The City Dems have never required a “litmus test” for people to vote at Party meetings. We do have an e-mail list of over 1,000 people who have signed up to receive meeting notices, but no one has ever used this list to decide who does or does not get to vote. No one has ever passed our credential cards. As Jane Michener pointed out at the meeting, we have always welcomed “walk-ins”. She said that in 2008, when a large group of Obama people came to vote on endorsing in the caucuses, no one objected. The reason for our policy is obvious:

Today’s walk-in is tomorrow’s City Council member.

This policy is enshrined in Article III, Section 1 of the City Party’s bylaws: “Residents of the Ann Arbor area who are in sympathy with the general aims and policies of the Party are considered members of the Party and are eligible to participate in Party activities and to vote at Party meetings. A person becomes a member of the Party for purposes of notification by indicating his or her wish to become a member by being placed on the membership list.” There is a clear distinction between membership for purposes of voting and membership for purposes of notification.

So what happened here? The executive board meets regularly on the Wednesday afternoon prior to each general Party meeting. At our October 9 meeting, we endorsed Kirk Westphal. While we were at it, we also endorsed Rebekah Warren for State Senate and Pam Byrnes for Congress.

But before we did that, party chair Mike Henry announced that my colleague, Marty Fischhoff, the other co-vice chair for resolutions, bylaws and policy, was going to form a committee to examine our membership criteria. That committee is to report back at the Wednesday, November 6 executive board meeting, and the issue is to be decided at the Party’s annual meeting on Saturday, December 14. So we sent the issue to committee.

Then, without notice to the executive board, Mike Henry told the meeting last Saturday that the bylaws required that someone already be on the e-mail list in order to vote, and to get a credential card. That had never been our policy, and that is not what the bylaws require.

Several Party members protested to Mike and me. Councilmember Sumi Kailasapathy asked me what was with the card. She said the Communist Party had cards. I told him that Mike was not acting in accord with the bylaws.

Then the meeting began. Mike said people had to already be on the e-mail list to vote at the meeting. He asked people who were not on the list to sign up so that they could vote at subsequent meetings. Sumi raised a point of order, reading from the bylaws above. Mike again said that people had to be on the list ahead of time to vote. At that point I appealed the decision of the chair.

We were all set to vote on my appeal when Graham Teall came up waving his arms. He said the issue was moot because he had been issuing cards to everyone. When Mike backed down, I withdraw my appeal.

Mike then had to leave for another event, and Nora Wright presided for the rest of the meeting. Talk about a baptism of fire for her!

After the meeting was over, a Party member came up to Graham Teall and offered to shake his hand for giving cards to everyone. Teall hugged her, saying “We have always been a party of inclusiveness.”

So there was no misunderstanding on anyone’s part. Mike Henry ignored the examination that Fischhoff’s committee was to do, intentionally tried to brazen through his own policy on voting, and got caught at it.

All officer positions expire in December. The Party will elect officers for the coming year at its annual meeting on Saturday, December 14 at 10:00 at the Ann Arbor Community Center on North Main. Nominations from the floor are in order.

This controversy about an AADP endorsement by its Executive Board was raised in September of 2012 when Judge Timothy Connors initially sought an endorsement for re-election, however it was eventually decided that the better practice was to place it for vote at the regular monthly membership meeting that month. The AADP membership voted against endorsing either Connors or his opponent, Mike Woodyard.

Graham Teall’s recitation of who may vote at membership meetings stated above is correct: (1)the “general aims” criteria – which is impossible to gauge – (2)the “residents of the Ann Arbor area” requirement – which is nebulous and never ascertained prior to votes (I have seen Ypsi residents vote at an AADP membership meeting).

When to AADP membership voted on the Connors/Woodyard endorsement issue in September of 2012 over the vote and it was presided over by AADP co-chair Mike Henry there was no indication of being on a “party’s list” seven days previous as a requirment to allow one to vote. I do not know where Mike Henry got this notion that he could require persons to register seven days prior as a precondition to vote. Also, the distribution of credentials was not observed during the Connors/Woodyard vote and I fail to see why it was needed here – a mere show of hands sufficed previously.

Mike Henry’s name has appeared as an endorser on campaign letters mailed to Second Ward voters promting Kirk Westphal’s candidacy so it is clear he has a “dog in the fight” regarding Executive Board passage of an AADP endorsement of Westphal and having upheld despite a membership motion by challenge by Jack Eaton.
What concerns me is that there is a manifest incongruity in how the Westphal endorsement came out of the AADP when we compare the 2012 circuit court races and the “Executive Board” endorsement in the Westphal/Lumm race this year. Also, why did the Executive Board endorse only Westphal, but permitted the AADP general membership to vote on other endorsemnts?

Jane Lumm, an independent with a long history of ties to the GOP, has the support of Democratic Party leaders Jack Eaton, Mike Anglin, and Sumi Kailasapathy. Westphal is seen by many locals as someone with close mayoral ties which could compromise his independence as a City Council member.

The fact that Sabra Briere and Andy LaBarre did not request any AADP endorsement may telling as to the perceived value of this AADP-bestowed honor.

I also question the practice of the AADP endorsing candidates over a year before an election occurs such has been done with Mark Totten or others before we even know who all is running.

I am disappointed in the AADP leadership on these matters.