The Acid Test of Climate Change

Leftists are still doing their best to promote hysteria about global warming climate change, despite average citizens not caring at all about the issue.  They claim that we will be doomed to a terrible fate at some point in the not-to-distant future if we don't agree to their demands.

Conservatives have long suspected that this is a cynical attempt to gain control of the world economy.  To test leftists' sincerity, we can consider their support for alternatives to regulation of the global economy.  One big alternative is nuclear energy, which has zero carbon emissions.

Even if this isn't the left's ideal solution, it is one that most on the right would accept.  Are climate change hysterics advocating the expansion of nuclear energy?  If not, why should anyone believe that they are sincere?

2016 Michigan Primary Election Races

This post was last updated August 27, 2016.

Michigan's presidential electors, congressional seats, and the entire state house will be up for election November 8, 2016.  A primary on August 2 will decide most partisan nominees.

List of Michigan Presidential Candidates
List of Michigan candidates

President
On March 8, Michigan Republicans gave Donald Trump 36.5%, Ted Cruz 24.9%, John Kasich 24.3%, and Marco Rubio 9.3%.  Trump will face Hillary Clinton in November.

Michigan Supreme Court
Republicans currently hold a 5-2 majority on the court.  There are two seats up for election on the Michigan Supreme Court.
Republican David Viviano is seeking a full term after winning a two year term in 2014. He was appointed to fill a vacancy following the resignation of disgraced democrat Diane Hathaway following her conviction for tax fraud.  Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Frank Szymanski is the democrat nominee.  Likely Republican
Republican Joan Larsen was appointed following the resignation of Republican Mary Beth Kelly.  Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Deborah Thomas is the democrat nominee.  Likely Republican

Other Statewide Offices
Two seats on the state Board of Education and boards of trustees of U of M, MSU, and WSU will be up for election. All eight seats up are held by democrats. Democrats have swept these elections in 2006, 2008, and 2012, while Republicans swept in 2010.  Republicans won one seat in 2014.  The candidates are
State Board of Education:
Republicans: Tom McMillin, Nicolette Synder
Democrats: John Austin, Ismael Ahmed
UM Board of Regents:
Republicans: Ron Weiser, Carl Meyers
Democrats: Denise Illitch, Laurence Deitch
MSU Board of Trustees:
Republicans: Dan Kelly, William Deary
Democrats: Dianne Byrum, Diann Woodard
WSU Board of Governors:
Republicans: Michael Busuito, Kim Shmina
Democrats: Mark Gaffney, Yvette Anderson

Ballot Propositions
There may be a marijuana legalization proposal on the ballot.

Michigan Congressional Seats
Republicans hold a 9-5 majority in Michigan's congressional delegation, which is unchanged since 2012. Two districts (1 and 10) are open.  Democrats will target districts 1, 7, and 8, though all favor Republicans.

2016 Michigan Congressional Races

Michigan House
All 110 seats in the Michigan House of Representatives are up for election. Republicans hold a 63-47 majority.  There will be 40 open seats due to term limits and candidates running for Congress.  Democrats are likely to gain some seats.

2016 Michigan State House Races

60th District (Kalamazoo City) Safe democrat
Democrat Jon Hoadley defeated county commissioner David Buskirk of SE Kalamazoo and Kalamazoo Township Trustee Pamela Goodacre in the 2014 primary to replace Sean McCann, who lost a bid for state senate.  He faces Republican Kalamazoo College student Alexander Ross.
61st District (Portage, Oshtemo) Lean Republican
Republican Brandt Iden defeated fellow county commissioner Phil Stinchcomb in the 2014 primary to replace Margaret O'Brien, who was elected to the state senate.  Iden defeated democrat Pastor John Fisher 48.4-42.7 in 2014.  Fisher is running again in 2016.
62nd District (Battle Creek, Albion) Tossup
Republican John Bizon defeated democrat Andy Helmboldt 51.2-48.8 in 2014, replacing term-limited democrat Kate Segal.  Democrat Calhoun County Commissioner Jim Haadsma is running this year.
63rd District (E Kalamazoo, S Calhoun) Safe Republican
Moderate Republican Kalamazoo county commissioner David Maturen, defeated Marshall school board president Vic Potter in the 2014 primary to replace Speaker Jase Bolger.  Lynn Shiflea is the democrat candidate.
66th District (Van Buren, Cooper) Lean Republican
Republican state rep. Aric Nesbitt is term-limited.  Republican Van Buren County Commissioner Beth Griffin beat Matthew Nilson and Greg Kolich 61-31-8 in the primary.  Nesbitt defeated democrat Annie Brown 57-43 in 2014.  Brown is the D nominee again in 2016.

Kalamazoo Countywide Offices
All six countywide offices are up for election. Republicans hold three of six offices.

