Analysis
This story is based upon the decision by the state Democrats to choose Amos Williams over Scott Bowen as their State Attorney General nominee. This is a follow up to previous stories about the internal party conflict, with no real new information about the conflict. There was information about other nominees from the State Democratic Party Convention and some comments from Amos Williams about current AG Mike Cox, which prompted Cox’s spokesperson to respond. Why was there no real information about William’s background or qualifications as a attorney general candidate? Did this article provide information to make you a more informed voter?
Article Text
DETROIT — In a sign that organized labor’s influence remains strong in the Democratic Party, former Wyoming District Judge Scott Bowen lost his fight to be his party’s nominee for attorney general Sunday.
“They followed the rules, and I lost fair and square,” said Bowen, after Detroit-area attorney Amos Williams bested him for the nomination at the state Democratic Party convention at Cobo Hall.
Williams enjoyed the backing of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who pressured the labor union-led party to follow his lead. That put Bowen on the outside.
Sunday, Bowen didn’t know whether he would seek another political office. “I have no idea what I’m going to do tomorrow, except probably fish, weather permitting,” he said.
Besides Williams, who will run against Republican Attorney General Mike Cox, the convention chose candidates for secretary of state, the state Supreme Court, the state board of education and university boards. The two-day meeting, headlined by Gov. Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, both up for re-election this fall, wrapped up Sunday.
One surprise: Cascade Township attorney Jane Beckering won nomination to the Michigan Supreme Court, a move by Granholm to have West Michigan representation on the slate.
Granholm called Beckering a week ago to ask her to run.
“It was a big surprise, it really was,” said Beckering, who grew up in Ada Township and works primarily as a plaintiff’s attorney in medical malpractice cases.
Beckering’s husband, Raymond Beckering, is an assistant U.S. attorney in Grand Rapids. Jane Beckering said Granholm chose her for geographic balance.
“I think she wants the entire state to be represented,” she said.
Bowen, a former Grand Rapids city commissioner, resigned his judge’s job 15 months ago to seek the attorney general nomination, with encouragement from Granholm.
Granholm’s support softened, however, under pressure from Kilpatrick, who wanted a black man or woman in one of the key ballot positions, but didn’t want state Rep. Mary Waters, a black Detroit Democrat who opposed Kilpatrick’s re-election, to be the party’s nominee for secretary of state.
Labor unions followed Granholm’s lead and endorsed Williams, who is black, and Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh, who is white, to run against Republican Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. Like Williams, Sabaugh won easily against Waters.
Bowen was considered by many to be a stronger candidate than Williams. He had raised significantly more money, and a recent poll showed him losing to Cox, but by a smaller margin than Williams would. Bowen argued that having someone from Kent County on the top of the Democratic ticket would help his party on the western side of the state.
“We’ve got a big tent,” Bowen told delegates. “We’ve got a party big enough for somebody from West Michigan.”
Bowen is at ideological cross-purposes with most Democrats because he is anti-abortion, another factor that hurt his candidacy.
As voting progressed — congressional district by congressional district — it became clear Bowen couldn’t win. While he took a majority of votes in his home district, which includes most of Kent, Ionia and Barry counties, he lost by consistently large margins in all others. Finally, Bowen stepped to the podium to withdraw his candidacy and ask that a unanimous ballot be cast for Williams.
“I can count,” Bowen said. “The numbers are pretty clear. For those of you who supported me, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Bowen hugged Williams and vowed afterwards to support him this fall.
Williams said the Bowen battle was “a good thing for the party because it shows we do have a big tent.”
He added, “Scott Bowen was a formidable adversary on the campaign trail and he’s a good guy.”
Partisan attack
Williams wasted no time going after Republicans and Cox, whom he criticized for selling out to special interests and corporations and being unresponsive to the public. “Little Mikey has got to go,” he said. Afterwards he said the “little Mikey” comment was aimed not at Cox’s stature, “but at his character,” which he said was “mean.”
Cox spokesman Rusty Hills declined to comment on the personal attack, but said the election will be a referendum on Cox’s record of going after Internet predators, deadbeat dads and consumer fraud. “We’ll take that record to the public any day of the week and we’ll win,” Hills said.
West Michigan delegates expressed disappointment at Bowen’s loss.
“If we’re ever going to have a voice in the party on the west side, we’ve got to get candidates on the top of the ticket,” said Grand Rapids School Board member Jim Rinck, who is running against U.S. Rep. Vernon Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids. “I can’t remember the last time we had a West Michigan person on the state-wide ticket.”
Lupe Ramos-Montigny of Grand Rapids had urged Bowen to undertake the long-odds battle against union opposition. Despite the loss, she thought West Michigan Democrats had made a mark.
“I think this vote opened their eyes that we do exist on the west side of the state,” said Ramos-Montigny, a former Kent County Democratic Party chairwoman and current second vice chairwoman for the state party. “We have a lot of time to reunite and get somebody for the next cycle.”
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