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.

18 years of leadership of one of the most active state parties in the country

For the past 18 years, except for a brief period when Jennifer Granholm installed Butch Hollowell at the helm, Mark Brewer has led the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) as its Chair. During Hollowell’s tenure, Brewer was given the newly created position of Executive Director and, since Hollowell’s departure a year and half later to work on the Kerry campaign, Brewer has held both positions.

Although Mark Brewer has been challenged in the past for his position as Chair, the most recently in 2011, the challenge he faces this year seems more robust than previous attempts. Brewer is supported by the Michigan Education Association, Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, and the Greater Lansing Labor Council among other organizations along with at least 60 local party leaders across the state. On the other hand, both Senators Stabenow and Levin along with the entire Democratic Congressional delegation, the UAW, and the Teamsters have shifted their support to Brewer’s opponent, former candidate for state House, Lon Johnson.

I spoke to Chair Brewer about this race, his accomplishments as MDP Chair and his vision for the future of the MDP. The 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.