Ypsilantians get out the vote

By Dan DuChene
Nov. 5, 2008    ·    5:30 p.m.

The results have come in for the city of Ypsilanti

Democrat Peter Murdock, former mayor of Ypsilanti, pulled away in the election with more than two-thirds of the votes. He defeated both independent candidates, Mike Eller and Ted Windish. He will take his seat in Ward 3, which had been vacated by former Councilmember Brian Filipiak, D, when he chose not to run for re-election in April.

Results are according to preliminary, unofficial results from Washtenaw County. Reported numbers will be made official after approval from the Washtenaw County Board of Canvassers. Derrick Jackson, Washtenaw County deputy clerk, said the board had met earlier this morning for the first time and will likely approve the results next week.

Murdock won 67.05 percent of the votes in his victory. Mike Eller finished with 27.07 percent and Ted Windish came in at 5.21 percent. There were 4,181 ballots cast in Ward 3, leading to 55.32 percent turn-out rate.

"It was a good night," Murdock said. "I'm looking forward to working."

Murdock had previously spent 13 years on City Council, including approximately six years as the city's mayor in the eighties.

His first meeting is Monday, for Council's organizational meeting. He said he had decided to run for the seat and put himself back into local politics because of the decisions City Council has made in the past few years

Murdock said he was unhappy about the city income tax proposal, the decision to cut bus funding and Water Street. Though the income tax proposal was shot down by city voters in a land-slide defeat and City Council approved increasing funding to the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority for bus service last month, Murdock said the Water Street issue is one he'll take to City Council.

"It could be with us for a long time," he said of the stalled city endeavor. "I want to open up prospects for Water Street."

Murdock said he would also like to help the idea for regional bus transportation along. And though he is excited, Mudrock said it will also be hard work.

"It's going to be challenging," he said. "It's not exactly good times."

Mike Eller said he and his family were walking their dog in the park when the Citizen spoke with him this afternoon. He said he was "recuperating."

Eller said he owed a lot of his loss to the strong Democratic Party leanings in the city and the high voter turn-out. More than 70 percent of the ballots cast on Tuesday in Washtenaw County were for Democratic Party straight ticket.

"I expected it to a degree," Eller said.

However, Eller said he does take the campaign he ran as a positive experience.

"I enjoyed the campaign," Eller said. "It was very difficult, but one of the most rewarding things I've ever done."

Eller said a lot of the door-to-door canvassing he did was a unique experience.

"I met a lot of people and learned a lot," he said. "It was very difficult, but one of the most rewarding I've ever done."

Now, Eller says he wants to spend time with his family and get back to the business he owns, Populist Cleaning on Washington Street in Downtown Ypsilanti. He said he appreciates the help he had on the campaign and the nearly 700 votes he did receive.

Intending to stay involved in his business and community, Eller said, "I'm not going anywhere."

Eller said he hopes City Council will take his goal of a more business-friendly environment in the city away from this election. He said City Council needs to "open up their minds."

Even though Councilmember Lois Richardson, D-Ward 1, had a name with her's on the ballot, she technically ran unopposed. Her opponent in the general election, Michael Bugard, had moved out of Ward 1 and withdrew his name from the race. This happened to late to move his name from the ballot, however.

Richardson was able to collect more than 90 percent of the vote.

Michael Vance Bodary, who defeated former Councilmember John Gawlas in the Democratic primary this summer, ran unopposed in the general election and secured the Ward 2 seat.

Both Jackson and Deputy City Clerk Ed Golembiewski said the election went very well on Tuesday, with no major problems to report.

Voter turn-out rate in the city and county remained steady compared to past years, with 69.3 percent in the county and 63.8 percent in the city. However, more registered voters this year means more actual voters at the polls. In the county there were nearly 21,000 new registered voters.

"It was a really good day," Golembiewski said. "It went really well."

Aside from some long lines in the morning, he said the city elections went off "really smooth."

Much of the success from the election, Golembiewski said, was from the election workers on Tuesday. There were about 120 volunteers helping people cast their ballot across the city.

"The poll workers did an excellent job," he said.