Most results in but Senate race still undecided
By David Hohendorf
The so-called Blue Wave that was expected to propel Democrats nation-wide in the November 3 general election appeared to be present in Oakland County on Tuesday, in a majority of contests.
In what proved to be one of the most expensive and tumultuous contests for the U.S. Senate, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed appeared to be ahead in the race against Mike Rogers, a Republican former member of the House who moved back from Florida to White Lake in Oakland County to seek the Senate seat now held by Democrat Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township who decided not to run for another term.
As of the early morning hours of Wednesday, El-Sayed was leading Rogers but a substantial number of votes in the state were not counted. A last minute endorsement of Rogers by Democrat Haley Stevens, an incumbent House member who lost in the August Senate primary to El-Sayed, appears to have had little to no effect on the outcome of the contest which was marked by charges of antisemitism, islamophobia and racism and likely set a record for the most expensive Senate contest with nearly $500 million poured into the battle. El-Sayed would be the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate if he wins this race.
In Oakland County, wlith 91 percent of the votes counted, El-Sayed took 56 percent of votes cast.
In the U.S. House 11th District race to replace Haley Stevens, state Senator Jeremy Moss (D-Bloomfield Township) took an early lead against Republican Ethan Baker, mayor of Troy, and was declared the winner at 9:59 p.m. The district includes Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills and most of Oakland County. Moss is considered the first openly gay member of Congress from Michigan.
Democrat Jason Hoskins (D-Southfield), currently a state Representative, beat out Republican Anthony Paesano of Southfield for the 7th District state Senate seat currently held by Democrat Mallory McMorrow who ran for the U.S. Senate position but withdrew from the race just ahead of the August primary while facing declining polling numbers. The state Senate district encompasses Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, Southfield, Waterford, Auburn Hills, Pontiac and parts of Detroit.
With 57 percent of votes counted as of 11 p.m. on Tuesday in the state House 65th District, it appeared that attorney Melanie Macey (D-Royal Oak) was on her way to a win against Republican Mike Steger of Berkley. As of that time, Macey had just over 69 percent of votes counted.
In the 19th District of the state House, if appears that incumbent state Rep. Samantha Steckloff (D-Farmington Hills) was in line for another two-year term in Lansing in her face-off with Republican Kevin Hammer. The district includes part of Bloomfield Township and part of Birmingham, along with Farmington, Farmington Hills, Southfield and Lathrup Village.
Democrat Noah Arbit, the incumbent House member in the 20th District, held a commanding lead (59 percent) as of 11 p.m. with over 63 percent of the votes counted in the race against S. David Sullivan of Orchard Lake. The district includes a very small portion of Bloomfield Township, along with West Bloomfield, part of Commerce, Orchard Lake, Keego harbor and Sylvan Lake.
With 100 percent of the votes counted, Democrat Sarah Pounds of Lake Orion is the new state House member for the 54th District which includes Bloomfield Hills, part of Bloomfield Township, Orion Township and part of Oakland Township. Pounds took 52.81 percent of the vote against Roman Gaskey.
In the 56th District House contest, incumbent Democrat Sharon MacDonell of Troy took 62.3 percent of votes cast in her victory over Ashak Biddi of Troy.
Local ballot issues
Bloomfield Township voters, along with registered voters in Bloomfield Hills, were facing local issues on the general election ballot. Voters in the Birmingham School District, which includes multiple communities outside of the city, were deciding a bond issue request for the schools.
Bloomfield Township: After considerable study by the township board and outside consulting firms, voters were being asked to approve a $50 million public safety facilities bond, with a maximum repayment of 20 years, in order to build a new police department on the Bloomfield Township campus and a new fire station at Maple and Telegraph. The bond vote passed 14,135 votes to 10,335.
Bloomfield Hills: Since 2011 the city has maintained a contract with the Baldwin Public Library in Birmingham for library service. Voters approved, 1,675 to 728, continuing the contract for another six years at a cost of .52 mills in taxes.
Birmingham Schools bond: The school district requested approval of a $240 million to be paid over 20 years (tax of 1.3 mills) to enhance school safety and security, including security camera systems, an emergency notification system, emergency radios, backup generators, and fire alarms. It would also improve HVAC systems, acquire technology, ADA playground improvements, remodeling and other work at Midvale Early Childhood Center. Voters okayed the bonds 19,385 – 10,157 with 85 percent of the votes counted as of 12:30 a.m.
Renewal of zoo authority millage: Oakland County voters, by a substantial margin (70.54 percent), renewed a tax of .1-mill for 10-years to to fund zoological services through an Oakland County authority to benefit the Detroit Zoo, located in Royal Oak. Voters in Oakland had previously supported the zoo tax in 2008 and again in 2016. The tax will last through 2037.
Historical Museum Authority Millage: Voters in Oakland and Wayne counties were asked to support a 10-year .2-mill tax proposal which would primarily benefit the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the, with 86 percent of the votes counted as of 12:30 a.m. but the fate of the tax in Wayne County was not known at press time.
