Tag: Joe Knollenberg

2 terms of George Bush is too long. 15 terms of Joe Knollenberg is WAY too long. I’m excited to share with you the story of my congressional district, and tell you about the most exciting candidate to run in the past few cycles!

Last November voters across the country told the Republican party that we are sick of their war, we are sick of their endless spending, and we want change. Joe Knollenberg faced his toughest challenge yet.

Now is the time to bring about change in MI-09.

Gary Peters is the kind of leader we need to send to Congress. He’s stood up to special interest money before, fighting the oil lobby to ban drilling in the Great Lakes as a State Senator. He’s ready to go to work for us again, to get us on a new direction in Iraq, fight for pay-as-you-go budgeting, and making health care affordable for all Americans.

There are still 5 days left to contribute to Peters for Congress, so we can work together to bring about change. Early donations (before the September 30th FEC deadline) help get essential campaign operations off the ground and attracts attention.

Contribute today at ActBlue!

It is disappointing to see 146 Democrats vote to condemn online activists, when we face much bigger problems and challenges. Gary Peters is a respected legislator ready to get to work on the REAL issues we face.

In an email to supporters today Gary said:

Knollenberg is vulnerable and polling confirms that I am one of the strongest challengers anywhere in the country.

We need to support our progressive Democrats in winnable districts. There is no reason for MI-09 to elect a Republican for one more term. The district has been trending blue, however underperforming Democratic candidates have yet to seal the deal. Gary has a proven track record of supporting our values.

The AFL-CIO recently endorsed Peters in their earliest congressional endorsement ever. Peters was previously the Sierra Club’s “Environmentalist of the Year”, and the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association’s “Champion of Justice”.

I was at Yearly Kos with many of you, and Gary Peters. It isn’t just his positions on the issues which have convinced me to support him, he’s clearly on our side! It was the passion he puts into his views.

At Yearly Kos, he specifically wanted to go to the sessions on Iraq, Healthcare, and using new technology in campaigns. I watched him take pages of notes on the edge of his seat. I heard him tell a fellow blogger that he “couldn’t sleep at night” if he didn’t read the legislation before him, to know what he was voting on. We don’t need leaders voting the right way so they get re-elected…we need leaders who are honored to be our Representatives, ready to serve our country, and committed to moving our country forward.

Gary Peters is the kind of candidate we need to support.

There are just 5 days left before the September 30th FEC deadline! Show your support now…Contribute today at ActBlue!

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Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer was asked “What makes Gary Peters qualified to face Joe Knollenberg?” in his latest video blog.

Jump the fold to read more. 

Mark is right when he says Gary will be an outstanding member of Congress. He certainly has the experience!

While in the Senate, he served as the ranking Democrat on the Finance, Education, Judiciary, Natural Resources, and Families and Mental Health Committees. – Peters For Congress

While at the lottery Gary not only increased sales by over $600 million, but did it while staying under budget by $13 million. It is this type of fiscal responsibility that will keep our country strong for future generations.

You can see why Joe Knollenberg is so nervous this time. He will be asking all his lobbyists, special interests, and donors to provide the $4 million his finance director thinks they'll need to beat Gary.

Clearly Mark Brewer's kind words and publicity on the Michigan Democratic Party website are a great sign for the Peters campaign. 

If the first day of the campaign is any indication, Gary Peters for Congress will make an impact.

• In the Detroit Free Press the DCCC says Knollenberg has “every reason to fear a strong candidacy from Gary Peters”
• Today’s Oakland Press quotes Gary as saying this race will be the “number one in the state”
• The Birmingham Eccentric highlights Gary’s goal to make health care affordable and available
• Crains Detroit quotes Gary saying he will “fight tooth and nail for every Michigan job”
• Talking Points Memo Election Central covered the announcement, highlighting Gary’s experience as a Lt. Commander and SEABEE combat specialist.
• mLIVE quotes Oakland County Democratic Party Chairman Dave Woodward calling Gary the “frontrunner”
• WLNS reminds readers Knollenberg is coming out of his toughest re-election ever
• Richard Owl Mirror’s blog compares Gary to Mr. Smith, and says we need to send him to Washington
• Michigan Class Notes is excited to see a strong challenger in the 9th
• The Detroit News mentions this race is going to be expensive, and that Knollenberg is hoping for a Democratic primary to waste resources
• So of course it is no wonder Gary raised over $2,000 in just one day at ActBlue
• Michigan Liberal,  Daily Kos,  MyDD, and Swing State Project readers all got to see the Peters Announcement

