This afternoon the 1,300-member Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber issued the following statement regarding Governor Rick Snyder’s failed education experiment with Detroit students known as the Education Achievement Authority: The A2Y Chamber’s Executive Board held a deliberation on HB 4369, legislation to expand the Education Achievement Authority (EAA). The A2Y Chamber encourages the Michigan Legislature to reject the current House version […]

This week, the Ann Arbor Education Association will be sponsoring a forum on the Governor Snyder’s failed education experiment known as the Education Achievement Authority. I will be speaking at the event and participating in the panel discussion along with Wayne State University professor Thomas Pedroni, State House Rep. Jeff Irwin, Eastern Michigan University professor Christopher Robbins, and others. The […]

They rock [All photos by Isaac Epstein, used with permission] In the spring of 2012, a handful of from various faith, labor, and community organizations began to meet to discuss building a local group to work on solving some of the intractable problem confronting their communities. Over time, that group swelled in size and became known as the Washtenaw Regional […]

Women shared their abortion experiences to raise awareness of the decisions and challenges they faced, as reproductive rights are increasingly under attack. If you’ve never had an abortion, you can’t possibly know what it’s like. Yet 1 in 3 women will have an abortion in their lifetime — and some of them never tell a soul. That’s why Advocates for […]

The place to be on Labor Day On Labor Day (Monday, September 2nd, 2013), the Ann Arbor Dems, in conjunction with the Washtenaw County Democratic Party, are having their annual “Laborpalooza” Labor Day picnic. This year there will be an all-star cast of Michigan Democrats in attendance including Dean of the House Congressman John Dingell and his wife Debbie along […]

“Show up, stand up, and speak up”

As I have written about before, grassroots organizing on behalf of Democrats is already well underway in Washtenaw County.

Last night, in the Blog Role segment of the Night Shift with Tony Trupiano radio show, I talked with Tony in depth about what we’ve done, what we’re doing, and where we are headed in Washtenaw County with regards to creating a network of neighborhood teams working to turn out the Democratic vote in 2014.

You can listen to it after the jump.

“This new scheme flies in the face of the Constitution.” Washtenaw County Clerk Larry Kestenbaum is rather legendary in the Ann Arbor area for his incredible grasp and deep understanding of Michigan election law. He is passionate about it, in fact. Which has led him to being put in a rather interesting situation this week. Six out of the seven […]

Grassroots organizing at its finest Every year, the Michigan Democratic Party Justice Caucus holds a two-day training workshop known as Camp Millie. It is a well-known and highly respected event aimed directly at progressive activists, candidates, and future staffers for elected officials. This year’s Camp Millie is titled “Diversity: The Challenge of Minority Candidates running in Majority Districts” and is […]

We’re not losing this one Photo by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog As I wrote yesterday, the Washtenaw County Democratic Party’s Precinct Organizing Committee (led by me and organizer Tad Wysor of Ypsilanti) has been holding a series of Grassroots Empowerment Orientation sessions across the county over the past month. These meetings are the first steps toward building a […]

Don’t stop believin’… Back in February, I penned an essay titled Why I, as a dedicated and stalwart supporter of OFA, am asking you NOT to work with OFA in Michigan. In it, I implored Michigan Democratic activists to focus their attention solely on the task at hand: defeating Michigan Republicans at every juncture. It’s not going to be easy. […]

Now THAT is a party!

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, Rene and Matt Greff, owners of Arbor Brewing Company and the Corner Brewery are huge supporters of Mark Schauer to be Michigan’s next governor. This past Saturday, they held a fundraising party for him at their home in Ypsilanti and it was a rousing success.

After the jump are some photos taken by Anne C. Savage along with some choice quotes from the evening. More photos can be seen on Anne’s Facebook page.