Sheriff: Leans democrat
Democrat Richard Fuller defeated Republican Michael Anderson in 2008 and won 55-45 in 2012.  Fuller, who has had problems with fiscal management, beat Thomas Swafford 76-24 in the democrat primary.  County commissioner (2002-2016) and police officer Jeff Heppler beat Robert Munn 68-32 in the Republican primary.
Prosecutor: Likely democrat
Democrat former assistant prosecutor Jeffrey Getting defeated Republican assistant prosecutor Scott Pierangeli 51-49 in 2012 to replace Republican Jeff Fink.  He beat Dorphine Payne 66-34 in the democrat primary and faces Republican Donald Smith in the general.
Clerk: Tossup
Incumbent moderate Republican Tim Snow will seek reelection after a narrow 51-49 win in 2012. Democrat county commissioner John Taylor (2002-2016) is running.
Treasurer: Leans Republican
Republican Mary Balkema, who was appointed in 2007, will seek reelection. Balkema barely defeated a token challenger in 2008, but defeated Grace Borgfjord 53-47 in 2012. Sunny Sahu beat James Jackson 51-49 in the D primary.
Drain Commissioner: Safe democrat
Democrat Patricia Crowley won easily in 2008 and 2012 (60-40).  She is unopposed.
Surveyor: Safe Republican
Incumbent Republican Bill Hahn has been unopposed since 2008. The position is unpaid, and its holder must be a licensed surveyor.

Kalamazoo County Commission
All 11 seats on the Kalamazoo County Commission will be up for election. Democrats hold a 6-5 majority. Republicans will target democrats in districts 5 and 10. Democrats may target districts 7 and 11.  Districts 3, 6, and 10 are open.

2016 Kalamazoo County Commission Races

Township Elections
There were plenty of contested township primary elections.  Only Oshtemo and Comstock are contested in the general.

Alamo Township:  Lou Conti was elected Supervisor in 2012 and recalled in 2014, being replaced by Tony Hyet.  Hyet beat Conti 69-31 in the 2016 R primary.

Comstock Township:
Supervisor:  Republican Supervisor Ann Nieuwenhuis, who defeated trustee Randy Thompson 52-40 in 2012, is retiring.  Democrat trustee Sandra Bloomfield beat nurse Lisa White 64-36 for the Republican nomination.  Thompson beat Kristie Cherry 64-36 for the democrat nomination.
Clerk:  Republican Michelle Mohney faces democrat Tafari Brown
Treasurer:  Democrat Bret Padgett is unopposed.
Trustees:  Republicans incumbent conservative Jerry Amos, Randy Beister, Art Austin, and Terry McIver and face democrats Bob Pratt, David Camburn, Robert Reilman for four trustee seats.

Cooper Township:  Longtime Supervisor Jeffrey Sorenson beat Richard Rakow 69-31 in the primary.  Trustee DeAnna Janssen is unopposed for Clerk.  Longtime trustees Brenda Buiskool, Robert Schledel, and Fred Vlietstra and former trustee Jim Frederick were nominated over Rob Bricker and Marc Rowlson.

Kalamazoo Township:  Democrat Supervisor Ron Reid is unopposed.  Trustee Mark Miller beat trustee Pamela Goodacre and incumbent clerk Donald Thall 43-33-24 in the democrat primary.

Oshtemo Township:
Supervisor:  Democrat Supervisor Elizabeth Heiny-Cogswell won 57-43 over former democrat John Nieuwenhuis in 2012. He is seeking a rematch this year.
Clerk:  Democrat trustee Dusty Farmer is seeking the seat of (former) Republican Clerk Deb Everett.  She faces Karen Solevik, who won the R primary as a write-in.
Treasurer:  Republican Treasurer Nancy Culp beat Democrat trustee Grant Taylor, who was elected in a 2014 special election, for the democrat nomination.  Scott Zondervan won the R nomination as a write-in.
Trustees:  Democrat candidates for trustee are former Republican trustee Dave Bushouse, Republican Clerk Deb Everett, incumbent Zak Ford, and Ken Hudok.  Themi Corakis and write-ins trustee Nancy Carr, Gene Clem, and Jim Lefler are the R nominees.

Texas Township:  Appointed trustee John Hinkle beat trustee Jeff VanderRoest for the open supervisor position.  Clerk Linda Kerr is unopposed.  Treasurer Paul Cutting beat trustee Trish Roberts after winning a tie-breaker.  Incumbent conservative Wendy Mazer, Tim Brown, former trustee Don Boven, and Nikolas Loeks beat Catherine DiBiaggio and Habib Mandwee for trustee.

Judges
There are no contested races.

2016 Kalamazoo County Commission Races

This post was last updated August 5, 2016.

Democrats won a 6-5 majority on the Kalamazoo County Commission in 2014, otherwise a mostly Republican year.  They picked up one seat, while six new commissioners were elected due to retirements.  There are three retirements in 2016 and several seats are likely to be hotly contested.

