By Liz Nass
Gongwer News Service
MACKINAC ISLAND – Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, recently endorsed Democratic candidate for attorney general, said there are visible fissures in the party that need healing, specifically in the Jewish community.
Many Jewish Democrats in the state have said they are unsure of their place in the party following the Michigan Democratic Party’s endorsement convention, which featured booing of U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, due to her support of Israel in the conflict with the Palestinians and the endorsement of Amir Makled for the University of Michigan Board of Regents, who previously reposted to X posts sympathetic to the Hezbollah militia group in Lebanon.
Savit, who is Jewish himself, said he heard about disturbing incidents at the convention, including protests of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus. He said the party needs to be honest about the fact that some of what happened was unacceptable.
“I don’t think it reflects the vast majority of people that showed up and voted for their candidates and were there supporting their chosen candidates in a positive way, but we need to heal the divides that exists in our party right now, because our party needs to be a tent that welcomes absolutely everybody, and certainly nobody should feel unsafe or unwelcome at a party convention or in a party space, because of who they are, what they believe, and that applies to everybody,” Savit said.
He said there can be vigorous debates, and there should be, but the party should not brush aside the harmful activities at the convention.
The convention saw a host of other issues as well, including alleged miscounting of votes, at least one vote coming from outside of the convention center and a close call in the MSU Board of Trustees race that is now being contested by Sen. Sylvia Santana, D-Detroit.
Savit pointed at a tremendously high turnout and a lot of young people coming out for the first time on the voting issues at the convention. He said they have been well-documented cases that the party will have to deal with, but the results of his race were clear.
Although the Michigan Democratic Party does not release convention election results, The Detroit News reported Savit won the vote with 59% and to 41% for Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald.
His race, along with others, showed a coalescence of the progressive side of the party. He said he believes the support is not confined to the progressive space, but cuts across the ideological spectrum to defend democracy.
Lawmakers are beginning to discuss resolutions that would change the process for selecting partisan candidates for attorney general and secretary of state from a nominating convention with delegates to a primary put before voters.
Savit said while he won the convention, he believes it’s an antiquated system and “undemocratic.”
“We had people in Cheboygan, where the dam was about to burst that weekend, and they were identified supporters, and they called and they said, ‘We’re so sorry, we can’t make it to the convention to come vote for you, because our house is in the way of the dam break,’” Savit said. “Natural disaster shouldn’t disenfranchise people. We play the rules of the game that we are in, but I do think that we need to move to a system that gives everybody an opportunity to have a voice.”
The Republican Attorneys General Association recently backed key battleground states including Michigan with $11 million, which would campaign for his opponent Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd, and against himself.
Savit said it was clear both parties would be watching the race closely because attorneys general are increasingly becoming decision makers in many national policy issues such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in states and election integrity.
He said the Democratic Attorneys General Association is also trying to raise money to counter the funds from its Republican counterpart.
Republicans have called Savit soft on crime, hitting him on no-cash-bail policies and saying he would not charge hallucinogenic drug crimes. He said, instead, ask people in his county he has put in prison for felonies, including life sentences, if he is soft on crime.
“We treat serious crime seriously,” Savit said. “I will continue to treat serious crime seriously as attorney general, and I welcome the conversation candidly about my record and about how we should be approaching the criminal justice system. I’m not running to take every single policy that we have in Washington statewide.”
When it comes to questioning elections in the state, specifically the U.S. Department of Justice’s request for Wayne County’s ballots, Savit and his opponent, Lloyd are diametrically opposed. While Lloyd asked why not turn them over previously, Savit stood with Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, saying they did the exact right thing by declining to turn them over because that is the voter’s personal information.
“We run elections at the state level, people trust our decentralized election process, and if we believe that this could be turned over for an unclear investigation to the federal government, it is going to deter people from voting, deter people from registering to vote, and possibly open the door for that information to be used for purposes that aren’t contemplated by the law,” Savit said.
In evaluating why voters should choose him against Lloyd, Savit highlighted his eclectic experience in cases dealing with corporate polluters, pharmaceuticals, consumer protection and housing rights.
