Stories indexed with the term ‘District 7’

The Ballot Box blog for The Hill reports on Democrat Pam Byrnes’ decision to challenge Republican incumbent Tim Wahlberg in 2014 for the 7th District U.S. Congressional seat, which includes portions of western Washtenaw County. From The Hill: “The seat leans slightly Republican, giving Mitt Romney 51 percent of its vote in 2012, and is the type Democrats need to win to have a shot at taking back control of the House next year.” Byrnes, who lives in the Chelsea area, was a former Michigan state representative who served as speaker of the House. She lost a 2010 primary election for state senate to Rebekah Warren. [Source]

Two Democrats – Andy LaBarre and Christina Montague – are running for a seat on the Washtenaw County board of commissioners to represent the new District 7, covering eastern Ann Arbor. They answered questions at a July 9 candidate forum, reflecting similar views on regional transportation, support for Detroit and the Detroit Institute of Arts, opposition to fracking, and concern for the county’s social safety net.

County commissioners are elected to two-year terms. District 7 will be one of nine districts as of 2013 – the first year for new districts formed during the 2011 redistricting process. Three of those districts – 7, 8 and 9 – cover Ann Arbor. [Currently there are 11 districts, including four representing Ann Arbor. (.jpg map of new county board districts)] The new District 7 includes an area that’s now represented by Democrat Barbara Bergman, who is not seeking re-election.

Montague is a former Washtenaw County commissioner, who was chair of the board for a portion of her 12-year tenure. She lost the seat when she was defeated by Bergman in a 2002 Democratic primary for a new district created after the previous redistricting process. Montague most recently ran against Bergman in the 2006 primary race that included Audrey Jackson, but was again defeated by Bergman.

LaBarre is vice president of government relations and administration at the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber of Commerce, a position he’s held since April 2011. Before that he served for six years on the staff of Congressman John Dingell.

The winner of the District 7 Democratic primary on Aug. 7 will face Republican David Parker in November. Parker is unopposed in the primary.

Moderated by the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area, the 30-minute July 9 candidate forum was held at the studios of Community Television Network, and is available online via CTN’s video-on-demand service. Candidates gave opening and closing statements, and answered seven questions. The format was not designed for interaction between candidates, but each candidate was given an optional one-minute rebuttal to use once during the forum.

The deadline to register to vote in the Aug. 7 primary has passed. Oct. 9 is the last day to register to vote for the Tuesday, Nov. 6 general election. Information on voter registration can be found on the Washtenaw County clerk’s elections division website. To see a sample ballot for your precinct, visit the Secretary of State’s website. The League of Women Voters also has an online voter information site – Vote411.org – which includes biographical information on candidates, stances on issues, and a “build my ballot” feature. [Full Story]