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Up-Date ... 9-3-1976

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Day
3
Month
September
Year
1976
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DEMS NIX FERENCY

Michigan Democrats guaranteed a party rift and perhaps the loss of at least one Supreme Court seat as they failed to nominate an incumbent justice or welcome back a prodigal son at their convention Sunday.

In a move that some party officials say will disastrously divide the vote, Democrats nominated former Wayne Co. Sheriff, Detroit Mayor and current Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Roman S. Gribbs for the eight-year Supreme Court seat now held by Democratic incumbent Chief Justice Thomas Giles Kavanagh.

Kavanagh, 59, has had a falling-out with the party over a recent announcement that he will not campaign with the rest of the Democratic ticket.

Although the Supreme Court election is non-partisan, candidates are nominated by political parties and traditionally campaign as (members of the party ticket).

As an incumbent Kavanagh doesn't need the party's endorsement to get on the ballot, but it is rare not to receive the endorsement.

"It makes no sense to nominate Gribbs," Thomas Plunkett, a former Oakland County Commissioner, said in placing Kavanagh's name in nomination. "It will divide the vote between Kavanagh and Gribbs and possibly elect another Republican."

Gribbs, however, told The Sun that such an assessment was just a ploy to get the nomination for Kavanagh and that he (Gribbs) will win the election.

The Democrats also assured a split vote by nominating Charles Kaufman for a two-year term on the Supreme Court, instead of Zolton Ferency, who was making a bid to return to the party after bolting to the Human Rights Party (HRP).

Ferency, who had run on the HRP ticket for governor in 1974 and was former Democratic Party State Chairman, has been nominated by the HRP to run for the open six-year term on the high court.

Ferency had hoped to get the Democratic nomination for the two-year term to avoid campaigning against Democratic nominee Blair Moody, presently a Wayne County Circuit Court Judge.

"I want the chance to meet Republicans head on and not have Democratic candidates competing for the same spot," Ferency said prior to the party's nominating vote.

Such was not the case, however, as Ferency was defeated by a better than 2-to-1 margin. Ferency even had trouble being placed in nomination.

State Representative George Cushingberry (D-Det.), a delegate from the 1st Congressional District, was to place Ferency's name in nomination. According to Cushingberry, a last minute caucus in his district decided to throw the majority of the district's support to Kaufman, forcing Cushingberry to make the nomination from the 2nd Congressional District.

Ferency will now run for the six-year term as an HRP candidate against Blair Moody, Jr.

In other business at the two-day convention held at Cobo Hall, Democrats nominated John Watanen, 40, of Marquette, and Gumecindo Salas, of East Lansing, to the State Board of Education; Bob Nederlander, 43, of Birmingham, and Gerald Dunn, 41, of Livonia, both incumbents, to the  University of Michigan Board of Regents; Blanche Martin, 39, East Lansing, and Michael Smydra, Ontonogon, for the Michigan State University Board of Trustees; and incumbent George Edwards and Dauris Jackson to the Wayne State University Board of Governors.

MINORITY PARTIES

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a 1976 Michigan law that they believe restricts the ballot rights of minority parties.

The ACLU, along with five minor political parties, is appealing a three-week-old decision of a three-judge U.S. District Court panel that upheld the law. The law requires parties to capture three-tenths of one percent of the primary vote in order to qualify for a spot on the general election ballot.

"Michigan Public Act 94 demands unprecedented, unreasonable and unconstitutional requirements from political parties seeking representation on the state ballot," said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the Michigan ACLU.

"This law, if upheld, will in effect cast in stone a two-party structure that is increasingly losing the support of most Americans."

The Michigan appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court will be filed by ACLU cooperating attorneys Ronald Reosti and Diane Middleton of Detroit, working with a team of nationally-directed ACLU lawyers.

The suit was brought earlier this year on behalf of the Communist Party, Communist Labor Party, Human Rights Party, Socialist Labor Party and the Socialist Worker's Party.

The law is intended to limit the number of parties offering candidates in the general election to nine -- the maximum number of parties the voting machines can handle. If there are more than nine parties, paper ballots will have to be used.

While ruling the law constitutional, the three-judge panel said the law was passed too late and granted minority parties an exemption for the November 3 election.

If the law was in effect for this election none of the minority parties would have gotten on the ballot. None gained the approximately 3,500 votes needed in the primary.

In order to be placed on the primary ballot each of the minority parties was also required to collect 17,600 signatures on a petition.

Photo captions: Zoltan Ferency -- Howard Simon

Photo credit: Leni Sinclair