Thursday, December 27, 2012
From presidential politics to battles over Birmingham's new liquor license policy, we've got your round-up of the most important political stories from 2012.
Whoever said "it's all politics" must have been talking about 2012 — or at least, 2012 in Birmingham. With the year beginning and ending with a major election, to a dozen protests and new city ordinances in between, 2012 was a big year for politics in Birmingham. Here's the stories that were getting people's attention and getting them to the polls this year: Nov. 8: City to Move Forward 'As Best It Can' After Charter Amendment Loses at the Polls City Manager Bob Bruner said despite the loss, he doesn't expect a similar amendment to go on the ballot any time soon. Nov. 7: Rinschler, Fenberg Re-Elected to School Board, Charter Amendment Fails During the Nov. 6 general election, Bloomfield Hills Republican Mike McCready took the 44th District…
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
The Oakland County executive proved he's a stand-up guy during an Election Night appearance in Royal Oak.
As Democrats celebrated election victories Tuesday in Michigan and across the country, the mood at the Emagine Royal Oak theater complex, where more than 200 Oakland County Republicans gathered, was a mixed bag. That is, until L. Brooks Patterson, 73, changed the energy of room. “He gave some remarks and then he told us he had a surprise for us – and then he stood up on his own,” said former Royal Oak Mayor Dennis Cowan. “Everyone burst into applause.” Patterson, elected to his sixth term as Oakland County Executive on Nov. 6, was injured in a crash in August that left him hospitalized at McLaren Oakland Hospital in Pontiac for five weeks after suffering almost a dozen broken bones. He returned to work in October using a wheelchair and …
Thursday, November 8, 2012
City Manager Bob Bruner said despite the loss, he doesn't expect a similar amendment to go on the ballot any time soon.
The proposed amendment to the City Charter lost at the polls on Tuesday, however City Manager Bob Bruner said Wednesday that the city will continue to move forward. "While the Charter amendment would have made (buying and selling land) less expensive and time-consuming in the future, the city will continue to implement the Triangle District Master Plan and other public improvement plans as best it can," Bruner said Wednesday afternoon in a short statement. The amendment to the City Charter would have made it easier for the city to sell city-owned property at market value. According to the Birmingham City Charter, adopted in April 1933, the city can not sell property for more than $2 per capita, or $2 multiplied by the city's population as …
Precinct 4, which votes at the First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham, had the highest voter turnout in Birmingham at 82.9 percent.
The 2012 election is over, the final votes have been tallied and in Birmingham, two incumbents have been returned to the Birmingham Board of Education while a proposed amendment to the city charter has failed. However, it was largely the big name issues — from picking a U.S. Senator to electing the president of the United States — that drew the biggest crowds to the polls. In total, 13,106 Birmingham residents cast a ballot on Tuesday, bringing this year's voter turnout to 78 percent. That's just about on par with the turnout during the 2008 presidential election, which came in at 79 percent. Compared to the rest of Oakland County, meanwhile, Birmingham was just at or above average, joining the majority of the county which saw similiar 70-…
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Birmingham voters chose Mitt Romney over Barack Obama Tuesday night, as well as Republican Pete Hoekstra over the re-elected U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
While Birmingham didn't always vote with the pack on Tuesday night, the city proved to serve as a model for several state- and county-wide elections. In total, 13,106 Birmingham residents cast a ballot in Tuesday's election. About 4,600 of those — around 35 percent — were submitted absentee. That brings Tuesday's voter turnout to 78 percent. This is just about on par with the voter turnout during the 2008 presidential election, City Clerk Laura Broski said. Voter turnout four years ago was 79 percent, she said. On the ballot in Birmingham were a number of national, state- and county-level candidates for various offices, from U.S. Senator to Oakland County Clerk. Also on Birmingham's ballot were a school board election and city charter …
A Birmingham city ordinance requires residents to clean up their political signs within three days after an election.
So maybe you're excited President Barack Obama has been re-elected, or maybe you're still upset with Mitt Romney's Tuesday night defeat. Regardless of which political sign is in your front yard, it's time to clean them up. According to a city ordinance, political signs must be removed within three days of an election. The ordinance was adopted by the Birmingham City Commission in March 2011. According to the resolution, "the City of Birmingham considers the lengthy display and exceeding numbers of political signs in residential districts to be both an aesthetic problem and a source of visual blight, especially when the signs become dilapidated." While taking into account residents' right to free speech, the resolution notes the three-day …
Oakland County voters elected an executive, clerk, sheriff and treasurer at the polls Tuesday.
5:30 AM: All precincts have been counted. Check the table above for final unofficial vote tallies. 1:20 AM L. Brooks Patterson kept his lead, with 499 of 522 precincts reporting. Also, Andy Meisner, Michael Bouchard and Jessica Cooper are continued to lead their opponents. Challenger Lisa Brown was stil leading incumbent County Clerk Bill Bullard. 11:52 PM With 75 percent of ballots counted, voter turnout looks to be about 65 percent in Oakland County. 10:40 PM: With more than half the precincts in Oakland County reporting, incumbents L. Brooks Patterson, Andy Meisner, Michael Bouchard and Jessica Cooper are continuing to lead their opponents. Challenger Lisa Brown is stil leading incumbent County Clerk Bill Bullard. 9:13 PM: Some …
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Exit polls show voters backing Barack Obama; national media give the state's 16 electoral votes to the president.
The polls have not been closed long, but based on exit polls results several media organizations have declared President Barack Obama the winner of Michigan's 16 electoral votes on Tuesday, defeating Republican and native son Mitt Romney. NBC, NPR, CNN, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post all have declared Obama the winner. Media outlets also have called the overall race for Obama. In the 2008 presidential election, the state voted for the Democratic candidate, and in recent elections has voted for the overall winner of the presidential race 3 out of 5 times. Romney and Obama did not campaign aggressively in Michigan. The state has typically been a Democratic stronghold in recent presidential elections. The economy was a key …
"We're convinced this will be the fastest Election Night reporting for a presidential election in Oakland County history," Clerk Bill Bullard said Tuesday.
Oakland County on Tuesday was set to become the second county in the United States to tap wireless technology to transmit election results more quickly after the polls close. The analog modems on vote tabulator and absentee ballot counting board machines throughout Oakland County have been upgraded with wireless cellular modems that will allow unofficial results to be transmitted from communities to the county as soon as the polls close at 8 p.m., Oakland County Clerk Bill Bullard said Tuesday. Previously, the memory card in each vote tabulator at each precinct had to be removed manually after election workers finished their paperwork, then taken to City Hall for the results to be uploaded and transmitted to the county. The analog vote …
Michigan's voting goes until 8 p.m., but some polls elsewhere close earlier.
Michigan voters have until 8 p.m. Eastern to cast their Election 2012 ballots, but voting in other key swing states ends as much as an hour earlier, and exit polling could provide an early clue whether President Obama or Mitt Romney is closer to the White House. The earliest key state to watch is Virginia, where polls close at 7 p.m. Eastern. Voting ends 30 minutes later in the swing states of Ohio and North Carolina. As Michigan's polls close, the swing states of Florida, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire close their polls, too. Nevada and Iowa, two other swing states that could prove pivotal in this year's presidential election, close voting at 10 p.m. Eastern. Check here as Patch updates Election 2012 results as they come in.
Racer Boy
11:16 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
Birmingham voting citizenry were either uniformed or very shortsighted in not approving this amendment. Pretty basic stuff. more ›