The following post has detailed descriptions of the districts and their political leanings. The numbers given are the percentage the Republican county commission candidate got in 2012 and 2014, Mitt Romney's 2-party percentage in 2012, and Ruth Johnson's percentage in 2010.  Incumbents are marked below with asterisks.

Kalamazoo County Commission Districts.


List of Kalamazoo County Candidates

District 1 [N Kalamazoo] Safe Democrat
R12: 13.9 R14: 0 Romney: 13.5 Johnson: 20.3
Democrat: Stephanie Moore*
Republican: Jessica Salvano
Stephanie Moore replaced Carolyn Alford, who retired, having held office since 2006.  She won the 2014 primary in this majority minority district with 55%.  Moore was a Kalamazoo city commissioner and has been convicted of several crimes over the years.

District 2 [SE Kalamazoo] Safe Democrat
R12: 0 R14: 29.5 Romney: 28.1 Johnson: 33.4
Democrat: Kevin Wordelman*
Republican: T Casey Fawley
Incumbent David Buskirk (1992-2014) retired to run for the democrat nomination in the 60th state house district, which he lost. Wordelman, a union organizer at WMU, defeated Jeremy Orr 68-32 in the 2014 primary.

District 3 [SW Kalamazoo] Safe Democrat
R12: 31.1 R14: 32.3 Romney: 30.1 Johnson: 37.2
Democrat: Tracy Hall
Republican: Charley Coss
John Taylor, who was first elected in 2002 is running for county clerk.  Hall was a candidate for Kalamazoo city commission in 2013.

District 4 [Kalamazoo Twp, Parchment] Safe Democrat
R12: 32.2 R14: 0 Romney: 31.7 Johnson: 41.8
Democrat: Michael Seals*
Republican: none
Seals defeated fellow democrat commissioner (2002-2010) Franklin Thompson in 2010.  Seals beat Thompson 66-34 in 2016.

District 5 [Alamo, N Oshtemo, NW Kalamazoo Twp] Likely Democrat
R12: 44.3 R14: 44.7 Romney: 47.2 Johnson: 56.9
Democrat: Julie Rogers*
Republican: Chad Dillon
Rogers won this swingy seat in 2012.  Dillon is a staffer for Congressman Fred Upton.

District 6 [Cooper, Richland, Ross] Safe Republican
R12: 54 R14: 100 Romney: 54.7 Johnson: 62.9
Democrat: none
Republican: Ron Kendall
Jeff Heppler, who has been on the board since 2002, is running for Sheriff.  Kendall is a staffer for state rep. Tom Barrett of Eaton County.  He beat Vince Carahaly, a moderate businessman, and Frank Brooks, a passionate Trump supporter, 39-35-26 in the primary.

District 7 [Comstock, Galesburg, Charleston, Climax, Wakeshma] Lean Republican
R12: 50.9 R14: 54.9 Romney: 50.6 Johnson: 59.3
Democrat: Pat Clark
Republican: Roger Tuinier*
Tuinier, who is a greenhouse owner, barely defeated Leroy Crabtree in 2012.  He beat David Burgess, a Comstock Township Trustee, in 2014.  Clark is a Climax Village Trustee.

District 8 [Pavillion, Brady, Schoolcraft, Prairie Ronde] Safe Republican
R12: 100 R14: 61 Romney: 55.1 Johnson: 63.5
Democrat: none
Republican: John Gisler*
Moderate Republican board chairman David Maturen (2002-2014) won the 63rd district state house seat in 2014.  Commissioner John Gisler, who was elected in 2010 but deferred to Maturen in the 2012 Republican primary due to redistricting, won in 2014.

District 9 [Texas, SE Oshtemo] Safe Republican
R12: 53.9 R14: 61.3 Romney: 51.7 Johnson: 62.5
Democrat: Emily Adams
Republican: Dale Shugars*
Shugars, a conservative former state senator (1994-2002) and state rep (1990-1994), won 72% to moderate Brian Kovacik's 28% in the 2014 primary, succeeding Brandt Iden.  He won a rematch 76-24 in the 2016 primary.

District 10 [W Portage] Tossup
R12: 52.8 R14: 49.6 Romney: 49.4 Johnson: 58.8
Democrat: Michael Quinn
Republican: Jerry Whitaker
Conservative Republican Phil Stinchcomb defeated democrat commissioner (2008-2010) Michael Quinn 56.4-43.6 in 2010.   Provancher was a democrat county commissioner representing central Portage 1995-2002.  He is retiring, and Quinn is running again. Whitaker was a Portage School Board member 1999-2004.

District 11 [E Portage] Likely Republican
R12: 52.5 R14: 54.2 Romney: 47.5 Johnson: 56.5
Democrat: Jason Foster
Republican: Scott McGraw*
McGraw succeed John Zull (2000-2014).  McGraw formerly worked for the Kalamazoo Homebuilders Association and is now Chairman of the Kalamazoo GOP.