candidates for November 6 election for this seat.)
14th District Court Judge: J. Cedric Simpson (inc.)
15th District Court Judge: Joseph F. Burke (inc.)
Probate Court: Darlene A. O'Brien (inc.)

City of Ann Arbor

As usual, half of the Ann Arbor City Council is up for election this year, with the bonus of the Mayoral seat. As of May 12, the following candidates had filed or pulled nominating petitions.

Mayor: John Hieftje (inc.)
- Albert Howard pulled nominating petitions as a Republican, but did not have enough qualifying signatures. He subsequently pulled petitions to run as an Independent.
First Ward: Sumi Kailasapathy defeated Eric Sturgis. Ann Arbor Chronicle: Ward 1 City Council Race: Filling Sandi’s Seat; Democrats Sumi Kailasapathy, Eric Sturgis seek to replace Smith
Second Ward: Sally Hart Petersen defeated Tony Derezinski (inc.)
Third Ward: Christopher Taylor (inc.)
- Republican Albert Howard pulled petitions, but did not run.
Fourth Ward: Margie Teall (inc.) defeated Jack Eaton.(AnnArbor.com)
Fifth Ward: Chuck Warpehoski defeated Vivienne Armentrout. (Ann Arbor Chronicle)
- Winner will face Republican Stuart Berry in November

City of Ypsilanti

The Ypsilanti City Council elections were highly contested in the wake of the failed May 2012 Ypsilanti City Income Tax ballot question and the budgetary crisis facing the city. In the 1st and 3rd Ward, challengers Pierce and Eller came directly from the anti-tax campaign, hoping to capitalize on momentum and anti-incumbent attitudes. These two challengers each lost with 1/3 of the vote. (AnnArbor.com)