This fall, we’re bringing you election coverage that looks a little different.
In a new 'Election Notebook' segment, each Wednesday we’ll focus on what’s happening out in your towns and your neighborhoods. An election is a chance to think about what your community should look like… and then to act on it. And where else should we turn then, besides the people around us and the things they’re getting up to?
On the calendar…
This month, local Chambers of Commerce are bringing together candidates for state office.
On September 12th, the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce will host a candidate forum for those vying for Michigan’s 102nd District, Manistee County’s Commissioner seats, and Manistee’s City Council – in the 102nd District, incumbent Curt VanderWall, who won by 60% in 2022, faces a new Democratic challenger, Kathy Pelleran-Mahoney.
And on September 23rd, Traverse Connect is hosting a forum for candidates for Michigan’s 103rd and 104th districts – the race for the 103rd between Betsy Coffia and Lisa Trombley is expected to be one of the closest in the state.
In other news... duplexes and granny flats in Harbor Springs
Last week, the city of Harbor Springs shared their November ballot language for a referendum on zoning. A new zoning ordinance, passed back in May, expanded where and when the city allows duplexes, triplexes, and accessory dwelling units, among lots of other changes.
Petoskey News-Review Reporter Karly Graham has been keeping tabs on the issue all summer — residents collected signatures for a petition challenge to the new zoning codes, and even though there were some procedural issues with the petition, Harbor Springs decided to put the new zoning codes on the ballot anyways.
As for the rest of the state, the Record-Eagle reported a few weeks back that a Slotkin vs. Rogers debate planned for Oct. 10th is up in the air. Turns out, that has to do with a longstanding problem: it’s actually proved really hard to plan Senate debates in Michigan.
'I Voted,' says... a werewolf?
Michigan has been getting some national attention this week for one winner of a contest to design “I Voted” stickers. The prize in the elementary and middle school category went to Jane Hynous, a seventh-grader from Grosse Pointe Farms, who drew a werewolf triumphantly ripping off his shirt in front of an American flag.
She told the New York Times, “I didn’t want to do something that usually you think of when you think of Michigan… I was like, ‘Why not make a wolf pulling his shirt off?’”
That’s all for this week.
But we want to turn the mic over to you. Are there local races or issues that you want to see us cover before November? Who is planning forums where you live? Is there somewhere else you go to talk politics?
Send us an email at IPR@interlochen.org to fill us in on what your neighbors, family, and friends are talking about this election season.