Democrats last weekend (February 22, 2025) crowded the Renaissance Center for what may be one of its last big events: The State Spring Convention 2025, which let members of the MDP bid farewell to our former chair Lavora Barnes, who led us to victories in 2018, 2020, and 2022, and welcome our new chair Curtis Hertel.
For many MDP members, the day started out with trying to affirm credentials so that they would be able to participate and vote in the congressional district caucuses as well as for chair later in the day. After speaking with a couple of MDP representatives, it seems that several variables contributed to members having to wait up to three hours to get credentialed. The convention hosted many more attendees than it has in the recent past, which would have led to long lines no matter the venue. In addition to high turnout, the RenCen is not easily configured to accommodate so many people unlike the Huntington Place where the MDP has met in the past and where the MIGOP met on the same day as we did this year. Add to that the necessity to credential people and then push messages to members’ devices as well as providing alternative ways to use the Voatz App made this step particularly difficult. Doubtless, many members will let our new state chair know about this in the convention debrief so that improvements can be made in future conventions. Nevertheless, the MDP’s Project 83 team as well as volunteers worked hard and patiently with members so that everyone who wished to be credentialed could be.
Like most meetings, various interest groups and caucuses had set up tables and were passing petitions for Hertel and Williams, and many had sign-up sheets for various causes, for example one group advocated for a graduated income tax (AKA a progressive income tax) in Michigan. Plenty of free pizza and other snacks were available to tempt folks to check out what a table or group was offering.
Most of the caucuses in the morning were opportunities for those running for the state MDP leadership to lobby for their candidates. Others who will be running for office in 2026 such as Jocelyn Benson for governor came by and made their pitches. Unfortunately, many members had to choose to get credentialed or go to a caucus. Those who attended the caucuses in the morning spent their lunch break getting credentialed, and those who sought credentials were only able to attend part of the second round of caucus meetings if any at all. Those who attended caucuses are welcome to share with us a report at our next meeting in March.
The main attraction for most members were the congressional district meetings in the afternoon. CD 9 met in Brule A and B at 1 pm. Clint St. Mosley served as convention chair until Jeanette Bradshaw and he were nominated and elected our new Chair and Vice Chair of CD 9 for 2025 and 2026. At that point Jeanette assumed her position and handled the rest of the meeting. Our secretary and treasurer for the next cycle are Liz Weisenbach and John Anter (SCCDEMS member and candidate for the 64th House District in 2024). At that point, volunteers stepped up for the district’s executive committee.
The effort to elect a slate of candidates—6 women and 6 men—to State Central was somewhat complicated. The rules for proportional voting as well as how slates work is not always easy to explain or execute. Eventually, after discussion and trial and error, the body named its representatives to State Central as well as almost as many alternates. At the time of this posting, we can’t yet post the names of these individuals. We will let members know once we have a vetted list.
Here are a few things to keep in mind about the CD9 committee. That committee helps to find and support candidates for the 9th Congressional District of Michigan. In addition to that, they provide members to the State Central executive committee that handles the business of the state party. Furthermore, they pick our representatives to the national convention in 2028 as well as our district’s elector to the Democratic Electoral College slate in the same year. So if you are part of the CD 9 committee, please try to attend because they do handle important party business in our district.
The convention concluded with a meeting of all credentialed MDP members in the main hall seated by congressional district. The CD 9 section was nearly full. The event had hardly started when it soon became apparent that because Al Matthews had not secured enough signatures to be nominated, Curtis Hertel would be our next chair. During the final meeting, we heard from Benson and Gilchrist who are clearly both running for office in 2026, for governor in Benson’s case and likely the U. S. Senate in Gilchrist’s.
Curtis Hertel spoke to the assembly at the end though many members had already departed.
All in all it was a busy day. Given the challenges of credentialing so many members, the MDP will certainly move forward using electronic voting in future conventions, but the party will likely have to review its processes as well as how it manages its membership list. Now the party must get down to the business of rebuilding its benches for the coming elections in 2026 and will need the support of Democrats across the state. Be sure to join the convention next time in 2026 and 2027 as we regain our majorities in Michigan and across the nation.