For Northville Democratic Club, a Busy Year is Ahead

They recently met in a lecture hall at Hillside Middle School to plan and discuss current events and affairs from a left-leaning perspective that, gauging by local political history, doesn’t happen in Northville very often.

At Hillside, which is tucked in one of the Detroit area’s most reliably conservative communities, members of the 214-strong Northville Democratic Club hosted Garrett Arwa, the Michigan Director for President Barack Obama’s campaign. And like many local Democratic clubs, the Northville group discussed what they consider to be Obama's achievements and how to galvanize forces to re-elect their leader.

“I’m proud of the way the Northville Democratic Club has grown during the past few years,” said Scott Craig, a recently-elected member of the Northville School Board and the president of the club.

“There’s always a lot of work, but we’re committed to getting our ideas out there,” he said. “And we feel like our message – more than ever before – is being received.”

Swimming against a tide

The Northville Democratic Club – which was more of a loose organization up until 2005 – had 214 dues-paying members in 2011, which Craig said makes it the largest local Democratic club on a per-capita basis in Michigan.

Craig said the group seemed to hit its stride after the 2004 re-election of President George W. Bush. Since then, membership doubled leading up to the last presidential contest.

New members come in many forms, said Craig.

“We’re starting to see a lot of different types of people who share our point of view,” he said. “They’re young and old. But they all share a commitment to progressive politics and they're highly-motivated to make sure their voice is heard.”

But that can be easier said than done. Both the city and the township have been considered Republican strongholds for many decades, and data from the voting booth mostly supports that contention, according to archival election outcomes posted by the city and the township.

In November 2008 – the year President Obama was elected – Northville voters supported Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) by a huge margin, although US Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat, was able to win Northville, and re-election.

Additionally, Marc Corriveau, a Northville-based Democrat, was able to beat his opponent, Republican Jerry Vorva, for a seat on the State Legislature. But at a local level in 2008, Northville Township Trustees Mindy Herrmann, Marjorie Banner, Marvin Gans, and Christopher Roosen – all Republicans – were able to beat Carol Poenish, the lone Democrat, for four available positions.

In 2010, Republicans dominated Northville. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder beat Democrat Virg Bernero, the mayor of Lansing, with the support a a majority of Northville voters.

Northville voters also favored Republican Ruth Johnson, who ran for and beat Jocelyn Benson for the seat of Michigan Secretary of State; Republican Patrick Colbeck trounced Democrat Kathleen Law for a seat on the State Senate; and Republican Kurt Heise won a seat on the State Legislature by beating longtime Northville School Board trustee Joan Wadsworth, a Democrat.

Still, Craig said the community is not as red as it once seemed.

“We’ve seen a lot of changes – policies that have been supported by Republicans have hurt families in Northville, and there is a level of dissatisfaction,” he said. “I think people are beginning to look more closely. We have someone that is likely to win the Republican nomination for president, and he didn’t support the auto bailout. Can you imagine what southeast Michigan would look like had that auto bailout not taken place?”

The challenges of a successful club extend beyond a Republican-leaning electorate, said Craig.

“I think one of the biggest challenges is to convince people with progressive politics to run,” he said.

“A good, moderate Democrat can win in Northville – we saw that with (former state representative) Marc Corriveau, and we’ll see that again,” he added. “We’re seeing more young people move in, and we’re seeing a (more) diverse community, which is good for Democrats.”

Hitting the pavement

Members of the Northville Democrats are expecting a busy 2012, much like the one they had in 2008.

The group currently is recruiting candidates to run for local and state offices, including District 20 state representative, Wayne County commission seatholder and Northville Township trustee.  In March, many members will be attending the Michigan Democratic Party State endorsement convention at Cobo in Detroit, where candidates for the Michigan Supreme Court and the State Board of Education, among others, will be nominated.

In May, the club will carry out the Northville City and Township Presidential Caucus. This is the official vehicle selected by the Democratic party to choose the community's nominee for the presidential race. The caucus will be held at the Northville Senior Center on May 5.

As the presidential election looms, club members will visit homes, talk about the achievements of President Obama as they relate to area families, make calls, pass out literature, run phone banks and hold fundraisers. The members work long hours in the belief that Democratic policies would be beneficial to the whole community, said Craig.

Arwa of the Obama campaign said the club is among the most committed in Michigan.

“I always make time for Northville,” he said. “Local clubs are a big part of our strategy to let people know about our ideas; their efforts make a huge difference.”

Susan Nichols, the vice president of the Northville Democratic Club and a member since 2007, said she got involved because of both local and national issues.

“All politics is local, and I wanted to start supporting candidates who shared my point of view up and down the ticket,” she said.

For Barbara Moroski-Browne, a member of the club since 2008 who has lived in Northville for more than two decades, the club has cured a sense of political isolation.

“I like volunteering, and it’s great to be with like-minded people,” she said. “I had thought I was alone in how I felt about politics, but that’s just not the case anymore.”