Brainwrap's blog

It's that time again: Sign up for YARD SIGNS!

Brainwrap — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 01:16:20 +0000

Posted on Thu, 08/09/2022 09:16 pm

Let us know whether you want them delivered to your house or if you can pick them up (we're arranging for four "depot stations" around the BB Dems area).

NOTE: You must live in the BB Dems area to use this form! This includes Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Birmingham, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms & Franklin Village.

Learn more about Rank MI Vote & Ranked Choice Voting!

Brainwrap — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 18:00:03 +0000

Posted on Wed, 17/03/2021 02:00 pm

At our March meeting, Prof. Kevin Deegan-Krause of Wayne State University provided us with a fantastic presentation about how ranked choice voting (also known as "instant runoff voting") works, why it's a better way of electing candidates and how you can help bring it to Michigan.

You can also learn more by visiting

Attachment	Size
Ranked Choice Voting Slideshow	1.76 MB

Haley Stevens Postcard Campaign!

Brainwrap — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 03:29:35 +0000

Posted on Tue, 23/02/2021 10:29 pm

Help write postcards to send to area voters touting the great work our own Haley Stevens (MI-09) is doing in Congress!

February 16th Meeting: Oakland County COVID-19 Update & the MDP Party Structure

Brainwrap — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 02:51:26 +0000

Posted on Fri, 29/01/2021 09:51 pm

Please join us at our next virtual meeting on Tuesday, February 16th from 7pm - 9pm!

Our guest speakers this month include Oakland County Deputy Executive Rudy Hobbs*, who will provide an update on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ramping up of the vaccination project, and Michigan Democratic Party Director of Party Affairs Hayley Alderman, who will give us an overview of just how the MDP is actually structured.

Feb 16, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern

(After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting)

*(or possibly even County Executive Dave Coulter!)

January 19th Meeting: BB Dems Board Election!

Brainwrap — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 18:03:28 +0000

Posted on Sat, 16/01/2021 01:03 pm

The first BB Dems meeting of 2021 is Tuesday, January 19th from 7pm - 9pm...the evening before Joe Biden & Kamala Harris are sworn in as the next President & Vice-President of the United States!

The primary order of business will be our annual election for club executive board positions. Normally we don't require registration for our online meetings, but we are for January given the topic of this one. There will also be a vote on a resolution to move the board election up a month from January to December going forward.

There are 7 positions which have to be voted on: Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary and 2 Trustees at Large.

Any BB Dems member in good standing can run for one of these offices or to vote for candidates. To do so, you have to reside in the BB Dems area (Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Franklin, Bingham Farms or Beverly Hills) and have paid your $15.00 annual dues prior to our January 19th election.

Only members in good standing who actually attend the meeting may vote. If you're interested in running for one of the positions, please email me at chair@bbdems.org before January 19th.

November 17th Meeting: Election Roundup & ACA 101

Brainwrap — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 03:02:07 +0000

Posted on Wed, 11/11/2020 10:02 pm

Join the Birmingham-Bloomfield Democratic Club online on Tuesday, November 17th from 7pm - 9pm for our first post-election meeting!

With the dust settling on the most important Presidential election in history, we'll celebrate our successes, see where we fell short and discuss the future of Oakland County, the state of Michigan and the United States in a post-Trump world.

We'll also discuss upcoming changes to the BB Dems Board and OCDP Executive Committee.

In addition, since we're in the middle of the annual ACA Open Enrollment Period and the law is (once again) at risk, Chair Charles Gaba will give a refresher presentation about how the ACA works, where it doesn't, how to fix it and an overview of the lawsuit threatening to tear it all down.

Use this link to join us via Zoom!

We Did It! (mostly)

Brainwrap — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 18:37:08 +0000

Posted on Fri, 06/11/2020 01:37 pm

First: The #1 priority this year was to remove Donald Trump from power. Everything else--EVERYTHING else--had to be secondary. It appears that we accomplished that goal.

As of this writing, Joe Biden is ahead of Donald Trump by nearly 4 million votes and, more importantly, is ahead in states representing 306 Electoral Votes...well over the 270 needed to win the White House. This includes Michigan, where Biden's lead is nearly 150,000 votes. For comparison, Trump won by around 10,000 votes in 2016. In fact, Biden has already far surpassed the previous record for the most votes won by any Presidential candidate in history...Barack Obama in 2008.

There are four states where the winner hasn't been confirmed by major outlets yet: Arizona, Nevada and Georgia (where Biden is ahead) and North Carolina (where he's behind), but even setting those aside, Biden still has at least 273 Electoral Votes thanks to Pennsylvania.

Trump and the GOP are, of course, attempting to throw every absurd legal challenge they possibly can at the process, but so far they've failed across the board.