We will continue to introduce Gary to the blogosphere. If you would like to get involved in the campaign, please signup for email alerts at PetersForCongress.com. Show the DCCC that we need to pickup House seats in Michigan!

“A public servant with a record of fiscal discipline, Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) today announced he will run for Congress in 2008, pledging to fight outsourcing, help strengthen the economy and resolve the war in Iraq.” It’s official! Days after Joe Knollenberg made the announcement for him, Peters enters the race. It’s no wonder Knollenberg felt the need to attack. Gary has an extensive track record of fighting for progressive issues as a State Senator.

Peters will officially resign from his current position as Michigan’s lottery commissioner on Friday, August 10th. Under Peters, the lottery has come in $13 million under budget while generating record profits. When he was a State Senator, he returned an entire years worth of office expenses back to the state treasury! Gary will bring fiscal responsibility to Congress.

“Knollenberg has allowed the failed Bush agenda to go on while our brave men and women are getting shipped to Iraq and good-paying Michigan jobs are getting outsourced to other countries. -Gary Peters”

Gary gets it. Knollenberg has a terrible record on veteran’s issues, highlighted by the DCCC campaign last July. Peters will fight to protect our soldiers and our jobs. Knollenberg has been a rubber stamp for a failing administration. The choice is clear for 9th district voters.

9th District elected Democrats came out strong in support of Peters. Look at this list of endorsements. Our local leaders are excited to get behind an experienced legislator, who is ready to fight Knollenberg on the campaign trail and represent Oakland County in the People’s House.

The district is ripe for change, and Gary is the candidate to deliver. The Democratic base vote in the 9th district was above 50%. This is a winnable district. Joe Knollenberg is out of touch with 9th district voters on issues such as stem cell research, protecting the middle class, the importance of Social Security, and helping to make college education affordable. Gary Peters will continue his fight for progressive interests?Joe Knollenberg protects Washington special interests.  Let’s send a Lieutenant Commander to Congress to fight for us.

www.PetersForCongress.com

Learn more about Gary at his website, signup to receive email updates, and contribute at ActBlue!

By: Jordan Wells and Kevin Hrit – (Disclosure: Jordan worked as Nancy Skinner’s Online Outreach Organizer in 2006. Kevin worked as Nancy Skinner’s Field Director in 2006, and crunched numbers for Practical Political Consulting in Lansing.)

Michigan’s 9th Congressional District will be one of the top targeted races for 2008. The DCCC has already aired ads exposing Knollenberg’s awful record on veterans. Knollenberg is under fire from citizen action groups, and has been constantly bashed in letters to the editor throughout the district. Knollenberg is beatable. He narrowly won the ’06 election with 51% of the vote, and has 15% less money now than he did this time that cycle.

It appears the 9th District has undergone a sudden blue trend. However the Democratic base in the district has been growing steadily for the last eight years. Despite the growing Democratic base, Joe Knollenberg continues to cruise to electoral success versus weak challengers.

Jump below the fold for an extremely detailed analysis of the numbers from the 9th District.

In 2002 David Fink performed 2.21% below the Democratic base, with 39.89% of the vote, despite raising 1.2 million and contributing 1.2 million of his own.  In 2004 Steve Reifman performed 6.80% below the Democratic base, with 39.54% of the vote. In 2006 Nancy Skinner performed 4.28% below the Democratic base, with 46.21% of the vote. The Democratic base in 2006 was 50.49% (in ’02 it was 42.19%, in ’04 46.34%).

