Dear Friends,
Well, we gave my opponent, She Who Shall Not Be Named, a run for her money, but lost by 195 votes.
I learned a lot of things about the place where I live–and remain convinced that big changes are coming to Solon and Kasson townships, and we need to get out ahead of them. We need to stop pretending that there are no problems with housing, that our lakes are (and I quote) ‘sparkling clean’ and not in need of protection, that broadband is a luxury, and that nothing will ever change in our rural paradise.
Change is coming–we’re surrounded by natural beauty, and the largest bodies of fresh water in the Lower 48. Compared to other states, property is affordable. Unless policies are put in place, and residents understand what happens when expensive housing is dedicated to vacationers and workers can’t afford to live here, we’re on a destructive path.
During the campaign, I never misrepresented myself or my beliefs about what’s needed here, in the heart of Leelanau. I know that to some, I was just one of those ‘liberal’ newcomers–but the data and doorknocking told me that there are more and more of us here, concerned about the same issues. We did some good work for future elections, and I’m proud of that.
Why did we lose? For starters, the largest church in the district drew out its voting members, in an attempt to keep Proposal 3, which kept our current (clear, regulated) abortion laws in place, from passing. (It did pass, 56-44, statewide.) I was also relatively unknown in a place where family roots and reflexive voting habits go deep.
THANK YOU to everyone who voted for me.
Thank you to Allison Kimpfer, Mary O’Neill and Julie Kradel who ran against me in the primary, then turned around to help my campaign. We agreed, last spring, that our mission was proving that four smart Democratic women were willing to take on the Charles Grassley of Leelanau County, and we accomplished that.
There is a great deal of good news–it was a blue night for Michigan, and we held the County Commission. The three good proposals were all solid winners. All the work done by Voters Not Politicians, back in 2018, has paid off. It’s a fairer and more progressive state, un-gerrymandered–maybe even a model for other states–and both houses of the state legislature flipped blue, for the first time in 40 years.
Michigan has been a purple state, forever–and now our election results match our popular beliefs. That’s a great feeling. I’m going to be represented in the State House by Democrat Betsy Coffia (photo below), who has promised me that she’ll talk to teachers first when someone gets a big idea about how to ‘fix’ public education. That’s awesome.
Thanks for being on my side, readers. I appreciate all of you.
Teacher in a strange land 
We can’t give up the fight. As you said, reflexive voting that keeps us from moving forward is buried deep. I don’t understand how residents can’t see how deterimental her “leadership” is for the best interests of their townships. Deep breath. Many deep breaths.
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Thanks for commenting, Beth. I love comments from people who know a great deal about where I live. It’s one thing to say ‘You should run again!’ but I really think I wasn’t the one to turn these two townships around. There might be another Democrat who would capture the imagination and loyalty of younger voter. I hope so.
I will apply to serve on a board nearby, or find another way to serve. I think I could have won, in a different district, but this one was just not in the cards.
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Congratulations, Nancy, for fighting the good fight. Keep it up. You won even though you lost. The message is getting out there.
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I am so stinking proud of you. A former student, now my state Rep, had a mantra in his first race: “I’m gonna run, and I’m gonna lose. But I’m gonna learn and run again.” He did all that. You entered the arena. You learned. Proud.
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I am so, so sorry that you lost, but it was really the people who lost and sadly do not have the vision you could have brought them. Sometimes people are comfortable being uncomfortable. Hopefully, in the next two years people will come to their senses and start thinking of others and not only themselves. In the meantime, I continue to keep you in my prayers and send my love.
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Have you communicated with Whitmer to share your perspective?
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No need. I’m actually pretty mainstream, and aligned with her framework and policies, actually. I got just about the same percentage of votes in my district as she did.
I learned a lot from listening to angry people. Some of the anger is completely unjustified (‘reading a land acknowledgement before County meetings is stupid’) but some of it was heartfelt (‘I bought this house 8 years ago, and can’t get the builder to come back and finish the front porch I paid for–meanwhile, he’s selling houses with the same floor plan for $150K more, just down the block, and I can barely make the house payment’). The folks who were completely shut out of the market were the most angry, and the most sad.
These are life-long Republicans, many of them Trumpers. Like the rest of the country, they will have to let go of him and their belief that Republicans know how to fix the economy before they could vote for the likes of me.
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Thanks Nancy, for your great job of running an honest, wholesome campaign. You have helped make a difference and your ideas and assertions Will help nourish the swing that is bound to come about in our county, state and country. Keep on keeping on!!
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Every day, Julia. Every day.
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Admire you for making this attempt and coming so close. I hope you’ll try again!
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