Earlier this week, I wrote an “open letter” to newly-elected Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lon Johnson. My primary goal with the piece was to start a conversation with Chair Johnson and among Michigan Democrats across the state about the future of our party. There’s no question that we must evolve as a party in order to retake control of our state from the overreach of our drunk-with-power, ideologically-corrupt Republican opponents. From new ways of engaging activists to improved communications with the citizens of our state, if we’re not moving forward, we’re losing ground.

It is my opinion that Lon Johnson gets that. However, there are many across the state who are reluctant to adopt new ways of doing things. Perhaps they are fearful of change. Maybe they enjoy the voice they have and the power they have now and don’t want to challenge the status quo. Whatever the reason, change is hard and will not always come easily. The first step is to have the conversation.

I was thrilled, therefore, when Chair Johnson took time from his crazy first-week-on-the-job schedule to respond to my letter.

His response is after the jump.

Lead on, Lon!

Dear Mr. Johnson,
First of all, sincere congratulations on your recent election to the position of Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. I was impressed that you ran a completely positive campaign that focused on your own strengths and vision and didn’t resort to tearing down your opponent. That one thing makes me confident that your stated desire to move forward with a unified party, united in our focus on winning back control of our state, is not just sincere but entirely possible.

Having spent a great deal of time speaking with people around the state, including you, and covering your rise to the chair of the Party, I want to take advantage of my cyber megaphone to share some thoughts with you. Some are from people I have talked with, most are my own, and I offer them as a perspective from “the trenches” as someone who has put considerable time and effort organizing at the local level, knocking doors, making phone calls and getting others to do the same.

Read the rest of my letter after the jump.

THIS is how it SHOULD be done

It was a day that promised to be memorable and the 2013 Michigan Democratic Convention at the Cobo Center in Detroit did not disappoint. In addition to electing the Party Chair, Michigan Democrats are coming off a 2012 election where they experienced mixed results. On one hand, we elected President Barack Obama by 9 points, Senator Debbie Stabenow by more than 20 points, and picked up 5 seats in the Republican-dominated House. On the other hand, we still don’t control any major power position in Michigan whatsoever.

So Michigan Democrats are fired up. Based on the number of voting delegates, 3,677 compared with the Republicans paltry 1,500 and change, Michigan Democrats are more fired up than ever before and poised to fight back HARD in 2014.

The day ended unexpectedly when Mark Brewer withdrew his nomination for Chair of the MDP, paving the way for Lon Johnson to be voted in by unanimous consent. My report after the jump.

It didn’t have to be this way

For the past two weeks, Mark Brewer and Lon Johnson have been running positive campaigns in their race to be Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. They have both had nice things to say about each other but have made strong cases for themselves and their qualifications.

This week, that changed. An Eclectablog reader sent me copies of a mailer attributed to “Mark Brewer for MDP Chair”. The two-sided mailer says nothing about Mark Brewer. Rather, it is an attempt to slam Lon Johnson for his voting history in Michigan.

Have a look at the flyer after the jump.

Careful here, folks. We need to hold this party together.

Updated at 2:15 ET to add some additional information about membership fees and the MDP rules.

In what is rapidly becoming a power struggle between supporters of current Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) Chair Mark Brewer and the powerful UAW labor union, the UAW won a round during an MDP Appeals Committee meeting last night. At issue was the credentialing of 1,349 UAW members as delegates with voting privileges at next Saturday’s statewide convention. The applications for these members, some of whom were new and some who had allowed their MDP membership to lapse, came in on Friday, January 25th, the last day to become a member eligible to vote in the election of the new MDP Chair. However, the checks for their membership fee did not arrive until the following Monday, three days after the deadline.

Because of this, Chair Brewer rejected the applications and returned them to the applicants. This would have prevented the new members from being credentialed for the Chair election, members who would presumably support the UAW-endorsed candidacy of challenger Lon Johnson.

Much more after the jump.

A short but vigorous campaign

The campaign for the Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party is in its final stages as we head into the statewide convention this Saturday, February 23rd at the Cobo Center. Both candidates, MDP Chair Mark Brewer and challenger Lon Johnson, are racking up endorsements and traveling the state talking to Democrats to earn their vote.

Last week, five MDP Executive Committee members, Derek Dobies, John Austin, Brenda Lawrence, Rudy Hobbs, and Kathleen Johnston Calati sent a letter to both candidates suggesting that a neutral party chair both the Rules and Credentials Committee and the convention itself. As it stands now, Chair Brewer holds both positions as well as being a candidate. In their proposal, they asked that “neutral Party members, not affiliated with any candidate for Chair, be designated to chair the Rules and Credentials committees and the State Convention.”

Click through for the latest on this feisty campaign.

“The politics, strategy and tactics of addition”

Lon Johnson‘s name was probably not familiar to most Michigan Democrats until he announced his candidacy for the Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) last week. All of that changed with, in a letter from Senator Debbie Stabenow, the entire Democratic Congressional and Senatorial delegation came out in support of Johnson. Along with them, the Teamsters union and the UAW threw their support behind Johnson, as well.

Anne and I sat down with Johnson and his wife last weekend to discuss his candidacy, his qualifications, and his vision for the future of the MDP. Our interview is after the jump.

The Michigan Democratic Party’s center of gravity is in Washtenaw County

Yesterday, the Ann Arbor Dems held their monthly meeting and it featured a powerhouse line-up. In addition to Dr. John Callewaert, a University of Michigan professor who spoke for nearly 30 minutes on hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in Michigan, the meeting attendees heard from Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives Congressman John Dingell, President of the Michigan State Board of Education John Austin, and local State House Representatives Jeff Irwin and Adam Zemke.

The highlight of the day, however, was appearances by both Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) Chair Mark Brewer and his opponent in the upcoming election for MDP Chair, Lon Johnson. The event was extremely well-run by Ann Arbor Dems chair Mike Henry and in the overflow crowd of around 250 people was nearly every elected official from the Ann Arbor area. It was, without question, the biggest political event in Washtenaw County since the election last November.

Details and lots of photos after the jump.

This is a meeting not to miss

If you are a Michigan Democrat, by now you probably know that Mark Brewer, who has been the Michigan Democratic Party Chair for 18 years, is being challenged for that position by Lon Johnson.

The UAW, the Teamsters, Senators Stabenow and Levin, and the entire Michigan Democratic House delegation have thrown their support behind Johnson while the Michigan Education Association and over 40 county party chairs are supporting Chair Brewer.

Both men will be speaking at the Ann Arbor Dems meeting this Saturday, February 9th starting at 9:30 a.m. Details are after the jump.

Time to change quarterbacks?

Mark Brewer has been the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party for the past 18 years. This year, however, the leadership of both the UAW and the Teamsters have pulled their support. Today, in a signal that this power struggle for control of the MDP may have legs, Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin along with every single Michigan Democratic member of Congress sent out a letter in support of Lon Johnson who has been selected to run against Brewer at the statewide Democratic Party Convention on February 23rd.

The letter was sent out under Stabenow’s letterhead and was signed by her, Senator Levin, and Congressmen John Dingell, John Conyers, Sander Levin, Gary Peters, and Dan Kildee.

You can read it in its entirety after the jump.