Clearly the 9th District is more competitive than the election results make it appear, which is great news given Knollenberg’s low vote totals in 2006. Democratic candidates in the 9th have failed to win over independent voters and even win over all Democratic voters. This has been due to a lack of fundraising, lack of connection with voters in the district, and lack of clear understanding of the 9th district.

Currently the two potential contenders for the 9th District nomination are Nancy Skinner and Gary Peters. Nancy ran for the 9th in 2006. Gary’s last election was 2002 when he ran for Attorney General.

In the 2002 Attorney General race, Gary Peters performed at or above the Democratic base in 72% of 9th district precincts (234 out of 325). This certainly puts the candidate’s performance in perspective. While losing by 4,677 votes in Bloomfield Township, Peters actually performed above base in all 36 precincts of the township. In his former home city of Rochester Hills, he outperformed base by 4.66%, in 30 of 32 precincts.  Despite losing the AG race Peters out performed the Democratic base in 72% of the 9th District. Consider that this is a statewide election, and each candidate did not necessarily concentrate on persuading 9th District voters. Peters was above base in 19 of 22 jurisdictions, and just slightly under base in the other 3 (within 2.2%).

Let’s look at Peters’ 1998 State Senate campaign, where he could campaign locally. In this election Peters performed at or above base in 99% of the precincts (155 of 156 precincts).  It is worth noting that in his run for State Senate in 1994, he won a five way primary with 51% of the votes, despite facing formidable challenges from Democratic contenders in a district stretching from Pontiac down through Southfield.  Then went on to win his first term in the Senate.

In 2004 Steve Reifman performed 6.80% below the Democratic base, taking 39.54% of the vote. These results have negatively effected the perception of our district and promoted the idea that no Democrat could win there.

In 2006 Nancy Skinner performed 4.28% below the Democratic base, with 46.21% of the vote. She only performed over base in 18 precincts out of 319 precincts (over base in 5.64%) and only 1 jurisdiction.

In 2004 Nancy also ran for Senate in Illinois. She lost in the primary (to Barack Obama), and as Kevin can tell you, being a first time candidate is really tough.

In Royal Oak City, where Nancy grew up, she performed 4.00% below base. In Birmingham, where the campaign office was located, where her dad coached high school football and where she lived during the campaign, she still performed 0.38% below base.

Gary Peters strong performances are due to the stances he has taken. He was a leader in the fight to protect Great Lakes water, earning him the Sierra Club's Environmentalist of the Year Award. Peters was the Democratic Caucus Chair in the State Senate, and ranking member on more policy committees than any other Senator. You can read more about Gary's biography at this profile article about him in the Michigan Bar Journal.

Nancy Skinner's support comes from her time on a radio talk show in the district. She promoted sustainable living, and worked on the Chicago Climate Exchange. She won a medal from working with the Clinton administration in 1993 for her efforts in rebuilding flood ravaged communities with sustainable building techniques on the Mississippi river delta. You can read more about Nancy on her bio page from her campaign website.

Neither candidate has filed with the FEC. Nancy Skinner's federal committee from 2006 remains open with $18,000+…although she has not filed any of the required reports for 2007. Gary Peters maintains a State Leadership PAC with $20,000+ (as of July '07) which can not be spent on a federal campaign, although he has been supportive of the State and County Party and candidates.

 

CRITICAL NUMBERS

98 Base 14SD : 61.08% 

98 Peters :.65.48% 

98 Peters Performance v. Base : +4.40

02 Base : 42.19% 

02 Fink : 39.89%

02 Fink Performance v. Base : -2.29%

02 Peters : 45.52%

02 Peters Performance v. Base : +3.33%

04 Base : 46.34%

04 Reifman : 39.54%

04 Reifman Performance v. Base : -6.80%

06 Base : 50.49% 

06 Skinner : 46.21%

06 Skinner Performance v. Base : -4.28%

 

Here are the numbers and facts, please draw your own conclusions.