There are still steps to be taken--Georgia and possibly Arizona will likely go to recounts; every state still has to officially canvass & certify their results; and of course the Electoral College members have to formally meet, the newly-sworn in Congress has to formally certify the EC vote, and he has to be officially sworn in as President at noon on January 20th, 2021.

Having said that...WE DEFEATED DONALD TRUMP BY A SOLID MARGIN!

At the federal level, while we sadly didn't make any gains, Michigan didn't lose anything either: re-elected U.S. Senator Gary Peters, as well as vulnerable U.S. Representatives Elissa Slotkin and our own Haley Stevens (as well as Andy Levin, of course).

Unfortunately, nationally, Democrats lost several House seats and have only netted one additional Senate seat...so far (more on this later).

At the state level, we re-elected Bridget Mary McCormack and elected Elizabeth Welch to the State Supreme Court, flipping control from GOP to Democratic control! This is a bigger deal than many may think at the moment. We also elected Ellen Cogen Lipton and Jason Strayhorn to the State Board of Education, Rema Vassar to the MSU Board of Trustees, Shirley Stancato to the WSU Board of Governors and re-elected Mark Bernstein to the U of M Board of Regents.

Both ballot proposals (which BB Dems endorsed) passed.

On the downside, Republicans won the other Board positions at all three universities.

In the State House, congratulations to both Mari Manoogian and Kyra Harris Bolden won a second term, and Democrats flipped two seats elsewhere...

...but also lost two seats elsewhere in the state, resulting in a wash.

Democrats won five of the six county-wide offices, including Dave Coulter for Executive, Lisa Brown for Clerk, Jim Nash for Water Resources Commissioner, Robert Wittenberg for Treasurer and Karen McDonald for Prosecutor. BB Dems-endorsed candidate Lori Savin won her race for Oakland County Circuit Court as well, and Marcia Gershenson won re-election to the Oakland County Commission again.

A huge thank you to Vince Gregory and Kelly Dillaha for their valiant runs for County Sheriff and County Commissioner.

Finally, locally, something extraordinary has happened in Bloomfield Township: Democrats went from having never won a single Township position in history...to flipping four of the seven elected positions! Dani Walsh will be the new Bloomfield Township Supervisor and Martin Brook will become the new Township Clerk, while Stephanie Fakih and Valerie Sayles Murray won two of the four Trustee positions. Mazel Tov to all! In Southfield Township, James O'Reilly won for Supervisor and Bonnie Cook for Trustee.

Two others running for Bloomfield Township Trustee positions as Democrats came up short: Linda Ulrey and Mitsuaki Murashige.

For the nonpartisan local school board positions, BB Dems-endorsed candidates Lori Ajlouny won re-election in Birmingham and Siva Kumar won in Bloomfield Hills.

Thank you to our other endorsed candidates, Renita James and Nash Salami for putting your hats in the ring.

Overall, while this election was something of a mixed bag and disappointing on many fronts, at the end of the day Donald Trump has been defeated, Kamala Harris will be the first woman as Vice-President of the United States (as well as her being the first woman of color and the first South Asian person as VP) and Democrats still control the U.S. House, if by a very narrow margin.

That leaves control of the U.S. Senate...and for that, all eyes now turn to GEORGIA, where BOTH Senate races have been thrown into January runoffs! We still have a chance at taking control of the Senate if we flip both of these seats, so I strongly recommend Posted on Fri, 06/11/2020 10:21 am

Don't Mail Your Ballot: Take it to the Drop Box in Person!

Brainwrap — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 05:32:39 +0000

Posted on Wed, 21/10/2020 01:32 am

At this point, anyone who plans on voting by absentee ballot should drop off their ballot IN PERSON.

Do not put it in the mail at this point, as it may not arrive in time to be counted.

Via the Detroit Free Press:

Michigan residents voting absentee are now encouraged by the Michigan Secretary of State to drop off ballots at their local clerk’s office or drop box and not via mail.

Potential voters who are not registered yet can no longer register to vote by mail or online; the postmark deadline has passed. Instead, they will need to visit their local clerk’s office with proof of residency to fill out their voter application there.

You can apply for and fill out an absentee ballot during the same trip to the clerk's office.

Registered voters can request an absentee ballot at their clerk’s office from now until Nov. 2. You must return it by 8 p.m. on Election Day (Nov. 3).

All registered voters who do not request an absentee ballot by Nov. 2, must vote in person at their local polling location.

HERE'S WHERE BB DEMS AREA VOTERS SHOULD DROP OFF THEIR BALLOT:

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP RESIDENTS: BLOOMFIELD HILLS RESIDENTS: BIRMINGHAM RESIDENTS: SOUTHFIELD TOWNSHIP RESIDENTS: (includes Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms and Franklin Village)

September 21st: Special Meeting w/Sen. Gary Peters!

Brainwrap — Mon, 07 Sep 2020 16:09:38 +0000

Posted on Mon, 07/09/2020 12:09 pm