In an area typically dominated by Republican voters and candidates, Oxford and Addison Democrats took center stage for a change.
Ninety-five local Democrats turned out at the Oxford Public Library Saturday, Feb. 7 to vote in Michigan’s Democratic Presidential Caucus.
That number doesn’t include all the mail-in and on-line caucus votes, the exact number of which was not available at press time.
Although U.S. Sen. John Kerry ultimately won the state with 52 percent of the vote, the 16 local Democrats this reporter interviewed were divided in their support.
Six voted for U.S. Sen. John Edwards, five supported Kerry, three voted for retired Gen. Wesley Clark, one supported U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman and another voted for former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.
“He’s a fresh face,” said Edwards’ supporter Chris Leppard, of Oxford. “I think he has some of the attributes that John Kennedy had. I want the country to go in a new direction.”
William Leppard, of Oxford, said Edwards “brings youth and exuberance” to the presidential race.
“I don’t think (Edwards) brings along all the political baggage that Kerry does,” Leppard said.
Addison resident Elizabeth Webster, 73, likes the fact that Edwards is “fresh” and “young” with “a lot of new ideas.” She also wanted a candidate who was “not entrenched in the political system.”
“I think (Edwards) is the best candidate,” said Oxford resident Al Mortz, 55, a General Motors employee and member of the United Auto Workers. “He’s young and fresh. He seems to have a handle on the different problems in the country.”
Mortz’ wife, Ruth, 54, agreed with her husband’s reasons and also voted for Edwards.
Erica Schultz, of Addison, voted for Edwards with hope of bringing jobs back to the state.
“I was recently affected by the layoffs because of the manufacturing jobs leaving the area, so I’m interested in getting jobs back to Michigan,” said the 28-year-old. “I like the tax cut proposition (Edwards) has for getting jobs back to Michigan.”
Schultz noted she usually considers herself an indepdendent and “this is probably the first time I’ve leaned toward a Democrat.”
Despite the strong support of Edwards, there was also a lot support for Kerry, who ultimately carried the day.
“(Kerry) just seems to have the most positive agenda,” said Robert Stelmach, of Addison, a 61-year-old retired electrician. “In my opinion, he’s the strongest candidate to beat Bush.”
“I think (Kerry’s) the strongest candidate,” said Oxford resident Mary Ann Eager, a 55-year-old teacher in Lapeer. “I really feel as if he has a grasp on the economy and our foreign policy, especially in the Middle East.”
“We need something done about (keeping and increasing) jobs in Michigan too,” Eager added. “I feel that he will try to help us with the help of (Gov.) Jennifer Granholm.”
Oxford residents Bill and JoAnn French are also Kerry supporters.
“I like him,” said Bill, a 21-year veteran of the military who served in World War II and Korea. “I like his personality. I just feel he’s the right choice.”
JoAnn, 71, said she’s voting for Kerry because she’s “real upset with the war situation.”
“I think that when you have lived and served during World War II, Korea and Vietnam, you’ve learned a lot or you should have learned a lot. And our nation apparently has not,” she said.
Addison resident William Webster, 73, voted for Kerry because “he knows the (political) system a little better” than the other candidates.
But Webster, a retired water plant operator for the City of Grosse Pointe Farm, admitted any Democrat would be preferable to another four years of President George W. Bush.
“I just want anybody, even Mickey Mouse,” he said.
Clark found some supporters in the Oxford/Addison area.
Although she admitted “he won’t win,” Jean Leonard, of Oxford, voted for Clark because she likes his “stand on the war” in Iraq.
“I think he has a definite plan in terms of going in, doing what we need to do and then getting out,” said the 64-year-old retired Centerline school counselor. “I don’t think we can abandon what we’ve gotten into, even though I don’t think we should have ever been in there to begin with.”
Leonard said she “really was undecided going into” the caucus, but “felt” Clark “had a clearer definition of what we would do.”
However, Leonard admitted Kerry was her “second choice” and she will “be fine” if he wins.
The situation in the Middle East was also a defining factor as to why Oxford resident Margaret Nilsson, 60, voted for Clark.
“I really think we need someone with military leadership experience at this point. We are in a war,” she said.
Oxford Village Councilman Dave Bailey voted for Clark because the former general’s been running behind in the polls.
“It was a hard choice. It could have been any one of four (candidates),” explained Bailey, a 59-year-old engineer. “I voted for (Clark) mainly because he’s the underdog running behind Dean, Kerry and Edwards. In a case where I don’t really have a basis for choice, I vote for the underdog because somebody else might know something about him that if I knew it, I’d support him.”
Trina Martinez, of Oxford, voted for Howard Dean.
“I think he speaks his mind and he tells it like it is,” she said. “He may not be the most politically correct all the time, but I think he’s forthright.”
Even though Lieberman dropped out of the race a few weeks ago, Oxford resident Rod Charles still cast his vote for the senator.
“I think he was a straight-shooter when he talked about Iraq, unlike some of the other Democrats who flip-flopped back and forth,” Charles said. “I think Mr. Lieberman has integrity, at least as much integrity as a politician can muster.”
Charles said Lieberman is the “closest thing the Democrats have to a Republican” and he thinks a “good ticket would have been (U.S. Sen.) John McCain (a Republican) and Joe Lieberman, two straight-shooters.”