Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Incumbent celebrates win with nearly 85 percent of the vote.
Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter won the mayor's race Tuesday with nearly 85 percent of the vote against newcomer Raymond Willis. He beat out the less-experienced Willis by a 1,819-326 vote. Coulter said he believes the large margin of victory had to do with his experience in governing. "I think people want experience and that experience is important to them," he said at his celebration party at Dino's Lounge. Almost 14 percent of Ferndale's registered voters cast a ballot on Tuesday. The low turnout, however, isn't uncommon in a non-presidential or non-gubernatorial race. In 2009, only 15 percent of the registered voters came out for a similar election. Coulter was appointed mayor in January after the former mayor Craig Covey won his election …
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Dino's Lounge
22740 Woodward Ave, Ferndale, MI
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Dan Martin was the top vote getter for Ferndale City Council Candidates, while incumbent Mike Lennon retains seat.
Newcomer Dan Martin ended up with the most votes out of three Ferndale City Council candidates, pulling in 1,506 to take an open Council seat. Meanwhile, incumbent Mike Lennon retained his seat. Sherry Wells came in third, trailing Lennon 1,393 to 1,037. About 14 percent of Ferndale's registered voters came out for the election. It was a campaign were the candidates were often in agreement on the issues and very respectful and courtesy along the campaign trail. "It was a competitive race but it doesn't have to get nasty and you don't have to take it to your opponent to have a good campaign," Martin said after his victory. "We all ran a very honorable campaign." Martin is new to the politics game but he said it's a necessary part of the …
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Sherry Wells is running for City Council and tandem biking, too.
Two wheels, two handle bars, two seats, but one Ferndale City Council campaign. Sherry Wells, who is running for an open seat on council today, along with her campaign manager Dave Cottrill, have gone a different route on mobilizing their campaign: riding a tandem bicycle. "It's really ideal," Wells said on Election Day eve. "Campaigning is too much stop and go for a car." Wells has owned the tandem bike for about 25 years, she said. She inherited it from a neighbor when he moved away and when she moved to Ferndale 23 years ago, it came with her. "We'd put my daughter on the back seat and her father and I would just go for a bike ride," she said. Now, it's served a purpose more than pleasure. "We've been using it for (distributing campaign…
Absentee ballots have yet to be tallied.
10:15 p.m.: Dave Coulter wins mayor's seat. Dan Martin and Mike Lennon take the council seats. 9 p.m.: The votes are being tabulated at City Hall, but the early numbers from all precincts are below. Absentee ballots have yet to be tallied. There are 510 absentee ballots to be counted still. Mayoral race: 113 City Council race: Precinct 9 (Curling Club) 8 p.m.: The polls are closed. Were you able to vote? I hope so. 7:45 p.m.: Reports from the precincts are that voter turnout is low. As of 7:30 p.m., only 130 voters passed through Precinct 1. There's not much going on. It's pretty quiet and low-key. 3 p.m.-5 p.m.: Notes from the field: Precinct 1 (Harding Administration Center): Candidate Sherry Wells was campaigning outside of Precinct …
We don't ask for much here at Ferndale Patch. Just a few pictures from time to time.
During the election in May, we called out to readers to stick their "I Voted" stick to themselves, their animals, their kids, anything, snap a picture and send it to us. We got a baker's dozen. This time around, we're looking for more. So, again, we're asking you to show us you voted. You can upload it yourself if you have a profile on Ferndale Patch, or you could email it or text it right to the editor (as in me). Be sure to include your name when submitting your "I Voted" photo. Got it?
We posed the question: Why should I vote on Tuesday? Our Readers answers.
Where have all the voters gone? Last November, when voters voted in Rick Snyder, 41 percent of those registered came out for the vote. In 2009, when former Ferndale Mayor Craig Covey won his re-election to the seat, only 14 percent came out to vote. And in 2008, when an Illinois Senator named Barack Obama won the presidency, 52 percent of registered voters made that decision in Ferndale. So, where is everyone? We took the position of that non-voter and asked our readers: Why should I vote? Below are some of the responses. Agree? Disagree? Have something better? Tell us about it. Read about Ferndale's Nov. 8 election here.
Monday, November 7, 2011
For the Nov. 8 Election, Ferndale has three city council candidates vying for two seats.
On Nov. 8, Election Day, Ferndale residents will cast two votes from three candidates for the two open seats on city council. Those candidates include incumbent Mike Lennon, Dan Martin and Sherry wells. To learn more about each of these candidates, check out their information pages below. Follow the links for information on the council candidates including questionnaires from Ferndale Patch and other media sources, videos of the candidates and forums they participated in, campaign finance information, candidate's campaign websites as well as links to relevant stories on Ferndale Patch about the candidates.
For the Nov. 8 Election, Ferndale has two candidates vying for the mayor's seat.
On Nov. 8, election day, Ferndale's current mayor Dave Coulter is looking to retain his seat while newcomer Raymond Willis is challenging him. To learn more about each of these candidates, check out their information pages. Follow the links for information on the mayoral candidates including questionnaires from Ferndale Patch and other media sources, videos of the candidates and forums they participated in, campaign finance information, candidate's campaign websites as well as links to relevant stories on Ferndale Patch about the candidates.
On Nov. 8, Ferndale residents will go to the polls to vote for a mayor, two city council seats, five uncontested library board seats and, if you're in precincts eight and nine, two Hazel Park Board of Education seats, also uncontested.
Nov. 8 is Election Day. So, find your precincts, pick a time and go cast several votes in Ferndale. Between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., in nine locations across Ferndale, residents will take to the polls to cast a vote for mayor, two votes for city council candidates, five votes for uncontested library board seats and, if you're in precincts eight and nine, two uncontested Hazel Park Board of Education seats. When: Tuesday, Nov. 8. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Where: Ferndale consists of nine precincts and polling location. Not sure where you should go? Click here. View a map of the precincts here. What: All residents will be casting a vote for one mayor, two city council members and five library board trustees. Residents voting in …
Do you know where you have to go to vote?
The map above shows you where the nine precincts are in Ferndale. Hover your cursor over the pin and click for more information or directions. Not sure where you should go? Click here. Here are nine precinct voting locations: Return to Ferndale Patch's Nov. 8 Election Central page here.
Thomas Gagne
2:48 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
First is a piece written for the New York Times, "Build a bigger house," suggesting our representation at the federal government has become diluted--that the public has less representation now than ever before in the history of our nation. If each individual has weaker representation, then that increases the power of lobbyists. That link is below. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/opinion/… more ›