Gongwer News Service
MACKINAC ISLAND – Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, recently endorsed Democratic candidate for attorney general, said there are visible fissures in the party that need healing, specifically in the Jewish community.
Many Jewish Democrats in the state have said they are unsure of their place in the party following the Michigan Democratic Party’s endorsement convention, which featured booing of U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, due to her support of Israel in the conflict with the Palestinians and the endorsement of Amir Makled for the University of Michigan Board of Regents, who previously reposted to X posts sympathetic to the Hezbollah militia group in Lebanon.
Savit, who is Jewish himself, said he heard about disturbing incidents at the convention, including protests of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus. He said the party needs to be honest about the fact that some of what happened was unacceptable.
“I don’t think it reflects the vast majority of people that showed up and voted for their candidates and were there supporting their chosen candidates in a positive way, but we need to heal the divides that exists in our party right now, because our party needs to be a tent that welcomes absolutely everybody, and certainly nobody should feel unsafe or unwelcome at a party convention or in a party space, because of who they are, what they believe, and that applies to everybody,” Savit said.
He said there can be vigorous debates, and there should be, but the party should not brush aside the harmful activities at the convention.
The convention saw a host of other issues as well, including alleged miscounting of votes, at least one vote coming from outside of the convention center and a close call in the MSU Board of Trustees race that is now being contested by Sen. Sylvia Santana, D-Detroit.
Savit pointed at a tremendously high turnout and a lot of young people coming out for the first time on the voting issues at the convention. He said they have been well-documented cases that the party will have to deal with, but the results of his race were clear.
Although the Michigan Democratic Party does not release convention election results, The Detroit News reported Savit won the vote with 59% and to 41% for Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald.
His race, along with others, showed a coalescence of the progressive side of the party. He said he believes the support is not confined to the progressive space, but cuts across the ideological spectrum to defend democracy.
Lawmakers are beginning to discuss resolutions that would change the process for selecting partisan candidates for attorney general and secretary of state from a nominating convention with delegates to a primary put before voters.
Savit said while he won the convention, he believes it’s an antiquated system and “undemocratic.”
“We had people in Cheboygan, where the dam was about to burst that weekend, and they were identified supporters, and they called and they said, ‘We’re so sorry, we can’t make it to the convention to come vote for you, because our house is in the way of the dam break,’” Savit said. “Natural disaster shouldn’t disenfranchise people. We play the rules of the game that we are in, but I do think that we need to move to a system that gives everybody an opportunity to have a voice.”
The Republican Attorneys General Association recently backed key battleground states including Michigan with $11 million, which would campaign for his opponent Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd, and against himself.
Savit said it was clear both parties would be watching the race closely because attorneys general are increasingly becoming decision makers in many national policy issues such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in states and election integrity.
He said the Democratic Attorneys General Association is also trying to raise money to counter the funds from its Republican counterpart.
Republicans have called Savit soft on crime, hitting him on no-cash-bail policies and saying he would not charge hallucinogenic drug crimes. He said, instead, ask people in his county he has put in prison for felonies, including life sentences, if he is soft on crime.
“We treat serious crime seriously,” Savit said. “I will continue to treat serious crime seriously as attorney general, and I welcome the conversation candidly about my record and about how we should be approaching the criminal justice system. I’m not running to take every single policy that we have in Washington statewide.”
When it comes to questioning elections in the state, specifically the U.S. Department of Justice’s request for Wayne County’s ballots, Savit and his opponent, Lloyd are diametrically opposed. While Lloyd asked why not turn them over previously, Savit stood with Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, saying they did the exact right thing by declining to turn them over because that is the voter’s personal information.
“We run elections at the state level, people trust our decentralized election process, and if we believe that this could be turned over for an unclear investigation to the federal government, it is going to deter people from voting, deter people from registering to vote, and possibly open the door for that information to be used for purposes that aren’t contemplated by the law,” Savit said.
In evaluating why voters should choose him against Lloyd, Savit highlighted his eclectic experience in cases dealing with corporate polluters, pharmaceuticals, consumer protection and housing rights.
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