OUR HISTORY
|
We have some great materials about past local elections. You'd be surprised how some things never seem to change! You can click on the thumbnail pictures and articles to view them at a larger scale. Keep an eye on this page-- we will continue to add information. |
__________________________________________________
1967
Meridian Democrats was founded in 1967. One of the organization's founding members, Winifred Motherwell, will provide us with more history about how the group got started and help us update this webpage.
__________________________________________________
1988
Democratic Township Candidates
|
Donald J. Montgomery |
Supervisor |
|
John R. Veenstra |
Treasurer |
|
Kris A.Berglund |
Trustee |
|
Winifred Motherwell |
Trustee |
|
Jane C. Rapaport |
Trustee |
|
Steven J. Pollok |
Trustee |
|
Louise Carlson |
Parks |
|
Vincent Gebes |
Parks |
|
Lawrence Piercey |
Parks |
|
Quenda Story |
Parks |
This was the year that the Republican slate called "People for
Meridian" ran against the Republican slate known as the "developer
slate" or the "chamber slate" in the primary. People
for Meridian ran on a slow growth platform and beat their Republican
opponents in the primary and the Democratic slate in the General
Election. The Democrats were pleased to have offered a near full
slate of candidates for the first time ever. The two articles below
were from October 1988 pages of the Lansing State Journal.
__________________________________________________
1990
|
In 1990, two Park Commissioners were elected in the General Election to fill two vacancies. The Democrats running for these positions were Dianne Holman and Bennett Hart. Dianne Holman was elected to the Park Commission and was the first Democrat elected to township office in many years. You will see from this page that it broke the ice, and Democrats have continued to be elected to serve Meridian Township. |
__________________________________________________
1992
|
This was a very successful
campaign for Meridian Democrats. A Democratic majority was elected to the
Township Board and our Democratic county commissioner was re-elected. The
Democratic office holders were the following: County Commissioner Laura
Baird |
__________________________________________________
1994
|
County Commissioner Laura Baird was elected to the the Michigan House of Representatives this year. Representative Baird replaced Representative Lynn Jondahl who did not run for re-election (term limits on the horizon). Representative Baird served the residents with the same integrity and intellect that Representative Jondahl brought to the office. |
__________________________________________________
1996
|
The local Democrats did not do well in 1996--at least at the township and county levels. We were pleased, however, to see Laura Baird re-elected to the House of Representatives. |
__________________________________________________
1998
|
Park Commissioner Julie Bohr was elected to fill a vacancy in the park commission. State Representative Laura Baird was re-elected to serve her third and last term in the House. After serving three terms in the House, Laura Baird was elected to the Ingham County Circuit Court. Judge Baird continues her service as an Ingham County Circuit Court judge in the Family Court Division. |
__________________________________________________
2000
|
This election had some curious twists and turns which will be described as time permits. For now, we will just say that it was a fairly successful year. The candidates worked very hard on their own, and Meridian Democrats as a group played a minor role in these victories. Our most important role was to work very hard encouraging Democratic candidates to run so voters had a full slate of Democratic candidates and a real choice. The local Democrats elected were as follows: State Representative Gretchen
Whitmer |
__________________________________________________
2002
|
The 2002 election cycle included the elections to the Michigan House of Representatives and Ingham County Board of Commissioners, since elected officials to these government bodies serve two-year terms. Two Democratic incumbents were re-elected. In addition, Meridian Township got one of the new County Commission seats added due to reapportionment after the 2000 census. After a contested primary and general election, the new seat was successfully picked up by Dianne Holman, who then gave up her seat on the Park Commission. The Democrats elected were as follows: State Representative Gretchen
Whitmer __________________________________________________ 2004 The 2004 election cycle included the elections to the Michigan House of Representatives, the Ingham County Board of Commissioners, and the Meridian Township Board and Park Commission. Numerous Democratic incumbents were re-elected. Five new democrats(*) were elected , including a township trustee, a county commissioner, and three township park commissioners. It was a very good year locally (John Kerry did well locally, too). The Democrats elected were as follows: State Representative Gretchen
Whitmer
|